About The Project
This project encompassed all the woodwork in the conversion of a brand new Mercedes Benz Sprinter van into a camper.
The van has five sets of cabinets: a three sliding door over the bed wardrobe, kitchen and utility cabinets, pivot out dining table behind drive and passenger seats and a drop down outdoor stove table. The ceiling and walls are paneled with 1/4” thick plywood. Because of the curves of the van’s body, multiple full-size mockups were made from scrap hardboard. This allowed for defining and tweaking the curves before cutting the real parts.
A visual highlight of the van is the curly figured quarter sliced ash veneer that was used on the wall, ceiling and door panels, and all the cabinetry. Quarter slicing is the process of slicing the boards with the cut perpendicular to the annual rings. This results in veneer faces with a tight, uniform and parallel grain pattern. Because the veneer pieces were sequentially sliced from the same log, a consistent grain pattern repeats across the surfaces.
The curly figure in the ash is particularly stunning. The figure is a fluke of nature, not a particular species of tree. For unknown reasons the woodgrain grows in waves and curls instead of straight, analogous to curly versus straight hair in people. The shimmer occurs because the grain cells grow at varying angles to each other, thus causing the light rays to reflect at varying angles. In the right circumstances this can lead to an iridescent 3D effect.
As none of my typical furniture pieces move down highways and bumpy camp roads, there were particular engineering challenges in ensuring that the end product was robust and sturdy enough to handle tens of thousands of miles on the road.
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