Date:         Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:07:56 -0230
Reply-To:     Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Westy rear table mods: here's another one
In-Reply-To:  <4d1b79350907271021s2518beb8leb25ecb620f371ee@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252

Is this all a mod to enable you to open the clothes cabinet door?  Not clear
what you are actually doing here.

Later vans have a slightly smaller cabinet door, which opens above the
table, so this isn't an issue.  In older vans, cutting the door down a bit
might be an easier way to accomplish the same thing.  Saw off a small strip
of the bottom of the door, glue it into place so it still basically looks
the same except for a line where you cut it.  But then only the upper part
of the door would swing open.



Joy




On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 2:51 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:

> I just completed the all-of-five-minute modification that will allow
> me to raise the rear table straight up to access the two cabinets
> underneath without pulling the table out. It took a minute of
> whittling on the end of a 1" dowel and a dab of epoxy. Thanks to the
> original poster a week or so ago for that.
>
> While installing it, it came to me that if you could just make the end
> of the table flip up and over itself with a hinge, you could also open
> the cabinet door without pulling the table out, either in its raised
> or lowered position.
>
> While I haven't done this yet, I remembered some nice brass hinges I
> had lying around from my furniture making days. They are called card
> table hinges, and they go on the edges of the table (unlike "normal
> hinges that mount underneath) and allow the top to flop over itself
> 180 degrees. Here's a link
> <http://www.paxtonhardware.com/Card-Table-Hinges/departments/1022/>
>
> These are pretty pricey, but very well made. They are made by chance
> to pretty perfectly fit the thickness of the westy table material. It
> would probably help to screw an extension under the table surface a
> few inches out for the table to rest on when it is in the extended
> position—the hinges are certainly strong enough to bear the weight of
> use, but I doubt if the plywood material would put up with the torque
> that would be put on the screws on each side. A careful job with a
> sharp knife could cut away the exact amount and shape of the rubber
> t-molding to recess these beautifully.
>
> You would have to pull the table out about an inch to flop it over (to
> miss the curtains and the elastic cord in front of them), but then it
> could be pushed back to the wall/window.
>
> Has anybody ever tried it?
>
> Jim
>