Final stages the main component!

Finally getting into the fun stuff! I will have the main cooler component completed this week. The picture above is after I attached the steel sink to the upper rim. I will flush trim this solid mahogany wood to the lower octagon flag.

It all starts with raw mahogany lumber. I use 1 inch thick premium mahogany.

Then take the raw mahogany and dimensionalize it before glue up.

In this pic I am glueing the boards to make one large wide board that will be used for the top and bottom rims that will be attached to the octagon center component.

Here is a picture of the one of the boards that will be used.

Here I am putting the CNC to work to cut out the octagon center.

And a closer look at the octagon cut out.

Once the octagon top rim is completed, I screwed the metal sink to it as I prepare to attach it to the outer octagon flag.

Here is a top view of and how it will look as it interfaces with the inner cooler.

Here is the top view after glueing the top rim to the base octagon flag. Once I insulate the inside and glue the bottom mahogany bottom rim, I will flush trim both the top and bottom rims.

In this picture, I have flipped over the cooler and am prepping the inside for closed cell insulation.

Note the square wood sections around the inside. These are epoxied to the outer walls to provide strong support to the inner steel liner. This will handle all of the weight of ice and drink and will make this extremely strong. Also note the pvc ring in the middle. I added this to keep the insulation away from the drain section. This way throughout the years, Melissa will always be able to modify or switch it out.

Here is the closed cell insulation I am using. Closed cell is the only way to go. It's more expensive but will provide a higher insulation per inch value (5.99 R Value per inch) which is the same technology quality cooler companies like Yeti use. This cooler will have more insulation on the bottom and walls than a Yeti cooler; however, it will not seal tight like their designs. All in all, this will be very well insulated!

In this picture, you will see that I emptied the entire can on the inside and quickly realized that I will need much more than the one 20 sq feet can that I purchased.

To my surprise, after the insulation cured, it expanded much more than I expected. I still need one to two more cans of insulation and that arrives in 3 days.

What did this cost?

The mahogany lumber came in at $158 and I ended up purchasing only enough for the upper and lower rims. I will need to purchase more for the top lid.

The insulation came in at $69.44 but I had to purchase another $129 to account for the extra insulation needed to finish; however, I expect to only need $50 of that to complete it.

Totaling - $277.44

What is the next stage?

I will complete the insulation and then attach the bottom rim and then flush trim the top and bottom rims.

Have any questions? Ask away!

Mark Petrilla, Gorilla Bark Studio's

Paying tribute to those who keep us safe.