re: My New Series Dr Who Tardis Build (image heavy)
Work on the roof panels is underway. As I'm not using any supports for the actual panels, I decided to use slow setting epoxy to join the sloped edges because of its strength. Due to this, I wasn't too fussy about the fit, as I wanted a slight bit of room in the seam for the epoxy to flow and create a very strong bond.
I also decided to cut a slot into the top light chimney support for the top edge of the roof panels to slip into. Seemed like a good idea, but it made installing the panels much more complicated than it would have been otherwise and needed to be. I probably wouldn't cut the slots again.
An unexpected issue showed up when I was dry fitting the panels. The slope edges didn't line up with each other as the plywood was bowed just enough so they misaligned. Fixing this turned out to be difficult as I didn't really have access to both the top and bottom of the panels for aligning, and there was no practical way to fix them together even when I did manage to nudge them into alignment.
The fix was some Gorilla superglue that I've used before as it's pretty thick and somewhat impact resistant, unlike other superglues. I used blue painter's tape to mask the wood, aligned the panels, squeezed in the glue, and the sprayed an aerosol superglue accelerant. Worked like a charm. I had to do this 2 - 3 places on every seam but once done, they lined up great.
Next step was to use the tape again, this time on the underside of the seam to prevent any epoxy from coming through the seam. I then masked off the seam on top so epoxy would only enter the seam itself. The slow curing epoxy had a 30 minute open time, and I used a flat stir stick to apply it along all the seams. I used the slow epoxy because it creates the strongest bond, and this seam really needs to never come undone.
This photo is of the entire roof support ready to accept the 1/4" sloped panels.
This is the top light chimney support roof slots being cut.
This is the layout of one of the roof panels. I used painters tape to help prevent chip out of the veneer, which is difficult at best when cutting across the grain like this. Keep in mind when using a circular saw the good side always goes down to help prevent chip out.
Test fitting the roof supports. They are attached with headless pins to avoid having nail holes that have to be dealt with.
This is where I'm using Gorilla superglue to fix the sloped edges of the panels align.
Panel edges leveled now, this is the masking where I applied the epoxy, which will sit overnight. Tomorrow I'll pull the tape off, sand level and backfill any parts of the seam that might still need a bit to level. I'll use 5 minute epoxy for those areas.