At our last build day, Mike, Jasmine, Maryam, Caroline, and I cut and assembled the core wooden framing of The Dwelling. We made 6 replicas of the design that Mike and I prototyped a few weeks before. It took some effort to get the four 3x3 posts made just right: they require cutting to length with miter cuts, then cutting out the corner that will bolt to the frame, carving out notches for where bolts jut out from the frame, drilling for the bolts, etc. It took us 5 about 4 hours to fully make all 6 frames:
With these frames in place, I cut and attached 3/4” plywood to each lower panel. The posts are 3” and the plywood is 3/4” because we’re trying to achieve a very specific effect, which I’ll get to shortly. So the structure now looks like this (one face is unfinished because it’s the door!):
So we need to bring out the exterior surface far enough that it only the top of the LED strip will be visible. We also need to measure all of the geometries to achieve this within 1/32” or so.
It turns out that the first tricky one is the middle hexagon: the horizontal edge that’s about 5’ above the ground. The upper and lower panels meet at almost a 90 degree angle, and the upper panels need to be quite thick in case people step on them. I decided that the best way to do this edge is attach the LED strips at the edge of the wood, and have the aluminum overhang just slightly. This requires a spacer above the lower panel. Here’s a rough setup with tape that shows the geometry:
The upper panel has two pieces of plywood: a 1 1/8” which bolts to the flanges and rests against he frame, and a larger 3/4” piece that sits on top of it to overhang the frame. Together, this should be fine for people to stand on. A 4’ span is a little iffy with just 1 1/8”. Below the LED strip is a 2 1/2” spacer that raises the LED up to the level of the 3/4” plywood. So the next step is making these 6 upper panels.
One trick we’ve used in both the upper and lower panels relates to how they are bolted. For the lower panels, the bolts go through the beams; for the upper panels, they go through the 1 1/8” plywood. They’re carriage bolts, and we used a 1” spade bit to dig out some wood so the bolt head is countersunk below the surface. This way, you can just screw the upper surface on, and the carriage bolts are held in.
So the upper panels consist of a smaller piece of 1 1/8, with carriage bolts sticking out, and a larger piece of 3/4” on top:
The 3/4” piece has 5 metal clips screwed onto it, to attach the LED strip:
When you place the panels on top and bolt them in, the LED strip clips in well and there are nice, clean lines:
Here, you can see with the spacer how the LED strip will just slightly stick out past the aluminum surface attached to the lower panel:
We have another build day this weekend: we’re going to focus on the interior surfaces and space, as well as attaching LED strips to the vertical edges. Next week Jeff will help bring the aluminum cladding up from Stanford, at which point I’ll cut it and the exterior will start looking like a spaceship!
The effect we’re trying to achieve is this: the exterior metallic surface, when attached to the plywood, should come just below the top of the LED strips that will run along the edges. The LED strips are just over 1 1/8” tall:
So we need to bring out the exterior surface far enough that it only the top of the LED strip will be visible. We also need to measure all of the geometries to achieve this within 1/32” or so.
It turns out that the first tricky one is the middle hexagon: the horizontal edge that’s about 5’ above the ground. The upper and lower panels meet at almost a 90 degree angle, and the upper panels need to be quite thick in case people step on them. I decided that the best way to do this edge is attach the LED strips at the edge of the wood, and have the aluminum overhang just slightly. This requires a spacer above the lower panel. Here’s a rough setup with tape that shows the geometry:
The upper panel has two pieces of plywood: a 1 1/8” which bolts to the flanges and rests against he frame, and a larger 3/4” piece that sits on top of it to overhang the frame. Together, this should be fine for people to stand on. A 4’ span is a little iffy with just 1 1/8”. Below the LED strip is a 2 1/2” spacer that raises the LED up to the level of the 3/4” plywood. So the next step is making these 6 upper panels.
One trick we’ve used in both the upper and lower panels relates to how they are bolted. For the lower panels, the bolts go through the beams; for the upper panels, they go through the 1 1/8” plywood. They’re carriage bolts, and we used a 1” spade bit to dig out some wood so the bolt head is countersunk below the surface. This way, you can just screw the upper surface on, and the carriage bolts are held in.
So the upper panels consist of a smaller piece of 1 1/8, with carriage bolts sticking out, and a larger piece of 3/4” on top:
The 3/4” piece has 5 metal clips screwed onto it, to attach the LED strip:
When you place the panels on top and bolt them in, the LED strip clips in well and there are nice, clean lines:
Here, you can see with the spacer how the LED strip will just slightly stick out past the aluminum surface attached to the lower panel:
We have another build day this weekend: we’re going to focus on the interior surfaces and space, as well as attaching LED strips to the vertical edges. Next week Jeff will help bring the aluminum cladding up from Stanford, at which point I’ll cut it and the exterior will start looking like a spaceship!
Phil
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