Custom fg XR6 Turbo Ute Tray

[Jim Carroll]

Marine Ply, sprayed with 2 pac.

[ben@SS&A]

Jim does that come in sheets or strips like the decking?
Also does it sit flat by itself if its a sheet?
Will need to sit flat on the vacuum bed of the router when engraving.

Told you im a noob with timber haha.

[Acco]

Marine ply would be ideal for this application or even possibly formply. Both these plys are usually dead flat, so would be very suitable to sit on the CNC router.

I'd use ply over decking, as decking will still need to expand/shrink across the grain if you butt it up tight between your nice newly polished outer rails. Ply is usually more stable and if sealed well, will give you a much more longer trouble free life than decking will.

[RustyArc]

Just from the look of the renders, formply came to mind, but I'm not sure it'll span the area - if you can get a large enough sheet it'd be ideal - tough and very stable.

[ian]

So Ive made a start, however encountered a problem when came to mirror polishing.
The weld material stands out from the rhs

Im no expert in aluminium so hoping someone here can see what im trying to acheive and steer me in the right direction.

Ben
like you I'm no expert on welding Aluminium
However, in your first photo



it looks like most of the weld metal is on the outside of the weld, not in the gap between pieces being welded.

So when you grind the excess off to get to this



how much weld metal is left joining the pieces?

[Acco]

how much weld metal is left joining the pieces?

Going on the weld deposits and craters left by the welding, I'd say he has plenty of alloy left in the joins. He has done some very nice welding there.

[ian]

I asked because I don't know.
The welds I'm most familar with typically join 20mm or thicker steel plate where nearly all the weld metal stays in the joint

[Acco]

I asked because I don't know.
The welds I'm most familar with typically join 20mm or thicker steel plate where nearly all the weld metal stays in the joint

And that's all cool Ian

We won't learn otherwise

[ben@SS&A]

Marine ply is sounding like the way to go
If its in sheet form i may even run small v grooves down it when it gets routed, that way it has the decking effect and also if I need to butt up 2 sheets it will disguise the join.

As for the welding, there is plenty of weld left in there, the outside corner welds really dont get much weld removed if you can see how it was prepped. Corner to corner.





Ps. This forum is awesome thanks heaps guys, Im getting all the answers Im after right here.

[ben@SS&A]

Spoke to my painter, he is a bit sceptical about paint sticking to marine ply.
Hes not sayin it wont as hes unshore, he just wants a confirmation that it will stick. Somethin about chemicals in the glue and what.

So can someone put his mind at ease and confirm painting marine ply is not an issue? Or any steps that would need to be taken.

Thanks guys.

[ben@SS&A]

I kinda need to know today what flooring im definately using, as most likely will be welding in the framework its going to sit on and need to know the depth.

So Bump!


Welded up the front corners using tig lastnight.

[ben@SS&A]

Op had a busy afternoon.



Cut away and capped to give clearance for rear of led strips.

[Acco]

Looking good

Regarding painting the ply from your painter, it isn't a prob, plenty of boats out there made from marine ply that have been painted that are 50 yrs old or more

[Gaza]

are you selling your old tray?

what kind of work do you guys do?

[RustyArc]

Looking good

Regarding painting the ply from your painter, it isn't a prob, plenty of boats out there made from marine ply that have been painted that are 50 yrs old or more

I'm wondering whether the painter was thinking about formply, which does have a very slick surface. I can't imagine marine ply being a problem.