Howdy,
I am facing a conceptually simple woodworking problem but a sensible
method eludes me...
I bought a Toyota Sienna minivan. To my surprise, they do not make
available a cargo barrier that will hold luggage in the rear of the
van in the event of an accident. So, in the event of a crash, I may be
protected by my airbag, until I am crushed from behind by my luggage
flying at me at the closing speed of the crash...
In any case, I want to make some sort of barrier.
Conceptually, here's what I want to do:
I will put the van through my bandsaw cross wise just in front of the
rear luggage area. Then, I will trace the interior contour onto 1"
plywood. Next, I will cut the ply so that it is an easy slipfit into
the contour. I will then bandsaw out the interior of the plywood
leaving a form fit "frame" of about 3". Because there are thick
structural members in the roof line at that point, the wooden frame
could not force itself past that point of the van. Inside that frame,
I will install nylon mesh to make my luggage barrier. Obviously, I
could pop the entire thing out of the van when I wanted to...
As I said, "simple concept."
But how do I do that sort of thing in fact? Were the contour
dimensions just a few inches, I could use the sort of tool that one
uses to copy moldings etc. but this thing is many feet, and for now, I
can't think of a way to "copy" the interior contour of the van to the
plywood, or to a drawing.
How should I approach this?
Sincere thanks,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 09:18:39 -0700,
[email protected] wrote:
>On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 11:55:48 -0400, Kenneth
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Howdy,
>>
>>I am facing a conceptually simple woodworking problem but a sensible
>>method eludes me...
>>
>>I bought a Toyota Sienna minivan. To my surprise, they do not make
>>available a cargo barrier that will hold luggage in the rear of the
>>van in the event of an accident. So, in the event of a crash, I may be
>>protected by my airbag, until I am crushed from behind by my luggage
>>flying at me at the closing speed of the crash...
>>
>>In any case, I want to make some sort of barrier.
>>
>>Conceptually, here's what I want to do:
>>
>>I will put the van through my bandsaw
>
>saaayyyy, could I borrow your bansaw this weekend? I have this school
>bus I wanna put a poptop on.....
>
>
>
>> cross wise just in front of the
>>rear luggage area. Then, I will trace the interior contour onto 1"
>>plywood. Next, I will cut the ply so that it is an easy slipfit into
>>the contour. I will then bandsaw out the interior of the plywood
>>leaving a form fit "frame" of about 3". Because there are thick
>>structural members in the roof line at that point, the wooden frame
>>could not force itself past that point of the van. Inside that frame,
>>I will install nylon mesh to make my luggage barrier. Obviously, I
>>could pop the entire thing out of the van when I wanted to...
>>
>>As I said, "simple concept."
>>
>>But how do I do that sort of thing in fact? Were the contour
>>dimensions just a few inches, I could use the sort of tool that one
>>uses to copy moldings etc. but this thing is many feet, and for now, I
>>can't think of a way to "copy" the interior contour of the van to the
>>plywood, or to a drawing.
>>
>>How should I approach this?
>>
>>Sincere thanks,
>
>
>map it. make a sheet of cardboard or masonite or something that fits
>easily inside (3 or 4" gaps are fine) and temporarily mount it in the
>plane you want to map. make yourself a pointer- a stick a couple of
>feet long with a rounded point on it. choose a resolution for your
>map- it can be variable, tighter in curves, looser for straighter
>sections. place the pointer with the point touching the line you're
>mapping and the body laying flat on the temp surface. trace around the
>pointer with a pencil, increment the point, repeat, repeat.....
>
>once you've made it all of the way around, pull your masonite template
>and lay it flat on top of your final material and repeat the process-
>this time tracing around the point onto the finish material as you
>increment the body of the pointer.
>
>you'll need to fair the curve a bit when you're done, but it's
>possible to get very nice results this way.
Hey Bridger,
You can borrow my bandsaw any time (...and, it has a hell of a
throat!)
Very sincere thanks for your excellent suggestion,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 11:55:48 -0400, Kenneth
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Howdy,
>
>I am facing a conceptually simple woodworking problem but a sensible
>method eludes me...
>
>I bought a Toyota Sienna minivan. To my surprise, they do not make
>available a cargo barrier that will hold luggage in the rear of the
>van in the event of an accident. So, in the event of a crash, I may be
>protected by my airbag, until I am crushed from behind by my luggage
>flying at me at the closing speed of the crash...
>
>In any case, I want to make some sort of barrier.
>
>Conceptually, here's what I want to do:
>
>I will put the van through my bandsaw
saaayyyy, could I borrow your bansaw this weekend? I have this school
bus I wanna put a poptop on.....
> cross wise just in front of the
>rear luggage area. Then, I will trace the interior contour onto 1"
>plywood. Next, I will cut the ply so that it is an easy slipfit into
>the contour. I will then bandsaw out the interior of the plywood
>leaving a form fit "frame" of about 3". Because there are thick
>structural members in the roof line at that point, the wooden frame
>could not force itself past that point of the van. Inside that frame,
>I will install nylon mesh to make my luggage barrier. Obviously, I
>could pop the entire thing out of the van when I wanted to...
>
>As I said, "simple concept."
>
>But how do I do that sort of thing in fact? Were the contour
>dimensions just a few inches, I could use the sort of tool that one
>uses to copy moldings etc. but this thing is many feet, and for now, I
>can't think of a way to "copy" the interior contour of the van to the
>plywood, or to a drawing.
>
>How should I approach this?
>
>Sincere thanks,
map it. make a sheet of cardboard or masonite or something that fits
easily inside (3 or 4" gaps are fine) and temporarily mount it in the
plane you want to map. make yourself a pointer- a stick a couple of
feet long with a rounded point on it. choose a resolution for your
map- it can be variable, tighter in curves, looser for straighter
sections. place the pointer with the point touching the line you're
mapping and the body laying flat on the temp surface. trace around the
pointer with a pencil, increment the point, repeat, repeat.....
once you've made it all of the way around, pull your masonite template
and lay it flat on top of your final material and repeat the process-
this time tracing around the point onto the finish material as you
increment the body of the pointer.
you'll need to fair the curve a bit when you're done, but it's
possible to get very nice results this way.
<snip>
OR, just go out and buy a cargo bulkhead. Most I see these days are
made of clear plexiglass, lexan or some type of clear material. It
doesn't need to touch all sides, just close enough to keep all bulky
objects from flying into your head. Here are a few different types:
http://www.clearviewpartitions.com/
http://www.chameleon2000.com/homepage.html
http://www.americanvanequipment.com/catalog/categoryindex.cfm?category=Security%20Partitions&subcategory=Partitions
In article <[email protected]>, Kenneth
<[email protected]> wrote:
I have a minivan. It has a couple tie-down locations in the back. It
is easy to put a cargo strap over suitcases or whatever to be sure that
it will not move in transport.
The strap is probably a lot stronger than your net.
Dick
> Howdy,
>
> I am facing a conceptually simple woodworking problem but a sensible
> method eludes me...
>
> I bought a Toyota Sienna minivan. To my surprise, they do not make
> available a cargo barrier that will hold luggage in the rear of the
> van in the event of an accident. So, in the event of a crash, I may be
> protected by my airbag, until I am crushed from behind by my luggage
> flying at me at the closing speed of the crash...
>
> In any case, I want to make some sort of barrier.
>
> Conceptually, here's what I want to do:
>
> I will put the van through my bandsaw cross wise just in front of the
> rear luggage area. Then, I will trace the interior contour onto 1"
> plywood. Next, I will cut the ply so that it is an easy slipfit into
> the contour. I will then bandsaw out the interior of the plywood
> leaving a form fit "frame" of about 3". Because there are thick
> structural members in the roof line at that point, the wooden frame
> could not force itself past that point of the van. Inside that frame,
> I will install nylon mesh to make my luggage barrier. Obviously, I
> could pop the entire thing out of the van when I wanted to...
>
> As I said, "simple concept."
>
> But how do I do that sort of thing in fact? Were the contour
> dimensions just a few inches, I could use the sort of tool that one
> uses to copy moldings etc. but this thing is many feet, and for now, I
> can't think of a way to "copy" the interior contour of the van to the
> plywood, or to a drawing.
>
> How should I approach this?
>
> Sincere thanks,
Kenneth <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
snip
>
> But how do I do that sort of thing in fact? Were the contour
> dimensions just a few inches, I could use the sort of tool that one
> uses to copy moldings etc. but this thing is many feet, and for now, I
> can't think of a way to "copy" the interior contour of the van to the
> plywood, or to a drawing.
>
> How should I approach this?
>
> Sincere thanks,
>
Take a photo of the section as square on as possible. Include something
with known dimensions, such as a yardstick. Get a large print of the
photo. Obtain an enlarging copy projector. Tape a large sheet of paper to
a wall and project the photo onto it. Fiddle with the enlargment until
the object with known dimensions is the correct size. Trace the contour.
Test with cardboard before commiting the contour to plywood.
LD