Converting a 1999 Ford E-250 to a camper van

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed side trip:

At this point in the build I started working on a mechanism to raise the Back Platform as the sofa-bed moved from the bed to the sofa position. This was to be powered by the movement of the Seat Platform. It didn't work as planned so I moved on to a design using a second actuator. I spend so much time and effort on creating the lifter and trying to get it to work I didn't want to move on without mentioning it. And I do mean A LOT OF TIME. As usual I took a bunch of pictures.













The lifter did work. Just not good enough. Here is a 6 Mb avi file of the lifter in operation.
Lifter in operation
I still think I could get this to work if I spend more time on it. I just have a lot more work to do on the van at the moment.

continued -

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:

After assembling the sofa-bed frame I noticed the square tube under the Seat Platform. It was built to be even with the front of the Center Support and I just didn't like the way it looked.


So remove the Center Support and take it back to the work bench.


I think I'll cut it back an inch.




Also cut back the angle guides to match the shorter tube.


Due to the number of nuts and bolts this will take a little more work.




Shortened angles.


Since I was already messing with the Center Support, time to make some adjustments to the actuator mounting. The mounting hole on the end of the actuator is 1/4" wide. I'm using a 1/4" bolt to secure the base to the Center Support. The longer the bolt is the longer is the part of the bolt that isn't threaded. By using a bolt that's much longer than I need I can get one where the mounting hole stays on the unthreaded part.


That will require cutting down the bolt. Notice that here I'm doing it the right way, not like before, by having a nut between the head and the part of the bolt I'm about to cut.


Take a 1/4" nylon spacer and cut it to fit the gap between the actuator mounting base and the Center Support.


Install the spacer. I'm using two nuts tightened against each other as a lock.


Then put it all back together again.


continued -

[visionquest]

Wow man, that is a lot of detail and work! Nice job I am sure it will all work out with your creative mind behind the tools! I will keep watching the thread! Cute furry helpers you have!

-Mike & Heidi
97 Roadtrek 170P "Taj Ma Trek"
http://WWW.VanTramps.Com

[Ron J. Moore]

Thanks so much for showing your work....it's a pleasure to watch the work of a true craftsman. Safe travels.

[WVvan]

Hi All,
Thanks for the kind words but craftsman I am not. Just someone who doesn't have enough sense to know when he is in over his head. So I just keep plodding forward.
And those are not furry helpers. They are supervisory personal. Project Foreman Tiger and Quality Control Engineer Bob.
They are in charge and never let me forget it.
Cheers,
Dave

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:

I'd mentioned in the previous post about how as the length of the bolt increases the length of the part of the bolt that isn't threaded increases. Here's a bolt comparison to show what I mean.


Reinstall the Center Support while Tiger checks alignment of the Middle Brace.


Put the Seat and Back Platforms in place.


Use the clamps to hold the Seat Platform to the metal angles on the End Pieces and the angle on the Center Support that will drive the platform forward and backward.


Hook the electric actuator up to the battery and use it to drive the platform back and forth to check it's alignment as it moves. I had to shave a little off each end of both the Seat and Back Platforms so everything moves smoothly.

Adjust everything until the alignments are just right. Then start to drill holes for the bolts that will join the Seat Platform to the metal angles.




Insert bolts through all the new holes. Don't bother with nuts since this is all coming apart again. Inserting all the bolts is just to check for alignment. Run the platform back and forth a few times when done.




Now that's done disassemble the sofa-bed and move parts of the frame into the van for the first time. Place it near where it will be installed


The Left End Piece has to be cut to fit over the driver's side rear wheel well.


Measure the height and width needed for the cutout.


Mark out where to cut. I'll be using a circular saw and the drawer slide and it's hardware is in the way.


Because of the failed attempt with my home made sliders there are extra holes in the End Piece. Mark the holes that are still used before removing the hardware.


Make the cuts. Due to the nature of a circular saw it makes an angular cut. To make a nice square inside corner it's best to cut close to the corner with the circular saw then finish the cut with a hand saw.


Reassemble the frame in the van and check the fit of the newly cut Left End Piece.


I'm going to pat myself on the back just this once by pointing out how close the fit is between the Middle Brace and the wheel well. That was not by accident. It's reassuring to see one thing I planned out ahead of time actually worked.


continued -

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:

After having assembled/disassembled the sofa-bed several times I felt that the 19/32 plywood the End Pieces were made of wasn't sturdy enough.


I looked at 23/32 thick plywood at Lowe's but decided to double up the 19/32 plywood instead. One reason was that a 4' x 8' sheet of the 23/32 plywood was just too heavy for me to comfortably carry around.

Working with plywood sheets means I'll be using my circular saw instead of the table saw. It's too unwieldy to try and maneuver a full sized plywood sheet on the small table saw I own.
When using the circular saw I usually draw a line then follow it using the guide on the front of the saw.


The problem with a circular saw is that when I'm done the cut is never dead straight. No matter how careful I cut there are always minor variations. Then if I measure the next cut off this edge the error is just compounded. Before I started I wanted to see if I could come up with a better method.

This is what I came up with. It does take extra time setting it up but I think the results are worth it.
When I was at Lowe's buying metal stock for the sofa-bed I bought this.


It's an aluminum bar that's 1" wide by a 1/4" thick and 4' long. I ended up not using it in the build but I found it really handy for use with the circular saw. It's fairly rigid but not very heavy.

First figure out where you want to make your cut.


Next measure the distance from the outside edge of the circular saw blade to the edge of the saw's base plate.




On my saw it's 1-9/16". Of course this might be different for other brands of saws.
Now's where it gets interesting. You want to set the aluminum bar so it will act as a straight edge for the saw. But you have to plan the cut so the short side of the saw's base plate is in contact with aluminum bar. This means that on some cuts you have to figure in the width of the saw blade. In my case that's a difference of 1/16". So sometimes the bar is offset 1-9/16" and other times it 1-5/8".

Hopefully this will make it clearer:




After you have figured out the bar offset, stop and do it again. It's easy to make a mistake at this step. After you've done that twice go ahead and measure then clamp the aluminum bar into position.


Using the circular saw with the aluminum bar as a guide is so much easier than having to concentrate on trying to following a line. It's more of a hassle to set up but after I made that first cut I could kick myself for not having come up with this before. You can just breeze through a 4' long cut. When you set the clamps don't let the ends overhang the edge of the bar so that they would interfere with the saw base plate.

Woodworking tip. A garbage can can double as a saw horse. The hand saw is to help clean up the plywood which can splinter at the end of a cut.


Pretty soon that 4' x 8' sheet of plywood has gotten a lot smaller. Make the final cuts for the new end pieces.


Here is the new Left End Piece with the original.


Clamp the two pieces together. Before I removed the hardware from the original piece I marked their position so I'd know which holes to duplicate in the new plywood and which to ignore. Drill those holes now.




Remove the clamps and squeeze wood glue all over one of the Left End Pieces.


Use a brush to spread it around.


Clamp the two Left End Pieces together. Put bolts through the common holes and with nuts and washer screw together.


I let it set for a day before removing all the clamps and hardware. Then I did all the same steps again for the two pieces that will make up the Right End.


continued -

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:

Build a better mousetrap
After my last posting about using a aluminum bar to make cuts with a circular saw I was sent this link to a even better idea.
How to Build a Simple Circular Saw Guide for Straighter Cuts
I'll be making one of these for myself.

In the last posting I had finished gluing the 19/32 plywood pieces together to make the new End Pieces. I need to round off the top front corner of each End Piece. To do this I first must draw an arc. There are a bunch of ways to do this. I picked the easiest.
Find the biggest round thing you have. In my case that would be a garbage can.


Place the garbage can on the End Piece and line it up with the edge. Then trace out your arc.


Use the arc as a guide for the saber saw to trim off the edge.


To smooth out the arc I clamped the End Piece to my workbench using one of the vices.


Then used a belt sander to do the smoothing.


Did the same for both End Pieces. That finished work on the End Pieces for the time being. Start to work on both the Seat and Back Platforms.

When I routed the boards that make up the frame of the Platforms I left the rounded corner.


Time to fix that with hammer, wood chisel and two paws. Use the hammer and chisel to square off the inside corner.


From 19/32 plywood cut two panels that fit into the routed out sections on the Back Platform.


Once I was sure it was a good fit, put down a bead of wood glue on the routed edge.


Drill countersink holes for the screw heads then hand screw the panel into place.


I'm using square headed screws for this project. Just started using them. Really like them for two reasons. They resist "cam-out". Cam-out is when the end of the screwdriver slips out of the head of the screw as you turn it. This is both frustrating and can chew up the end of the screw driver and head of the screw. Since there is less cam-out I'm able to reuse the same screws. Since there has been a fair amount of assemble/disassemble on this project the square drive as definitely saved me on screws.


Back Platform done.


The rest of the photos in the posting are in strict chronological order. You'll soon see why I'm mentioning this.

On the Seat Platform the 19/32 panels are going to be hinged so I can access the area under the seat. The hinge works best if it sits flat with both surfaces even.


The edge of the panel does not sit even with the edge of the Seat Platform frame. I could either notch down the panel or raise the edge of the Platform. Notching the panel would leave the wood too thin so I'll raise the edge of the Platform by adding small plywood blocks.

In this picture you can see the three different heights. On the right is the plywood panel that will be the hatch. On the left is the plywood block that will be used to raise up the level of the platform which is in the foreground.


Since the block and the plywood are both 19/32 thick, their difference in elevation corresponds to the depth of the edge I routed out on the Platform.

Set the table saw to the needed width (depth) and run the plywood block through it.


Cut the block into four equal sizes. One for each hinge.


Figure out where to position the blocks.
Can you see what's wrong with this picture??? I didn't catch it.


Glue and clamp the blocks into place. Let it set.


I'm getting ready to start on the the second set of blocks when Quality Control Engineer Bob comes into the garage to make one of her inspection tours.


She takes one look around and then starts raising a fuss.


I don't know what she's complaining about but she keeps at until it suddenly dawns on me what she's saying.


She's saying "Wroooooonnnnggg".

Wrong? What's wrong? Then I take a look at what I was just working on.
D'OH!!! I've glued the blocks to the WRONG side of the Seat Platform!

I quickly unclamp the two blocks then try to pry them off the Seat Platform. I was just able to get them off the Platform. In another minute or two I think the glue would have set and it would have been too late. Needless to say I wasn't taking any pictures of this operation. No time.

Move the blocks to the correct position on the opposite side of the Platform then clamp and glue into place. Here you can see the blocks are on the same side as the hinge marks for where the Seat Platform is joined to the Back Platform. That's what I missed in the previous picture. The main hinge marks.


Glue on the second set of hinge blocks.


Wait till the glue sets up then add the hinges and try it out.




Add a finger hole to be used to hold and raise the hatch.


All done.


Watch Bob take a victory lap in the van.




continued -

[WVvan]

Time to take a break from the van conversion for a Road Trip!

Blackwater Falls State Park


Blackwater Canyon Trail


Douglas Falls.


Today's biking tip.
Let's say you're about to start a long ride and when you go to put on your only pair of gloves you find they are both left handed.


Turn one of them inside out and you now have a right and a left.


Not that this would ever happen to me.
OK, OK, OK, I have a drawer full of biking gloves. It's a easy mistake to make.

PS.
Waking up this morning in the van with the bird songs and the sun shining through the Penthouse Top made every little frustration I've ever had on this project well worth it.

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:

I left this off the last posting. After drilling the finger holes for the hatch covers I sanded down the rough edges of the hole.


I have finished upgrading the End Pieces and creating and installing the hatches and panels on the Platforms.


Put the sofa-bed pieces together again. New longer screws will be needed in some places.




Looks OK.




Giving it a test spin with Bob.


It was at this point while testing how to attach the lifter I damaged the 6 inch actuator. I covered this in a previous posting. Just look under "bonehead".


Did you ever have one of those project that you know you should do but keep trying to talk yourself out of. That describes my feelings about the Center Support at this point. I had been messing with this one piece of plywood a lot. Making little cuts here and there and drilling extra holes for the lift mechanism and the actuator base. After seeing how much I liked the doubled up End Pieces I knew the original Center Support's days were numbered.


Started with a couple pieces of plywood from the scrap pile bigger than the 30"x12" needed for the final size. Glue them together then clamp.


The new Center Support will be a different thickness so I'll have to make changes to both the Kick Board and the Middle Brace. Here I get a lucky break on the Kick Board. I had previously mentioned that I made a mistake because I glued the support block for the Center Support to the Kick Board. Well guess what. When I go to remove the support block, thought I was going to have and cut it off, I find it wasn't glued! So I hadn't made that mistake after all. That means I get one UNMISTAKE credit.


The Middle Brace was another story. It was glued and there was a couple of other issues so I just decide to make a all new one.


One change I made to the Middle Brace was at the end blocks. Before I had notched the blocks to fit over the pieces of metal angle on the End Pieces that support the Back Platform when in the bed position.
I changed it by notching the metal angle instead. This way the top of the metal angle rests on the top of the corner block. I think this will give a better fit.




While the glue on the new Center Support dries disassemble the sofa-bed and prime and paint the Platforms, hatches, Middle Brace and part of the Kick Board.




After the Center Support is ready, use the table saw to to bring it to it's 30"x12" final size.


Use the same bar and clamp method I used to make straight cuts with the circular saw but this time with the saber saw.


Notch the front of the board where it will fit over the Kick Board.




Then paint it too.

continued -

[WVvan]

Today's Safety tip.
Don't wear shorts while working on the sofa-bed.
The exposed bolts can do a number on you before you've even noticed.

When it's all finished and installed they won't be a problem. But for now, lesson learned.

Slept on the sofa-bed last night in the garage for the first time. Not bad at all. Slept straight through the night.




I am going to make a couple changes. I had bought 3" thick foam padding. Nothing special. Just what they carried at the local Fabric & Foam store. I've read a lot of nice comments about Memory Foam toppers. So I bought one of those planning to add it to the foam on the sofa-bed. When you get the Memory Foam home it's wrapped up into a tight ball. The instructions are to roll it out then let it expand for 24 hours. The best place for that was on top of my regular bed.
Here's the problem. After it expanded and I got a chance to lay down on it I found it so comfortable I decided to add it to my regular bed. So now that I know how much I like sleeping on one I'm going to have to get another one for the sofa-bed.

Hopefully mine won't develop Alzheimers like Mike's did.

One other change is the Top Brace you can see in the above pictures at the back of the sofa-bed. It was supposed to do three jobs. Provide support for the Back Platform when in the sofa position; help align the Back Platform as it moves into the sofa position and give rigidity to the top portion of the End Pieces.
Problem is the Top Brace overhangs the sleeping area when the sofa-bed is in the bed position. I think I'll be able to eliminate it from the final design. Now that I've beefed up the End Pieces they are already plenty rigid. The Back Platform is more solid since I added the two recessed panels. Just using corner blocks on the End Pieces should be enough to fully support the Back Platform. if I want more back support once the sofa-bed is installed I can just attach something to the van wall at the appropriate height.

I was never quite happy with the Top Brace design. Spending a night on the sofa-bed helped me come to a conclusion. I guess this is a literal example of the phase, "If you have a problem you should sleep on it".
More food for the bone pile.

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:

First up a picture of some of my latest toys, I mean tools, from Harbor Freight. REAL center punches to replace the big nail I've been using, which as you can see from the photo is starting to get bent from use/abuse.


On with the build. I've created a new Center Support and painted it white. Here it is laying on the original Center Support after first having removed all the slider hardware.


Arrange the slide hardware on the new support and drill and bolt everything in it's proper place.


One advantage of redoing the support is I can correct some earlier problems. One is the bracing I installed to stop the actuator from moving off center. In the first go around I wasn't too happy with the amount of the "L" bracket that was under the edge of the metal "Z" angle. I want to increase that so first I make a all new "L" bracket. You can see the old one to the left of the new one.

The hole for the locking pin in now lower on the new "L" bracket.

With the new "L" bracket I must realign the actuator.


Try to make it so it's a straight "draw".


The new alignment puts the mounting hole for the actuator base close to the edge of the wood.


To reinforce the mounting hole cut off two piece of aluminum flat stock.


Then drill a new hole to hold the reinforcements in place.


Next problem. When I go to mount the actuator I find the head from the bolt securing the reinforcements piece sticks up too high so I have to grind it down.




Bolt the actuator base into place.


In this picture you can just see that I've added lock washers to the bolts that secure the square tube to the metal angle.

On the old support I bolted two metal angles to form a "Z" shaped assembly which restricted the movement of the "L" bracket so to stop it from swing off center. I'm chucking that design and doing something different.


Use a piece of the U-channel I bought for the home-made slider and a piece of flat stock. The u-channel raises up the flat stock just enough so it fits just inside the edge of the "L" bracket. Due to the way the "L" bracket is constructed the lower side, in this picture, is longer that the top side. So this gives more surface area for the metal stock piece to contact if the actuator starts to go off center.


I'm happier with this design.


Use the angle grinder I bought for the paint work. Put on a metal cutting wheel and take off the excess threads from the bolts on the opposite side of the Center Support. I'm removing the threads so I can mount the Back Platform lifter closer to the middle of the sofa-bed. This will come later.


A quick note on the newspaper in this picture. Using either the grinder or the cutting wheel produces a gritty powder. I try and set the newspaper like a backstop to catch as much of this grit as I can.


A side note. When I bought my house it came with a stack of old yellowed papers. You not supposed to recycle yellowed paper so I've been using them up other ways over the years. The problem when using them is that they are such a interesting time capsule I sometimes get distracted from the job at hand.
Looks like stamps are going all the way up to 15 cents!


Hey! Isn't that Tom Selleck selling Salems?




That finishes work on the new Center Support.


continued -

[WVvan]

Campground, Campground? We don't need no Stinkin' campground!





View from the almost completed sofa-bed.

Monongahela National Forest.

[WVvan]

While I do love biking, hiking and camping, this van isn't going to convert itself. Back to work.

Sofa-bed continued:
In my last posting I'd finished a rebuild of the Center Support.


I had to also make a new Middle Brace for the new support since the support's position will change.


The Middle Brace is 3" high so cut a "corner block" to match. Because of the hardware attached to the Center Support some modifications have to be made to fit the corner block.
First problem is the bolt on the side of the support.


Use the router to cut a notch in the corner block so the block will fit over the bolt.




The corner block will be permanently attached (screwed and glued) to the Middle Brace. So It can disassembled, bolts will be used to attach the block to the Center Support. Since the block is only 3" long I don't have much leeway in were I can place the bolts.


One bolt has to go through the top metal angle. Problem is the bolt head would interfere with the movement of the square tube.


So I'll have to cut a notch int he metal angle for the bolt head. Only way I know to do this is to partially disassemble the Center Support that I just got done building. Since I used the grinder to cut off the excess threads from the bolts I want to keep the bolts in orders.


Notch out the metal angle just enough for the bolt head to clear.


Test fit looks OK.


Second problem. The head of the second bolt will hit the locking pin.


That one's easier to fix. Use a wood bit to countersink the bolt head.


Now to find the new location for the Center Support. Put the previously built battery box in it's intended position. Use it to guide the Center Support's placement. Check that there's enough room to remove the acrylic top so to service the batteries.


Once the Center Support is lined up and level -




clamp the center block to the Middle Brace and screw into place.


Follow similar steps for re-positioning the Center Support to the front Kick Board.


Looking at the Kick Board this pic shows how far I've moved the Center Support to the left.


This change in position is because when I first laid out the design for the sofa-bed I had no idea how the drive mechanism would work. Now I do.

Bolt and clamp the bed platform into place and check alignments.


Change of subject.
Last weekend on the Appalachian Trail within the Great Smoky Mountains Nation Park.


View from Charlies Bunion.


I hear it doesn't start to get crowded until this week.

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:

With the Center Support bolted in it's new position, use clamps to attach the drive metal angle to the Bed Platform for alignment testing.


When both Bob and I are happy with the alignment -


drill new holes for the metal angle through the Bed Platform.


I found it pretty tight working under the sofa-bed so I tipped the whole thing on it's back. Even in this position I found it very sturdy.


After bolting the Bed Platform using the new holes I did some more testing. The drive mechanism worked fine most of the time but occasionally the Bed Platform would get at an angle and start jamming. This jamming has bedeviled me from the first. So I gave the problem some pondering. I'm going to try adding springs.

Stop by the local Ace Hardware and see what they have in stock.


Most of the springs in this display didn't work for me since there is 12" of travel on the platform and the springs won't expand that far.
Number 59 seems to be the best for my application. $2.24 each. Bought two.


Installing the springs was easy. Just used a bolt from the Middle Brace to anchor one end and a bolt for the Bed Platform for the other end.


The springs work like a charm. If the platform starts to move sideways it causes one spring to expand longer than the other. This causes a pulling force on that side of the Bed Platform in relation to the opposite side and it brings it back into alignment. Wished I'd thought of this in the beginning.


One set of springs proved to be enough. The bed hasn't jammed since I installed them. If it jams again I'll just double up on the springs. I feel confident I've finally got his one problem licked.

Put down my three inch thick foam pads.


Give it test. Not bad.


I next started working on the Top Brace. I spent a lot of time getting the placement just right.




Wanted to be sure that the Back Platform with foam in place would clear the brace when it raised into the sofa position. Drew lines on the End Pieces to mark out it's arc.


Once I had the Top Brace positioned just perfect I decide to do one more test before I bolted it onto place. Spend a night sleeping on the sofa-bed in the garage.


By the morning I realized I didn't like the Top Brace at all. Felt like it was intruding into my sleeping space. So I removed it and moved to plan "B".
Instead of a brace across the back of the sofa-bed I'll install end support blocks at each of the End Pieces.


The Back Platform is sturdy enough so that the two end blocks give it sufficient support. Problem is the blocks overhang the edge of the End Pieces so there isn't a lot of wood to bolt through. I'm going to add a reinforcing block to the end blocks.
First get the thickness of the End Pieces.


Use that measurement to set the table saw. Then trim down two corner blocks so they're the same thickness as the End Piece. Notice use of the "push stick". Don't get your fingers near a spinning table saw blade.


Figure out the proper alignment of the reinforcing block to the end block then glue and screw together.


There will be one set for each end.


After everything has set up check their alignment on the End Pieces.


Clamp them in position then screw and bolt them to the End Pieces.


Writing this up I realized I didn't have a finished picture of the support blocks so I just went outside and took a couple pictures in the van. The exposed threads from bolt end will be trimmed up when I'm done.




I've slept on the sofa-bed with these new block and they aren't intrusive at all like the Top Brace was.

continued -

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:

Since my previous tries at a mechanical lifter for the Back Platform didn't work out I'm moving to a second actuator. A design where the actuator was mounted directly below and parallel to the Seat Platform would have been nice but I was worried about the strain that would put on the hinges joining the two platforms. Especially in the first few degrees of lift. So with some help from Sgt. Wookie at the AllAboutCircuits forum I came up with this design.



The Metal Angle is used to join the Plywood Rectangle to the Seat Platform. The Plywood has the Metal Supports bolted to it. On the end of the Metal Supports the Actuator is mounted and allowed to pivot. Not shown in the drawing is the Back Platform which is hinged to the Seat Platform and raised and lowered by the Actuator.

First step is to cut out the Plywood Rectangle then drill holes through it and the Metal Angle. I'll use bolts to join the two.


I hadn't yet received my new center punch so was still using a nail to indent the angle.


If you take your time as you drill through the aluminum angle you can play the "See how long of a metal shaving I can make" game. Here's my entry at over 4 inches.


With the Metal Angle bolted to the Plywood rectangle start to construct the Metal Supports for the Actuator.


I had previously purchased a length of 1" wide by 3/16" thick steel stock to be used for the construction of the mechanical lifter. I'll use that for the Metal Support. I didn't have enough unused stock so I'll use reuse one of the lifter pieces. It's not as long as I'd like but I'm sure it will suffice.


The pivot hole on the base of the Actuator is 1/4" wide which is the same size as the hole already in the reused piece. Problem is the two holes don't line up so a little grinding needed.






Have to drill a hole in the other piece of stock for the pivot point. Will need both pieces of metal stock that will comprise the Metal Support to stay together so the pivot hole and the other holes I'll be drilling for the bolts all line up.


Clamp the two pieces together.


Then clamp them to the drill press -


and oh so carefully line up the drill bit with the previous hole.


Then start drilling all the holes I need. Moving the metal stock as needed.




When I'm drilling through steel I use 3-in-1 oil as a cutting oil. You can buy true cutting oils but this works for me. The purpose of cutting oil is to reduce the heat on the bit and help remove debris from the cutting edge.


It does make things a bit messier but you can actually feel the difference the oil makes via the capstan wheel. The capstan wheel is the three spoked handle on the side of the drill press that you rotate to raise or lower the drill bit. When I lower the drill bit onto the metal stock it first feels like it's "skating" but after adding the oil the bit seems to "bite" more. It's almost counterintuitive since oil is a lubricate but hey, it works.


After drill all the holes I cut and filed these grooves in the pivot end of the Metal Supports. The grooves function is to allow the actuator end to pivot.


Figure out where to place the one of the Metal Supports on the plywood then clamp into place. Next drill holes through the wood.


WARNING: THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION!

As I was drilling through the wood the drill bit caught on the edge of the metal stock and without warning snapped right off.


As you can see from this photo the edge of the broken bit is wickedly sharp. Imagine a piece of that flying into your eye. And yes it can happen. I've seen the after effects in person.


Without further incident, and a new drill bit, finish with the holes through the wood. Then bolt the Metal Support pieces to both sides of the Plywood.


Since the base of the Actuator at the pivot point is wider than the thickness of the Plywood I used a couple of washers to spread apart the Metal Supports at the pivot end.


Attach the Actuator with a locking pin (I've recently found out they are also called "detent pins") and check that it is able to freely pivot.


I could lie and write that I got it right the first time but no. There was much fitting and filing before I got it how I wanted it.


This is all the movement that I needed.




All done.

Poor Tiger. Supervising me from the top of the basement stairs is such hard work, NOT.


continued -

[WVvan]

It's Alive, It's Alive!!!!
Cue the maniacal Doctor Frankenstein laughter.

If you'd like to see the Sofa-bed in full electrified operation check out my first ever YouTube video.

YouTube Presents: Sofa-Bed Action!

Catchy title, No? I wonder how many people will happen across it while searching for something completely different. The sofa-bed is NOT as loud in real life as it seems in the video.

I sometimes wondered if I'd make it this far. I'm down right giddy.

Be sure to click the "Like" (thumbs up) button on YouTube directly below the video if it meets with your approval.

[WVvan]

Let's see, work on the van this past weekend or head to the woods?
Woods win.


Sofa-bed continued:
After having completed building the lifting mechanism I bolted it to the Seat Platform.


I need to make a way to attach the top of the actuator to the Back Platform. Since I had moved the Center Support the attachment point would now be on one of the side panels so I wanted to do a little reinforcing first. Cut a small plywood panel that fits tightly into the Back Platform recess.


Then glue (Mmmmm - wooden toaster pastry) -


and screw into place.


Because of the way the sofa-bed operates the top of the actuator can't be rigidly attached. It has to be allowed some movement. After some testing and a couple prototypes-


I came up with this design.


The bolt has a 1/4" diameter and I need it to be able to slide within a slot on the aluminum bracket. To create the slot I drilled a series of 1/4" holes taking great care to keep the holes in a straight line. Then used a hand file to smooth down the ridges left from the holes. Again being careful not to enlarge the slot but keep it at 1/4". The advantage of using aluminum to make the bracket is it's a lot easier to drill and file than a similar sized piece of steel would be.

As the sofa-bed converts from bed to sofa I'll explain how the bolt moves in the bracket slot.

The sofa-bed is in the bed position. The Back Platform is lying flat. The lifting actuator is completely "closed" or un-extended.


The transitioning begins. The actuator has just started to extend. Notice the change in position of the bolt head.


The top of the actuator post has made contact with the bottom of the Back Platform. This contact is how the lifting force from the actuator will be transferred to the Back Platform. The purpose of the bracket is to guide the top of the actuator post and keep it in place. I'm using the base of the bracket to help spread the lifting force.


Here the actuator has extended to the end of it's stroke and raised the Back Platform as high as it can. Due to the pivoting of the of the actuator post edge against the bracket as the angle of the Back Platform increases the bolt has moved downward slightly in the slot.


Even though the actuator has raised the Back Platform has high as it can the platform is still not in it's final position.


At this point the second actuator is activated. It moves the two hinged platforms backwards and brings the Back Platform against the end support blocks.


As the second actuator continues to operate it causes the Back Platform to slide up the end support blocks increasing it's angle . When the second actuator stops moving the Back Platform will be positioned so it's angle matches that of the end support block.


While the angle of the Back Platform was being increase the bolt through the end of the lifting actuator was sliding downward in the bracket slot.


Figuring out the whole system of getting the lifting actuator to get the Seat Platform most of the way up then having the end support blocks lift it the rest of the way while not binding up on the lifting actuator was a major challenge. I'm sure it looks fairly straight forward here but it sure wasn't in my head.

In this picture you can see the pencil marks and screw holes from some of the different designs I tried before creating this one.


continued -

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:
This posting covers the first part of the electrical wiring for the Sofa-bed.

WARNING: Messing with electricity can be dangerous. If handled unwisely it can cause fire, death and general mayhem. If you don't know what you are doing, hire someone who does. I'm not an electrician and have had no formal training on the subject so don't believe a word of what I say. You have been warned.

The sofa-bed's conversion from sofa to bed is accomplished with the mechanical force provided by two different actuators. The Drive Actuator causes the Seat Platform to move forward or backward. The Lift Actuator raises and lowers the Back Platform.

The actuators are powered from a 12 volt battery (or in my case two 6 volt batteries). There are two wires running to the actuator motor. To get the actuator to change direction you simply have to reverse the polarity of the two wires. That means if one wire was hooked to the positive battery terminal move it to the negative terminal and vice-a-verse with the other wire.



If you watch the

YouTube video of the sofa-bed

in operation you might have noticed the two actuators operating at different times. This is accomplished with limit switches. A limit switch is activated when something presses against it as opposed to a wall switch which you "flip".

Here is a picture of one of the limit switches I'll be using. Notice the small lever with the roller on the top of the switch. The movement of this lever is what causes the switch to open or close.


On the left side of the switch you will see two tabs. The tabs are marked "NC" and "NO". The markings mean "Normally Closed" and "Normally Open".


What that means is if the switch is in the "open" position, which it is in the photos, there is a current path from the "Com" tab on the right of the switch to the "NC" tab. When the lever is depressed the switch is considered "closed" then the current path transfers to the "NO" tab.


Along with the limit switches I'll need a couple of diodes to control the actuators. A very simple description of a diode is that it's a electrical component that only allows current to flow in one direction. Here is a picture of one of the diodes I'll be using.


Notice the silver band around one end of the diode. The band denotes the cathode end of the diode. It helps me remember how a diode works by thinking of it's electrical symbol.


If you think of current as flowing from positive to negative you can see how the triangular shape is pointing in the direction of current flow. While the vertical line resembles a check valve that swings down to prevent the flow of current in the opposite direction. Anyone who really knows about electronics will surely tell you there are different kinds of diodes and it's more complicated than I've explained but hey, this works for me.

"I am serious ... and don't call me Shirley." Happy 30th Birthday to "Airplane!"

One more electrical part before I can start putting it all together. From Radio Shack I bought this toggle switch. It's a 3 position (ON-OFF-ON) DPDT (Double Pole - Double Throw ) switch.


The metal face-plate shows it's 3 position. The six wire connectors on the back indicates it's DPDT. I'll use this switch to reverse the polarity of the electrical connection to the actuators.

This shows how I hooked up the switch to the batteries and to the actuators.


One small note. I forgot to add a fuse to the circuit drawing which strangely enough matches what I did in real life.

continued -

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:
Time to wire some things together. I'm using uninsulated push-on style terminal ends along with 18 gauge wire. Here I'm inserted two wires through the crimp end of the terminal, after having stripped the insulation off the wire ends..


Use a crimping tool to join the wires to the terminal.


Here's how it appears after crimping.


Since I'm using uninsulated terminals I have to insulate them. I'll be using shrink tubing. The tubing comes in different sizes so use one that's appropriate for what you're working on.


After sliding on the shrink tube you can use a heat gun.


After heating with the gun the tube will shrink to fit the terminal.


To connect the diodes I'm using butt connectors. That's them at the top of the picture.


Just slide the wire ends into one end of the butt connector and crimp it. Then slide whatever you're joining it too in the other end and crimp that end.


Here's what it looks like all joined together with a limit switch.


To mount the toggle switch to the side of the sofa-bed I used one of the left-over bracket rejects.


Then did a little cutting and drilling.


Screwed it to the side of the sofa-bed. This will not be the permanent switch. Just until the van is finished.


Here's how the switch appears from the back all wired up.


Now to attach the limit switches. Here is a diagram that shows where the two limited switches are mounted. Notice that limit switch #1 is closest to the Drive Actuator and #2 is closet to the Lift Actuator. It might be a little confusing that the switch closest to each actuator actually controls the opposite actuator.


Here is limit switch #1 mounted below the Drive Actuator. You can see that the drive rod from the actuator has the switch in the closed position. Since operation of the Lift Actuator is dependent on the position of the Drive Actuator this limit switch is wired to the Lift Actuator.


When the Drive Actuator is almost completely retracted, limit switch #1 is opened.


Here is limit switch #2 next to the fully extended Lift Actuator. The switch is opened and closed by the position of the Back Platform.


Luckily I bought 5 of the limit switches before I started. Lucky because I broke one switch and bent back the lever on another while trying to get the placement and adjustments just right.


Continued -