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Step 2Building the saucer section
With the long glassfiber or carbon rods make a circle by taping them together with an overlap of about 10cm. I made it as large as the available foil material allowed, resulting in a diameter of about 1 meter.
From the foil material I made a square slightly over 1m x 1m by taping two pieces together. For the second square I did not tape the two pieces together yet, but reinforced the edges to be joined later with some tape.
Spreading the first square, with the inside upwards, on a table, I fixed in place with some tape at the corners. I marked a circle a couple of cm larger than the one made from the long rods. I cut out this circle and taped the edge loosely around the rod. It should be loose to allow the saucer construction to form its shape later on. The exact fit is made by trimming the rod's circle diameter after full assembly.
Now the second square (the one made out of two parts remaining separate) was spread out and taped to the table, again with the inside on top. The circle already prepared is put over it, with the outside on top. Again the foil is marked a couple of cm outside the circle and cut. This “hem” is folded over the edge an taped on the first foil circle.
Now we have a kind of envelope in witch we put the fully inflated 36 or 38” round balloon, through the slit in one of the sides. The slit is closed with a couple of pieces of tape. Leave a part open near the valve of the inner balloon.
Now look up one of the overlap connections of the rods. Cut out some of the foil on the edge and remove the tape keeping the rods together. Adjust the tension to give the assembly the right shape and attach the rods back together. The right diameter is when the circle is large enough to give a taut shape, but the tension is not to high, avoiding a warped edge. I found it easiest to keep the rod ends together with some thin metal wire wrapped around, allowing for some slip. Then, by sliding the ends to the desired diameter, a couple of drops of superglue was added to fix them to each other.
From the foil material I made a square slightly over 1m x 1m by taping two pieces together. For the second square I did not tape the two pieces together yet, but reinforced the edges to be joined later with some tape.
Spreading the first square, with the inside upwards, on a table, I fixed in place with some tape at the corners. I marked a circle a couple of cm larger than the one made from the long rods. I cut out this circle and taped the edge loosely around the rod. It should be loose to allow the saucer construction to form its shape later on. The exact fit is made by trimming the rod's circle diameter after full assembly.
Now the second square (the one made out of two parts remaining separate) was spread out and taped to the table, again with the inside on top. The circle already prepared is put over it, with the outside on top. Again the foil is marked a couple of cm outside the circle and cut. This “hem” is folded over the edge an taped on the first foil circle.
Now we have a kind of envelope in witch we put the fully inflated 36 or 38” round balloon, through the slit in one of the sides. The slit is closed with a couple of pieces of tape. Leave a part open near the valve of the inner balloon.
Now look up one of the overlap connections of the rods. Cut out some of the foil on the edge and remove the tape keeping the rods together. Adjust the tension to give the assembly the right shape and attach the rods back together. The right diameter is when the circle is large enough to give a taut shape, but the tension is not to high, avoiding a warped edge. I found it easiest to keep the rod ends together with some thin metal wire wrapped around, allowing for some slip. Then, by sliding the ends to the desired diameter, a couple of drops of superglue was added to fix them to each other.
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