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Step 3Assembly instructions
To assemble the dome, lay out the 10x 4way pieces in a circle, making sure to alternate left and right handed versions. Next attach 10x red struts along the bottom, making a ring.
Now begin working on the first row of 10x red and 10x blue struts. Once all the bolts on a given hub have been used, you can secure them by attaching the appropriate hub cover with a washer and wingnut. Make sure you have plenty of spares on hand as they get lost very easily and make a very attractive souvenir :P
Connect their tips with 5 and 6way hubs and add 10 blue struts, making a ring to top off the first row. Now add the 10x red and 5x blue struts to fill up the remaining bolts. Add the caps to secure this level and now you should have 15x struts poking/ dangling in the air.
At this point you can either assemble the top of the dome in place or raise it into position already assembled. You may need a short step ladder to get to the top - I'm 6'3" and had my head poking through the dome when I constructed it.
Once it's all up, double check the hubs and caps. Give it a few sturdy shakes around the perimeter to make sure it's not going to fall apart before you try hanging anything from the center.
I never did any destructive testing, but I have a feeling the rubber will deform and invert areas of the dome before anything else comes loose or breaks. I'd recommend a maximum weight of 50 pounds, but you can experiment and if you feel it's safe, ask one of the kids to hang from the center. You could even consider replacing the center bolt of one of the 5way hubs with an eye-bolt to make hanging a test load or small child easier.
Tear down can be pretty fast once you've gotten a little practice. Just start at the top and start pulling apart hubs. chuck the hubs into a pile and lay the struts out according to length. The aluminum can be loud if you bang it against one another, so just drop them lightly onto a carpeted floor.
The whole kit should be able to be packed into a couple of 5 gallon buckets, but you will probably need a cart to push the whole thing around the aluminum weighs more than 50 pounds.
The dome kit PDF I've included at the end is an overall manual of how to reproduce this kit.
Now begin working on the first row of 10x red and 10x blue struts. Once all the bolts on a given hub have been used, you can secure them by attaching the appropriate hub cover with a washer and wingnut. Make sure you have plenty of spares on hand as they get lost very easily and make a very attractive souvenir :P
Connect their tips with 5 and 6way hubs and add 10 blue struts, making a ring to top off the first row. Now add the 10x red and 5x blue struts to fill up the remaining bolts. Add the caps to secure this level and now you should have 15x struts poking/ dangling in the air.
At this point you can either assemble the top of the dome in place or raise it into position already assembled. You may need a short step ladder to get to the top - I'm 6'3" and had my head poking through the dome when I constructed it.
Once it's all up, double check the hubs and caps. Give it a few sturdy shakes around the perimeter to make sure it's not going to fall apart before you try hanging anything from the center.
I never did any destructive testing, but I have a feeling the rubber will deform and invert areas of the dome before anything else comes loose or breaks. I'd recommend a maximum weight of 50 pounds, but you can experiment and if you feel it's safe, ask one of the kids to hang from the center. You could even consider replacing the center bolt of one of the 5way hubs with an eye-bolt to make hanging a test load or small child easier.
Tear down can be pretty fast once you've gotten a little practice. Just start at the top and start pulling apart hubs. chuck the hubs into a pile and lay the struts out according to length. The aluminum can be loud if you bang it against one another, so just drop them lightly onto a carpeted floor.
The whole kit should be able to be packed into a couple of 5 gallon buckets, but you will probably need a cart to push the whole thing around the aluminum weighs more than 50 pounds.
The dome kit PDF I've included at the end is an overall manual of how to reproduce this kit.
dome kit.pdf(612x792) 67 KB| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
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