Bongo Fury

Have been hunting, here and elsewhere, but not had much luck. My neighbour is a master carpenter/joiner/furniture maker and laughed out loud when I told him the prices I've been quoted for a removable kitchen, rear N/S. He is happy to make me one if I can source accurate plans etc, but so far I have drawn a blank.

Any suggestions, links etc would be hugely appreciated.


Derek

http://www.lushprojects.com/
there is a simple one at bottom of this list.

Thanks! Will take a closer look.

Derek

If he's a master carpenter, he won't need any plans - I am a total newbie carpenter, and I drew mine up in Sketchup, then made it out of Vohringer ply. The only thing that needs any real consideration is the contours of the car interior so you can make your units fit neatly.

I made the carcasses in one afternoon.

Your best bet is to grab a sheet of 8 by 4 Vohringer, and he can make it on the fly - it's only a box with a sink cut out and doors after all. The wood will cost you around £140 a sheet, well, that's what it cost me 3 years ago.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I don't know Sketchup, but I do know my neighbor Nick's work..it's immaculate. I don't know how savvy he is with computers, but will ask.


Derek

Before getting going on the expensive timber, start with some rough sketches and then use cardboard boxes to get a feeling for the size and storage capacity. Check you can fit all the key features you need such as sink, hob, water bottles, gas cylinder, hook up unit, etc. Have a think about your sleeping arrangements and how the seats will fit round the unit to ensure everything slides and fits as you expect. Do lots of research online and check out all the converters websites to get some ideas for what you want.

We then used some cheap ply to make a full size mockup and get all the contours right. It's easy to make changes at this stage if you need to refine the design. This was the used as a template to cut out the real thing on the Vohringer ply.

That's exactly what I did Simon, with thin MDF.

BTW - Wilkos sell a contour tool super cheap. I did all mine with a pencil taped to a stick at 90 degrees It's only really the overhead cabinets that present a contour challenge.

If I were doing this project I would use laminated MDF and not chipboard! Much better finish on the edging and it takes a smoothing plane very well.

Another benefit is that it is less affected by heat & moisture.

No one is using chipboard. The defacto material is Vohringer Ply (double sided laminated) - it's light, water restant, and industry standard thickness for applying edge trim.

There's a modified kitchen cupboard for sale on eBay at the moment. Will do the job, but it's heavy, prone to damp and would distintigrate in the event of an accident.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-Bongo-r ... 259ccbf7f6

Dodgey wrote:No one is using chipboard. The defacto material is Vohringer Ply (double sided laminated) - it's light, water restant, and industry standard thickness for applying edge trim.

Interesting!

Although I have not worked in the trade for over 20 years, I am an ex shop fitter so I am out of touch with new materials. That said I still think I could make a good job with Laminated MDF. If I went the ply route it would have to be Birch with no edging. Properly prepared and oiled it would look Ikea-ish but smart.

When I semi retire next year the first job I will tackle will be doing mine.

Simon Jones wrote:There's a modified kitchen cupboard for sale on eBay at the moment. Will do the job, but it's heavy, prone to damp and would distintigrate in the event of an accident.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-Bongo-r ... 259ccbf7f6

Death trap comes to mind!

I've just took some measurements and templates from a local lad who is also on here, with the intention of doing a removable rear conversion at some point but not got around to doing it yet.