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A traditional wood-and-ribbon children's toy. Good for elementary school-age kids to do with parental assistance. Though you can find store-bought versions of these lots of places, this instructables.com submission was inspired by a visit to Foxfire in Black Rock Mountain, Georgia. These instructions are really far more detailed than many people might need for such a simple thing, but if you are like me, detailed instructions save a dozen missteps, so here they are.
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Signing UpStep 1Gather materials & tools
General Remarks:
First you have to choose what dimensions you would like for your Jacob's Ladder. There is a great deal of flexibility here: you can make a wide and very long Jacob's Ladder, or a thin and/or short one. The size and length of the board and ribbon needed vary accordingly. However, for a project that, say, a 9-year-old can do with a parent, the following specifications may offer the best combination of workability and aesthetic appeal. A thinner board (say, 'lattice board') than what we have used is possible but makes hammering the brads in particularly hard for a child (or a clumsy adult like me).
Materials:
1) 1/2 x 2 inch wood board, length of 24 inches or more
(I found this at Lowe's grouped under 'Molding,' not in the raw lumber aisle. It is labeled as 'S4S', whatever that is. So-called 'lattice board' is, I think, 1/4 inch thick -- too thin for easy use.)
2) small nails/brads
(They have to be small enough not to pose a splitting problem going down the thinnest dimension of the board. I found that 3/4" x 17 'wire nails' did nicely. You do want the nail to have a head, not just a straight brad, and the head should be flat to offer a flush profile.)
3) 9 feet or so of 3/8"-wide cloth/polyester ribbon
(You can get this at a craft store, e.g., Michael's. Go wild with the colors -- you can use up to 3 different colors in one Jacob's Ladder.)
Tools:
1) small hammer
2) ruler, straight-edge, and pencil
3) hacksaw or power-saw
4) scissors
5) sandpaper (perhaps coarse and fine)
First you have to choose what dimensions you would like for your Jacob's Ladder. There is a great deal of flexibility here: you can make a wide and very long Jacob's Ladder, or a thin and/or short one. The size and length of the board and ribbon needed vary accordingly. However, for a project that, say, a 9-year-old can do with a parent, the following specifications may offer the best combination of workability and aesthetic appeal. A thinner board (say, 'lattice board') than what we have used is possible but makes hammering the brads in particularly hard for a child (or a clumsy adult like me).
Materials:
1) 1/2 x 2 inch wood board, length of 24 inches or more
(I found this at Lowe's grouped under 'Molding,' not in the raw lumber aisle. It is labeled as 'S4S', whatever that is. So-called 'lattice board' is, I think, 1/4 inch thick -- too thin for easy use.)
2) small nails/brads
(They have to be small enough not to pose a splitting problem going down the thinnest dimension of the board. I found that 3/4" x 17 'wire nails' did nicely. You do want the nail to have a head, not just a straight brad, and the head should be flat to offer a flush profile.)
3) 9 feet or so of 3/8"-wide cloth/polyester ribbon
(You can get this at a craft store, e.g., Michael's. Go wild with the colors -- you can use up to 3 different colors in one Jacob's Ladder.)
Tools:
1) small hammer
2) ruler, straight-edge, and pencil
3) hacksaw or power-saw
4) scissors
5) sandpaper (perhaps coarse and fine)
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:D