: I saw a similar trailer several tears ago. It was built from
: cherry. The strips were screwed to internal frames using very
: carefully aligned brass screws. The screw heads were left
: slightly above the wood surface . After assembly a belt sander
: removed most of the screw head,eliminating any trace of the slot
: in it. What remained looked like rows of gold dots. No
: fiberglass needed as the internal frames supplied the strength.
: A few coats of high gloss varnish gave some depth to the dark
: wood and made the metal dots 'pop'.

: May I suggest that thicker strips--5/16 or 3/8-- may be appropriate
: for this. I wouldn't bead and cove them.

: If you go with 5/16 you can resaw 1x4 or 1x3 boards to get 'strips'
: which are 2-1/2 or 3-1/2 inches wide. Fewer joints, faster
: assembly, and you can see the grain pattern (meek as it might
: be) on the boards when you buy them.

: Do you have the frame and running gear for the trailer yet?

: PGJ

Paul,
That does sound like a "cool idea" Thanks for the thickness suggestions, However my build is an Ultralight that I hope is between 500-600# total trailer weight. My walls will be sandwich construction with 1/8" stpips on the outside (glassed both sides) a foam core with some wood, and 1/8" Russian Birch ply on the inside.
My frame is welded, but I haven't bought my axle yet. It will be a Dexter 8 Torsion axle.

Here's a link to my build journal:

http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35852&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Larry C.