A Portable Pop-Up Ice-Fishing Shack
(Page 2 of 3)
January/February 1986
By the Mother Earth News editors
We won't try to explain every facet of construction, since the illustrations are quite thorough in that regard. But there are a few areas in which you'd likely appreciate additional help, and we'll take these one at a time.
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To start, it's simplest to build the base first, complete with angle iron runners (miter their ends), hatch covers and stops, and end boards with handles. Be true to the dimensions on the end boards, since the geometry of the folding walls depends upon them. Don't install the two sideboards yet, because they have to cover the tarp layers, which are added later.
Next, assemble the window-and-door wall according to our plan. Again, pay attention to the dimensions given, and be especially careful around the door opening, since there must be a good seal at that point. For a really top-notch job, use carpenter's glue as well as 3/4" brick siding nails to secure the furring strips to the 1/4" plywood sheathing. The acrylic window is merely joined to the edges of its opening with silicone sealant, and the sliding plywood shade fits behind two narrow plywood tracks mounted to the cross braces. Finally, be sure to allow a 3/4" clearance above the roof rail hangers and the stops attached to them . . . and don't forget the stops, because they'll help keep the wall off the poly in transport.
The stove wall is assembled in much the same manner as its opposite, but its construction is even more critical because it must fit snugly beneath its mate. Pay close attention to the position and length of the dowel stops, which keep the weight of the wall off the stove when the shelter is folded. To assure a safe and proper installation, don't cut the openings in the sheathing for the stove inlet and flue until you've read the stove construction article carefully and your heater is assembled. Too, note that the openings in the pie plates are just slightly larger than the rectangular downspout elbows . . . and that the bottom of the inside plate faces inward, while the inside of the outside, or inlet, plate faces outward. For safety's sake, mount the two-layer reflective aluminum shield behind the stove housing, as described on page 108, and fabricate the folding heat shield as shown. Even though you'll be in the shelter when the heater's running, and thus able to keep an eye on it, these extra precautions provide a necessary margin of safety.
With both walls completed, you can concentrate on mounting them to their respective end boards using the larger surface hinges. Once that's done, assemble the arm rails and roof rails as illustrated, paying particular attention to the placement of the joist stops and the angle iron brackets. Don't fasten the arm rail supports or the wall brackets until you've trial-fitted the rail sets to see where the steel struts and the arm rail shoulders will fall. Then drill the holes and install the bolts that hold the metal parts together. (The wall bracket bolts are fixed in place with locking nuts tightened against their shoulders.) The two roof joists should have a symmetrical pitch cut into their upper surfaces, and 1" X 2" notches included in their lower corners.
