A sleeping pod with a knife connnection

Got this lot finished and sharpened this morning so that willl be about it till I get the kitchen set done.
From left to right is a skinner with kwila over jarrah, boner with rimu over jarrah, safari knife with rimu over brass, general hunter with myrtle, general hunter with maple over jarrah, safari knife with jarrah over zebrawood and a pig sticker with bluegum.
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maple over Jarrah!!! WOW!! Close up if you have time...I know you're swamped right now...

Is jarrah like purpleheart?
 
The Jarrah is an Australian hardwood that was often used here in NZ for fence posts etc which is where the piece I have came from. When I was in Au and worked for a time cutting railway sleepers in the bush it was one of the timbers we would cut. It has a redish brown colour but not the purplish colour of the purple heart. I had some purple heart but gave it away as it just dosent look right to my eyes. Used it for window frame sils when I was making replacment windows for colonial home refurbishment
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The 12C27 stainless arrived this morning so I cut out the kitchen set and with the tag end of a piece of 1095 I cut out what will be a stick tang Sgian Dhu which will be another first for that design.
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The Jarrah is an Australian hardwood that was often used here in NZ for fence posts etc which is where the piece I have came from. When I was in Au and worked for a time cutting railway sleepers in the bush it was one of the timbers we would cut. It has a redish brown colour but not the purplish colour of the purple heart. I had some purple heart but gave it away as it just dosent look right to my eyes. Used it for window frame sils when I was making replacment windows for colonial home refurbishment
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simply beautiful...yes the color of the Jarrah is a match for that maple!
 
Have got the sleeping pod all sorted now. A couple of coats of new paint to tidy it over so today I thought to get the roof sorted.
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I layed soft felt packing blankets (the trucking companies use them to protect goods in transit) and then stretched the tarpaulin over that. Had to do a couple of folds on the front corner to get round the curve but heavy grade foundation tape will keep it all in the desired position. Will run a 1 1/2 x 5/16 batton olong the side to ensure the bottom edge is held down firmly. I used all that I had on hand so will get another couple of lengths next time in the city.. At the moment it is just held with staples. Ran a light batton over the rear and at the front to give the tarp a full perimeter hold down.
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Back to the knives tomorrow as I have a JT Ranger and a Sgian Dubh to finish after heat treating today.
 
Vonn Gruff - you're a man after my own heart when it comes to traveling "on the cheap". I like your sleeping pod. We had a van for our daily vehicle the wife drove, I always had a motorcycle. After the kids came along the van was used for travel and we'd sleep in it.

Excellent job on the knives - they look well thought out, and well made.

Ken H>
 
Vonn Gruff - you're a man after my own heart when it comes to traveling "on the cheap". I like your sleeping pod. We had a van for our daily vehicle the wife drove, I always had a motorcycle. After the kids came along the van was used for travel and we'd sleep in it.

Excellent job on the knives - they look well thought out, and well made.

Ken H>

Thanks Ken. I am a firm believer in making what I can and saving the few dollars I have for the things I cant make and I see no point in spending money on motels etc when this wil do very well for the couple of weeks we will be away.
This was the van and motorcycle I built some years back. The van was extended by 4 ft and I traveled the country in it for a few months at one stage with a 1967 BSA Thunderbolt that I had restored in the back. This bike I built round a '67 BSA Lightening motor and made all the bits needed to put it together apart from the wheels, mirror and electrics.
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Now that was a project - you not only extended the box, but all the frame, driveshaft, chassis. Big job and it looks good.

On the bike - good job, raked frame with springer. The rake isn't so bad it's still very ridable. But darn, that's a hardtail frame and isn't the seat mounted solid? Take a real man to ride that! Back in 1967 I built an old harley with extended forks and rigid frame. First seat was a King 'n Queen still mounted solid to frame. That didn't last long before I put a suspension under the seat to have about 3" travel and really tamed the ride a bit. The wife (nor me) could handle that solid mounted seat on rigid frame. Looks good, but not so good for long trips..... and a 5 mile trip can seem like a long ride {g}

Ken H>
 
The truck extension was not that complicated as I just had the back cut off mine and added another that was cut of behind the cab. Added a 350 chevi and a 9 inch diff. The drive shaft was a jag and landcruiser combination that allowed for a good turn of speed.
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Yes I made a solid mounted seat but it had an inch of high density padding under the eather and was really quite comfortable to ride and with the big tank I made I could ride for two hours without having to stop and did do so on many occasions. I ran it in a llocal quarter mile event one year and even with the suicide shifter there were a couple of good runs
 
suicide shifter

You had a foot clutch and hand shifter on that Beezer? My first Harley was a 1955 with hand shift and foot clutch. Got that bike when I was still 15 yr old, had a few months to go before turning 16.
 
You had a foot clutch and hand shifter on that Beezer? My first Harley was a 1955 with hand shift and foot clutch. Got that bike when I was still 15 yr old, had a few months to go before turning 16.
Yes foot clutch and hand shifter. I transfered the gear shofter through a couple of llinkages from a right foot change through to a left hand change and used a small austin (car) brake lever for the shifter. The side stand I made from a little fordson untility axel shaft. The seat back brace is only there because I was doing a little bit of trial work for the 1/4 mile and found it easier than holding myself in position by the handlebars. During ordinary everyday riding it wasn't needed.
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Here in the U.S we call bikes similar to that "RAT BIKES" and that by no means is a condescending term here.
some folks go to a lot of effort to build rat bikes here, some love them, some don't, personally I love them.
Where I live you see shiny Harleys all day, all year long. A rat bike will get you attention at a red light. Rat trucks are bad ass too. :cool:
 
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