Day One - Assembling the Mold

Assembling the mold frame.  This whole process took less than 2 hours, including two trips to Lowe's to get the proper drywall screws and extra wood glue for the pieces.  The frame is constructed in the same manner as the camper shell itself (see later post) using puzzle joints, reinforced with wood glue and a "butt block" screwed over the joint itself.  The pieces are then assembled in a slot-together manner to form a large frame about 8'x10'x4'.













You can see the Crisis Manager hard at work ensuring everything went smoothly on this first day.  This mold gives the camper "the elegant, flowing shape that is so eye-catching", according to the assembly manual.  In practical terms, however, it enables us to rotate the shell around so we don't over extend ourselves.  The shell plywood of the camper will be stitched to the mold while we glue and fiberglass the seams.