Hyperdimensional wizardry, dogfooded on the bus

Want to become a hyperdimensional wizard? The port-side shelves below are the first build drawn this way. Be first to sign up for Jess's Fusion 360 workshop series, now with 50% more LaTeX markup.

Stick-framed shelving for the port (driver’s) side of the Great Falls Tool Bus: 2×4 frames on 2×6 posts, decked with ⅜″ plywood. Three bays step up from a low 31″ entry step to a 72″-tall run, with the right-hand bay raised over the wheel arch. 175½″ long, 32″ deep, 72″ tall over the floor.

Materials

Stock	Qty	Notes
2×4 × 8 ft	34	16 × 72″ rails, 52 × 29″ cross members, 2 × 31″ rails
2×6 × 8 ft	10	18 posts in 6 lengths
⅜″ plywood, 4×8	5	15 panels, all 32″ deep; 2 strips spare

Full cut list with per-board patterns, sheet layouts and a dimensioned drawing of every unique plywood panel: pdfs/cut_list.pdf, built from docs/cut_list.tex:

bazel build //bus_mods/jesssullivan/port_side_shelves/docs:cut_list
cp bazel-bin/bus_mods/jesssullivan/port_side_shelves/docs/cut_list.pdf bus_mods/jesssullivan/port_side_shelves/pdfs/

The stock plan is the exact cutting-stock optimum for 8-foot boards with ⅛″ kerf (docs/cutstock.py); the panel drawings are generated from the model (docs/ply_patterns.py over docs/ply_outlines.json, harvested via the Fusion MCP).

CAD

File	What
CAD/bus_hybrid_assy.f3d	Fusion archive of the whole design (bus body + shelves)
CAD/port_side_shelves.step	The shelving assembly only

The Fusion tree is organised for reuse: 21 part components (one per cut length / plywood shape) placed inside frame sub-assemblies, and identical frames are one component placed several times — Bay A’s z 31/46/78 frames are a single component ×3, Bay B’s z 31/46 frames a single component ×2. Edit a frame once and every level that uses it follows.

Port Side Shelves (Assembly)
├─ Posts (2x6)                        18 posts · 6 part types
├─ Bay A – Left        x −28..44      Frame A z19 · Frame A z31/z46/z78 ×3 · Frame A z66
├─ Bay B – Center low  x 44..116      Frame B z31/z46 ×2
├─ Bay C – Right high  x 75½..147½    Frame C z66 · Frame C z78
├─ Floor cleats z19                   3 × 2x4 x 29″
└─ Decks (3/8 ply)                    z 22½ · 34½ · 49½ · 69½ · 81½

Images

Build notes

• Cross members are 29″ = 32″ depth − two 1½″ rails. Rails are 72″ per bay; the low step is the only 31″ bay.
• Plywood is crosscut into three 32 × 48 strips per sheet; two kerfs leave the third strip at 31¾″ — use those for the 24″ panels and the 31″ step so the ten full shelves stay full depth.
• Plywood notches are drawn with dimensions in the cut list (every unique panel); still check against the installed posts before cutting.
• The 16 × 24″ 2×4 offcuts from the 72″ rails aren’t used by this design — nothing here is shorter than 29″.

Cheers, -Jess

The cut sheet

Four pages: the shopping list, every board’s cut pattern, the sheet layouts and a dimensioned drawing of each unique plywood panel.

Cut list (PDF, 34 KB)

Snapshot of bus_mods/jesssullivan/port_side_shelves in the cad repository at 63df5863f6cf; the sources and the LaTeX build live there.