To
scratch a creative itch, I decided to experiment on the ceiling. Spaced
wood slats look absolutely gorgeous in many van builds. But ideas based
on inlaid LED strips kept nagging at me...
The idea was to trace a carved drawing with the ceiling lights. Fast forward a month and here is the result:
The shape was based off of a 55" map of the USA
The high density LED strips (16' / 5m 12V 3A 600 LEDs) perfectly imitate neon strips. They required routing a 7/32" large, ~3/8" deep, channel in the ceiling panel. After cutting each strip to the length needed, pushing them gently into their channel was enough to hold them in place.
The ceiling panel will be held with screws biting into the following wood arches. Those were bolted onto the ceiling ribs after inserting M6 rivet nuts. Each arch was cut 1" larger than the ribs for the screws to clear the ribs:
Now that the shape of the ceiling was set, its curvature could be scribed and a mold was created out of 2x8s. The pic shows both the mold and the 1st layer of plywood tacked down:
3 layers of 5mm flexible plywood (similar to lauan panels) were then glued up and stacked:
and firmly pressed together thanks to the counter mold:
This was followed by a layer of formica and, once cured, routing the channels and installing the LED strips.
Things were actually a bit more convoluted... A first attempt failed. The panel's edges and the sections between the ribs exhibited too much waviness and delamination. The number of mold ribs had to be doubled, and end blocks were
added to each rib section, as can be seen 3 pics above. That finally
resulted into somewhat straight stack & edges. There is a reason pro builders use no-rib molds and massive presses. Live and learn !
But that's sweat under the bridge... So, finally, witness the glorious result:
The panel is held with screws + finishing washers screwed into the wood slats along the ceiling ribs, and its edges rest on the top of the wall panels.
To avoid squeaks on uneven roads a ~1/8" gap was left between the edges and the metal walls, and weatherstrips were installed on top of the wall panels.
Can't stop flicking the LED strips on and off. Mesmerizing. The Sistine Chapel finally has some competition 😂
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