Any suggestions on how to line up new 4X8 plywood on bed of small (4X8) trailer so that new holes do not need be drilled in frame. I want to use original holes. Original fasteners are 1.5 inch selftapping sheet metal screws. If needed I'll use next larger diameter screws.

On 6/28/14, 5:40 AM, Frank Thompson wrote:
Any suggestions on how to line up new 4X8 plywood on bed of small
(4X8) trailer so that new holes do not need be drilled in frame. I
want to use original holes. Original fasteners are 1.5 inch
selftapping sheet metal screws. If needed I'll use next larger
diameter screws.


Any chance of using spray paint from the underside of the trailer
to mark the spots?

On Saturday, June 28, 2014 5:40:05 AM UTC-5, Frank Thompson wrote:
Any suggestions on how to line up new 4X8 plywood on bed of small (4X8) trailer so that new holes do not need be drilled in frame. I want to use original holes. Original fasteners are 1.5 inch selftapping sheet metal screws.. If needed I'll use next larger diameter screws.

Use the original plywood as a template and pre-drill holes...

Frank Thompson wrote:
Any suggestions on how to line up new 4X8 plywood on bed of small (4X8)
trailer so that new holes do not need
be drilled in frame. I want to use original holes. Original fasteners are
1.5 inch selftapping sheet metal screws.
If needed I'll use next larger diameter screws.


Put the trailer on jack stands/blocks, get underneath and mark the hole
locations from below.

Consider enlarging the holes in the trailer and using carriage bolts and
nylon locking nuts. That's probably easier than trying to exactly line up
numerous small holes for sheet metal screws.

Frank Thompson wrote:

Any suggestions on how to line up new 4X8 plywood on bed of small (4X8)
trailer so that new holes do not need be drilled in frame. I want to use
original holes. Original fasteners are 1.5 inch selftapping sheet metal
screws. If needed I'll use next larger diameter screws.

This will sound weird but... Buy a tube of cheap lipstick and put a dab on
each hole. Carefully put the new panel in place. I'd put on a couple of
clamps so it won't shift. Then work your way around the perimeter tapping
with a soft hammer to make sure you get a transfer. Unless someone just
eyeballed it with the original, the hole probably are more or less on
centers.

The stuff is pretty handy for inletting stocks too.

Hi Frank,

Any suggestions on how to line up new 4X8 plywood on bed of small
(4X8) trailer so that new holes do not need be drilled in frame. I
want to use original holes. Original fasteners are 1.5 inch
selftapping sheet metal screws. If needed I'll use next larger
diameter screws.

I rebuilt my small utility trailer a few years ago. I used pressure treated
plywood to help avoid rot. I also used carriage bolts instead of screws.

I clamped the plywood sheet down where I wanted it, then drilled up through
the existing holes into the plywood from below. You might need to use a
long drill bit to get the angle you need.

Good luck!

Anthony Watson
www.mountainsoftware.com
www.watsondiy.com

On Sat, 28 Jun 2014 05:55:47 -0500, Dean Hoffman
" wrote:

On 6/28/14, 5:40 AM, Frank Thompson wrote:
Any suggestions on how to line up new 4X8 plywood on bed of small
(4X8) trailer so that new holes do not need be drilled in frame. I
want to use original holes. Original fasteners are 1.5 inch
selftapping sheet metal screws. If needed I'll use next larger
diameter screws.


Any chance of using spray paint from the underside of the trailer
to mark the spots?
Much simpler to just drill the holes from below, if the frame is
accessible.

Sidestep the problem entirely by not using screws.

Use a black plastic roofing cement or a latex caulk as a glue to glue the new plywood in. Have a helper apply caulk to the trailer frame while you apply caulk to the plywood and then drop the plywood into the trailer frame. Clamp the plywood down to the trailer frame for a few days while the caulk sets up.

When the time comes to replace that trailer bed, just cut most of the plywood out with a circular saw or jig saw and then use a pry bar to separate the remaining plywood from the steel. Then use a paint scraper to remove most of the old caulk from the steel. (Follow up by cleaning the remaining acrylic caulk off with MEK or toluene or lacquer thinner or acetone if desired. Remove the old plastic roofing cement with mineral spirits.) Otherwise, you can just caulk in another new plywood trailer bed exactly the same way over the existing caulk.

nestork wrote:
Sidestep the problem entirely by not using screws.

Use a black plastic roofing cement or a latex caulk as a glue to glue
the new plywood in. Have a helper apply caulk to the trailer frame
while you apply caulk to the plywood and then drop the plywood into the
trailer frame. Clamp the plywood down to the trailer frame for a few
days while the caulk sets up.

When the time comes to replace that trailer bed, just cut most of the
plywood out with a circular saw or jig saw and then use a pry bar to
separate the remaining plywood from the steel. Then use a paint scraper
to remove most of the old caulk from the steel. (Follow up by cleaning
the remaining acrylic caulk off with MEK or toluene or lacquer thinner
or acetone if desired. Remove the old plastic roofing cement with
mineral spirits.) Otherwise, you can just caulk in another new plywood
trailer bed exactly the same way over the existing caulk.


Sidestep the "problem" now and make it all the more difficult to do again
in the future.

How hard is it to drill a bunch of holes in plywood for carriage bolts?
Been there, done that. Trailer came out quite nice. Both times.

On Sunday, June 29, 2014 10:48:39 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
...... How hard is it to drill a bunch of holes in plywood for carriage bolts?

Problem is access to be able to drill vertical (90 degree) hole. The metal frame
members are square with only one side (in side) open. I could drill new hole in bottom from below & aim bit through top hole, but that goes against my purpose of not drilling more holes in frame.

On Mon, 30 Jun 2014 02:44:26 -0700 (PDT), Frank Thompson
wrote:

On Sunday, June 29, 2014 10:48:39 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
..... How hard is it to drill a bunch of holes in plywood for carriage bolts?

Problem is access to be able to drill vertical (90 degree) hole. The metal frame
members are square with only one side (in side) open. I could drill new hole in bottom from below & aim bit through top hole, but that goes against my purpose of not drilling more holes in frame.
Use a short soft-lead pencil to mark all the holes????

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 30 Jun 2014 02:44:26 -0700 (PDT), Frank Thompson
wrote:

On Sunday, June 29, 2014 10:48:39 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
..... How hard is it to drill a bunch of holes in plywood for carriage
bolts?

Problem is access to be able to drill vertical (90 degree) hole. The
metal frame
members are square with only one side (in side) open. I could drill new
hole in bottom from below & aim bit through top hole, but that goes
against my purpose of not drilling more holes in frame.
Use a short soft-lead pencil to mark all the holes????

or spray paint.

Frank Thompson wrote:
On Sunday, June 29, 2014 10:48:39 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
..... How hard is it to drill a bunch of holes in plywood for carriage bolts?

Problem is access to be able to drill vertical (90 degree) hole. The metal frame
members are square with only one side (in side) open. I could drill new
hole in bottom from below & aim
bit through top hole, but that goes against my purpose of not drilling
more holes in frame

I think I understand, but let me explain further in case I don't. I'm
basing my suggestion on how I attached the deck to the 4x8 folding trailer
that I had many years ago. (After 6 years of use, I sold it for the same
price I paid for the trailer plus the wood for the deck and removable
sides. The solid sides were made from 1x6 material, each plank bull-nosed
with a router to give them some character. I got lots of complements. 6
years of use and I got all of my money back.)

Fast forward to about 3:25 of this video and look at the hex head bolts
that guy used. I basically did the same thing, but I use carriage bolts,
drawn down into the plywood, for a smoother deck. No tripping hazard and
items slid right over the slightly recessed heads. The only issue would be
if your frame members aren't laid out like the ones in the video. Mine
were.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KW8iAEXz8U

I don't know how many holes you currently have, but I'm assuming you won't
have to drill _more_ holes, just enlarge the existing ones from the top,
then lay your plywood on top and mark the holes from below. Drill the
marked holes, put the deck back on, insert the carriage bolts and tighten
up the nuts through the side opening of the frame members.

Would that work?

On Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:10:19 -0700, "Pico Rico"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 30 Jun 2014 02:44:26 -0700 (PDT), Frank Thompson
wrote:

On Sunday, June 29, 2014 10:48:39 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
..... How hard is it to drill a bunch of holes in plywood for carriage
bolts?

Problem is access to be able to drill vertical (90 degree) hole. The
metal frame
members are square with only one side (in side) open. I could drill new
hole in bottom from below & aim bit through top hole, but that goes
against my purpose of not drilling more holes in frame.
Use a short soft-lead pencil to mark all the holes????

or spray paint.

Obvious Pico has not tried his solution. Getting paint into and
through a 1/8" nominal hole , at an angle, to accurately lay out holes
on plywood is not a trivial matter.. Hard enough when you can spray
straight on.
My personal experience is it is easier to mark the wood with a nail
through the hole. Draw pencil lines along the edge of the steel
channels as a reference so you don't have to search the whole sheet of
plywood, and put "tic" marks on the lines close to where the screw
holes will be to help locate where the nail mark will be.

But pencil lead leaves a better mark than the nail if the pencil is
sharp enough, the hole big enough, and the metal thin enough to allow
the pencil to penetrate far enough to mark the wood.

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:10:19 -0700, "Pico Rico"
wrote:


wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 30 Jun 2014 02:44:26 -0700 (PDT), Frank Thompson
wrote:

On Sunday, June 29, 2014 10:48:39 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
..... How hard is it to drill a bunch of holes in plywood for carriage
bolts?

Problem is access to be able to drill vertical (90 degree) hole. The
metal frame
members are square with only one side (in side) open. I could drill new
hole in bottom from below & aim bit through top hole, but that goes
against my purpose of not drilling more holes in frame.
Use a short soft-lead pencil to mark all the holes????

or spray paint.

Obvious Pico has not tried his solution. Getting paint into and
through a 1/8" nominal hole , at an angle, to accurately lay out holes
on plywood is not a trivial matter.. Hard enough when you can spray
straight on.

I guess I am just better at it than you are.

Well, I figure that you can always remove plastic roofing cement or acrylic caulk. But, you can never remove the holes drilled through the trailer frame.

nestork wrote:
DerbyDad03;3254194 Wrote:

Sidestep the "problem" now and make it all the more difficult to do
again
in the future.

Well, I figure that you can always remove plastic roofing cement or
acrylic caulk. But, you can never remove the holes drilled through the
trailer frame.


Why would I want to? There are already holes in the trailer from the
original screws. I'm suggesting enlarging the holes, marking the plywood
through the holes and then using carriage bolts.

I think that is better than trying to use the holes apparently formed by
the self taping screws. Hitting those threads with new screws sounds more
risky than using bolts. The bolts will allow for multiple deck replacements
with relatively little effort.

On Tuesday, July 1, 2014 7:52:47 AM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
nestork wrote:

DerbyDad03;3254194 Wrote:



Sidestep the "problem" now and make it all the more difficult to do

again

in the future.



Well, I figure that you can always remove plastic roofing cement or

acrylic caulk. But, you can never remove the holes drilled through the

trailer frame.





Why would I want to? There are already holes in the trailer from the

original screws. I'm suggesting enlarging the holes, marking the plywood

through the holes and then using carriage bolts.



I think that is better than trying to use the holes apparently formed by

the self taping screws. Hitting those threads with new screws sounds more

risky than using bolts. The bolts will allow for multiple deck replacements

with relatively little effort.

carriage bolts are definetely the better way...

wonder if these a material like decking that wouldnt detoriate over time?

bob haller wrote:

wonder if these a material like decking that wouldnt detoriate over time?

Coat the plywood with a good, two part polyamide (non water based) epoxy paint
in a color of your choice before installing (both sides). I'm partial to
Benjamin Moore, but there are other brands of similar quality.

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/f...advs= 0&tab=3

On Tue, 1 Jul 2014 10:46:56 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

On Tuesday, July 1, 2014 7:52:47 AM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
nestork wrote:

DerbyDad03;3254194 Wrote:



Sidestep the "problem" now and make it all the more difficult to do

again

in the future.



Well, I figure that you can always remove plastic roofing cement or

acrylic caulk. But, you can never remove the holes drilled through the

trailer frame.





Why would I want to? There are already holes in the trailer from the

original screws. I'm suggesting enlarging the holes, marking the plywood

through the holes and then using carriage bolts.



I think that is better than trying to use the holes apparently formed by

the self taping screws. Hitting those threads with new screws sounds more

risky than using bolts. The bolts will allow for multiple deck replacements

with relatively little effort.

carriage bolts are definetely the better way...

wonder if these a material like decking that wouldnt detoriate over time?
HWWPE - but it is pricy and heavy. Or a sheet of 6061T6 checkerplate.
(fastened with urethane windshield mounting adhesive to prevent
electrolitic corrosion)

I was thinking more like the plastic cutting boards are made of but have no idea of a source for large pieces..

Diamond plate would be nice but heavy

On Tue, 1 Jul 2014 19:45:38 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

I was thinking more like the plastic cutting boards are made of but have no idea of a source for large pieces..

Diamond plate would be nice but heavy
Not nearly as heavy as the high density poly. Die cutting shops use
it a LOT. ANd it is a lot more expensive than diamond plate.