Need curved pieces for a tear drop trailer? Glowforge to the rescue!

Last year I started a project of a tear drop trailer, based on a 4x8 Harbor Freight trailer I got on sale for $250. The shell / design were pretty much done within the first few weekends, then I tackled the doors. I didn’t want to use any off the shelf things like windows, so I decided to spend time making those out of maple and lexan. Turned out pretty good, I ended up cutting the curves for the sides with my trusty jigwaw (go slow and buy a really good tool / blades and all works out well).

But when I got to the trim on the sides, I knew I was going to have issues. I ripped 3/4 x 1 1/2 maple stock down to 1/8 inch strips that would bend around the curve, but I hadn’t yet figured out how to do the curves on the inside edge. I was thinking of all manner of ways to do it, when I got notification last week that the Pro unit was shipping. Could I use that for the trim? The bed is only 20 inches long, and feeding longer stock through the machine didn’t seem like an option as I’d never get it lined up correctly to ensure the curves were perfect.

I decided that I Can piece the edges together, heck it worked for the doors. So I drew it up in CAD, did the cut and then edge matched the pieces together for a perfect fit! Just need to glue / nail / sand then wood putty the holes and then I’m on to final urethane. We camp in the high desert in Utah a LOT and wanted something more stable than a tent. Gonna be awesome and I couldn’t have done it without the Glowforge!

Now I gotta think of cool things to cut for the interior, or maybe custom signs for the doors / etc.

I probably should put the GF box somewhere out of the way (it’s in the background). :slight_smile:

BTW - someone asked if that was the trailer - and no it isn’t. It’s the 4x8 platform I built with casters to move it around the shop. The trailer folds up and is against a wall.

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Totally awesome! (And what kind of wood is that on the sides? Interesting pattern.) :grinning:

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Wow! What a huge project!! Awesome work!

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Birch plywood on the sides. Home Depot carries the stuff and if you get lucky you can find pieces like that with awesome grain patterns.

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Great Project. I’ve never seen Birch plywood like that. You did get lucky…

I look forward to seeing it completed !! (and interior) - Nice project (It would be interesting to see how far down the highway you’d get if that was the trailer LOL):grimacing:

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