marking and moving

This weekend I marked all the 4 x 4's and moved them over to crew mate Laurie Geissinger's property where she's been kind enough to host the full build out of the project. The last image of this post is Laurie clearing one of her meadows with "Lucky" to make a space for the project. The marks indicate the where the pieces will rest on one another and are critical in maintaining the alignment of the pattern as the installation grows larger.

If all goes as planned, we'll build two weekends from now on July 12.

a few more schemes

Here are a few more schemes I assembled this Saturday. The first images are of Leonardo's bridge design. This one is not very stable. The large hex/small triangle scheme was a little difficult to assemble due to the way the 4 x 4's lay on one another at the small triangle intersection. The last one is the rectangle scheme I built previously using the 12' long 4 x 4's. This one appears to be much stronger with a lot less bowing. I'm really looking forward to the full build of these ideas!

weekend progress

may update

Wood: 120 - 10 foot long 4 x 4's arrived in my driveway a couple of weeks ago fresh from the lumber mill - green and heavy! They are now neatly stacked with spacers between allowing plenty of air circulation for drying. They should be ready for building by the end of June.

Meanwhile, I've trimmed the 34 reclaimed pieces down to 10' and re-marked them at their stacking points. I'll use these to study various patterns while waiting for the rest of the lumber to dry.

Bells: Rikk has begun the bell fabrication and has decided on a 5 bell configuration around a central "donger" that will be made from a found steel something-or-other. Pictures to follow!

Rikk will be flying up from the Bay Area this weekend for a little brain-storming and strategy session with myself and Matt Wilson (Vashon) who will be helping me out on the wood side of the project.

full scale

I did a full scale test on Sunday using some 12' long 4 X 4's that were salvaged from industrial size pallets. I learned a few things:

• One person can assemble this thing but two people make it really easy
• The gravity only connections work wonderfully
  
• The full project will not fit in my yard . . .
  
• 12' long 4 X 4's are too long!

The last image shows the amount of bending in many of the sections - 12' is just too long - fortunately I was able to change my lumber order to 10' pieces - which will be arriving this Thursday.

More full scale experiments this weekend.

a discovery

I made an interesting discovery last night as I was building another pattern - this one based on a rectangle. The previous patterns were generated using either a triangle or a hexagon at their center resulting in a symmetrical and equal expansion as they grew. Being four sided, the rectangle can expand symmetrically as well as bilaterally creating a long linear form. More experimentation is required!

Other news -

I've acquired a few 4 x 4's and will start building some full scale mock ups in the next week or so.

I got a call from a guy at the Discovery Channel who works on a show called Daily Planet that is interested in documenting the project for inclusion in a series of "science meets art" stories premiering this fall. Fun!

Bells, bells, bells

http://www.imakebells.com

I found a great local craftsman that makes bells out of recycled gas tanks! I plan to contact him and see if he can help me make our bells for Burning Man 08. Stay tuned....