Ray's Rowvan

[Franklin1]

G'day Ray,

Who would have thought a cheap second-hand shed could create an environment where such masterful work is achieved!

I know a bloke who spent $35,000 on a new shed, and he STILL can't get off his butt and get motivated.

I reckon you should explore the option of becoming a plastic surgeon. There'd be heaps of women who would be happy to have the curves you create.

Love your work, Ray.

cheers,
Al.

[Roehm3108]

Thanks for your kind words Al, I appreciate them. Don't know about the plastic surgeon bit though. A couple of days ago I was using the sander a bit close to the open front van window. Murphy came along and I knocked the window stay with the sander and the window crashed onto the body of the sander itself and smashed the ply in the process. So now I have to manufacture a new ply surround for it It had to be the biggest window too (almost 1500mm wide). I guess the upside is that the ply must have been pretty brittle to do that. If you look at the pic, you can see the dry glue. ;D ;D ;D

[Roehm3108]

Well the day of reckoning has finally come No more weather excuses, no more "gotta do this first" excuses. The day started fine (for Vic ;D) Paint colour decision made and paint bought, and all other prep work was done. Just one little job to do today - paint the calico onto the roof

Decided to do it a bit differently to the way Humpty2 did it, figuring that he didn't have a double cambered roof. So I opened up the roll of calico, spread it over the roof and rewound it from both ends to meet in the middle of the van, then lay half each way - just to be sure!!!

It worked a treat, all done and dusted singlehandedly by lunchtime ;D ;D ;D ;D What a relief!! Humpty, I think you said your van took 4 litres - spot on, mine did too, despite two coats of 3in1 primer having already gone on.

Here's the result:



After trimming and tacking:





Plan on about three topcoats on top of that yet. Why? To be sure, to be sure!! After all, it's only softboard under that calico.

[Roehm3108]

Been a bit distracted from the van lately, but I HAVE been working Neighbour's been bugging me a bit about our fence, so had to finally make time to build this:



Been doing a couple of minor things. Took the locks off the door (a mortice and night latch). Didn't like the night latch and after taking it off decided that the hole I would leave behind would be too hard to bog up



So decided to reskin the door on both sides and start afresh





Started sanding more window frames this arvo, but the outer ply to the frames didn't look too flash, so will be replacing the ply on them next.

Ray

[destrier]

Hi Ray,

What gorgeous van you have there and the work you are doing to repair her is fantastic to watch. Please keep posting the update photos I'm dying to see the end result.

Cheers,
Destrier.

[Roehm3108]

Having broken the facing ply on the front window earlier in the piece, I decided that I really should re-face the frames on all the other windows, as the old ply was a bit brittle and only 3 ply. Made new faces from 5 ply 6mm marine ply for the 3 remaining windows



Glued them all to the window frame itself after reinforcing the frames as well, and another chore done! I used 1930's Phillips head screws for the reinforcing work, but hid them so cobber wouldn't notice. By the way, if you have smallish holes to fill and you want a rock-hard finish, you really can't go past "knead-it". Have been using it for some years now with previous restos and thoroughly recommend it. Plus it's so easy to use - cut off the amount you want and knead it till the two sections are one colour and away you go.

[hilldweller]

Wow those window surrounds look fab, as does the roof The painted calico technique is amazing. Would be interesting to know if that was ever done here, on the rainier side of the ditch.

[cobber]

G'day Ray,

I'm pleased you mentioned the use of modern screws on your vintage caravan in the middle of your missive, so people wouldn't notice it...... some peoples ability to forgive can only be pushed so far you know

Otherwise.... you seem to be doing a great job on that old van...... can't wait to see what colours you paint it

Cobber.

[Roehm3108]

Hilldweller, most of the Australian double cambered caneite/calico roofs seem to have been built in South Australia, but the calico concept is also on much older English vans. I would think that their weather is similar to NZ (and Vic), so there could well be some imports hiding in some garages over your way.

Cobber, my hardware store man who would never lie, assured me that the phillips head screws I used were NOS originals dating back to the era of my Rowvan, perhaps even earlier While you're toe-tapping in Tathra, have a read of Mr Phillips' history of the screw he patented in the mid 30's.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_F._Phillips



Ray

[cobber]

G'day Ray,

Not at Tarthra mate.
No denying when Phillips heads were invented but...... show me a vintage caravan built before 1960 that was built by proud tradesmen who used anything but slot headed screws and....... we are into RESTORING vintage caravans, aren't WE .

Those other rubbish screws were used by machines to make mass produced stuff.

There..... now you've succeeded in drawing blood

Cobber.

[Roehm3108]

OK, OK, I know I haven't been working on the van as much as I should, but I have been a bit distracted of late. Not as if I haven't been doing anything, just nothing that's really "visible".

I did get back into the shed of misadventure today and decided to replace the shelves under the kitchen sink. Just happened to be looking at the condition of the framing (excellent!) when I spotted some scribble on a piece of timber supporting the sink itself. Got the torch out, thinking it would be some measuring calcs, but look what it was



Feel like Indianna Jones with that find. To be actually able to date a van is something we would all like to do. What a great Christmas Pressie ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Ray

[bobandjacqui]

Great find Ray, exciting to find evidence of the age of your van.

Cheers Bob and Jacqui

[Don Ricardo]

Hey Mr 3108 ,

That's a fantastic find! It's wonderfully exciting when these dates turn up.

The date is not only a Christmas present for you but for a lot of other Rowvan owners as well because it will help them to date their vans, ie as pre-May 1957 or post-May 1957 (based on the style and some of the features).

Of course you also have got yourself a new task...who was Hank Taub? Was he one of the Rowes' workers (and did the Rowes have workers or did they do all the work themselves)? Or was he the person for whom the van was built?

Just looking back at the photos of the van you were given by the seller at the start of this thread, and it occurred to me that the pic of the van with the cream FE/FC(?) ute may have been when the van was very new - maybe it's first voyage?

Don Ricardo

[Roehm3108]

Hi DR

From the C/W article in the DHL section, the Rowes employed 5 staff during their production time. I know that Hank Taub was not the person for whom the van was built, as I bought it from the estate of the original owner. So Mr Taub would have most likely been an employee. I don't suppose anyone knows if Mr Rowe is still alive? He was was when the CW article appeared in 2005.

But it HAS piqued my interest as to whether Mr Taub is still around. When I have nothing else to do I might do some further research.

I notice too that Trodler suggested in 2008 that there could possibly be some date markings under the sink, and he was right! Good on you Richard (Trodler).

Ray

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Roehm,

5 workers? In the article in the post heading up the Rowvan thread you say? Wonder who posted that? Oh, hang on - that'd be me...

And to answer your question: yes, both Mr and Mrs Rowe are both still with us. They attended - and I think may have spoken at - the launch of the CIASA book "still swinging the billy". It would be great to hear some of their story wouldn't it?

Don Ricardo

[hilldweller]

Wow what an exciting find! Is that the year you had expected?

[Roehm3108]

Hi HD
I had been told by the executors of the estate when I bought it, that it was a 1954 model, but they ARE 2nd generation people from the original owner. I reckon now that neilncheryl's Rowvan is closer to 1954.

Still won't complain, as the van is structurally in perfect condition, and it IS nice to know the REAL manufacture year.

Ray

[King Fisher]

Aug 13, 2012 14:41:53 GMT 10 griffin said:

Do you know anyone with a portable hand held scanner? ...

Earlier it was suggested to use a hand scanner to scan in the transfers on the wall. Have you thought about getting a flat bed scanner and removing the top and holding the glass of the scanner up against the wall. Should work. Also if you were really really keen to preserve these bird transfers you could cut them out (make a square hole in the wall around them) and then frame them, and then repair the hole in the wall. May not be the best solution but would preserve them intact. Generally your van is looking great, good to see you went with canvas for the roof again. Go canvas... I too have had to make wood windows for mine, your windows look great. I'm a bit jealous that you could just re-skin the door, mine basically exploded as I was removing the outer ply, all the nails strips had rusted inside the door frame and nothing was held together inside the door. So I now have to make a new one. Keep up the great job, looking forward to seeing the progress.

[Roehm3108]

Just cos I haven't posted doesn't mean I've been doing a Franklin ;D ;D ;D. All 12 and 240 electrics are renewed, gas pipes installed and cooking cubicle enclosed with gal sheet for fireproofing.

Wonder if anyone in the South Gippsland area can help me out

Am installing a splaskback around the kitchen sink and want to frame it with this aluminium moulding:





It is 30mm wide and has a slight lip at the back of one edge,, which is a bit hard to see. This edging was generally used around the edge of the early kitchen tables. Unfortunately I am about 500mm short to finish the last side. Anybody got some they can spare around my district?

Ray

Ps. Had a visit from a lovely couple of V/vanners from SA last week. They had recently bought a Rowvan, which they intend restoring and had come to check my progress. The irony is that they came from a little village called Walker's Flat!!! Yep, you guessed it, lived only a few hundred metres from my Rowvan and never knew it existed, despite them going to the house and buying fruit from the owner regularly. Our Sid was a clever guy at hiding things ;D ;D ;D

Ray

[Roehm3108]

Yay, managed to source the little bit of edging I needed yesterday. Splashback now installed with the aid of a sacrificial kitchen table that came with the cottage I bought here. The lamininex may even pre-date the caravan!



The $15 gas stove installed, with metal sheeting surrounds for safety. Have to do something about the hold-down brackets, will probably remove/reinstal the reinforcing timber underneath, so that they look more balanced.

[Roehm3108]

Rowvans seem to have a dearth of storage space, so I decided to sacrifice half the hanging wardrobe and convert it to shelving:



I now have about 1800mm x 440mm of extra shelving!! Much more useful.

Also installed the hatch. But got stuck on attaching the stay arm, which looks like this:





Checked all my past pics and couldn't find one that showed how it was fitted!!! If anyone has a similar stay on their hatch, could you check for me and let me know if the long section attaches to the frame of the van or the short section. Much appreciated ;D ;D

[cobber]

G'day Ray,

Best I can do on short notice... Photo taken with iPad loaded into photobucket no worries ..and here it is, Driftwoods hatch.
The chrome handle (same as those on the cupboard doors) is an original modification and not a bad idea.



OK so it looks a bit rough, but you get the idea

Cobber.

[Roehm3108]

Thank you kind Sir! Of course I put a dirty big bolt where the fitting should be!!!! Murphy at it again!!! BTW that handle is a GOOD idea ;D ;D Original modification? That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one

Ray

[urkel1965]

Hi Ray,
Not sure if this will work, as this is the first time I have tried new-look photobucket.

Steve

[urkel1965]

Photo's didn't work properly as I thought....don't know how to fix. Them's the breaks.
Steve