After a long yesterday of hammering, shaping, screwing, etc. I was able to start the day with a circle full of bent metal thingys. In my mind it seemed everything would go together. Before I started putting up the rafters, I realized I had to finish the walls. And then when I was trapped inside, realized I needed to make a door. It was actually quite simple. I had a saw and literally cut my way out of my circular cage -
Of course, there will eventually need to be a frame there, and a hobbit door. But at least I can get in and out now. Once that was done I started hanging rafters on the custom circle thing (ruining my anarchy symbol) -
And a Close-up -
And after another couple hours teetering on an aged-and-not-so-well-maintained stepladder I took a break and laid down in the center. I looked up and snapped this shot -
Architects in ancient Rome, after completion of a large arch, were forced to stand under them as the scaffolding was removed. If the architect or his team of builders did poorly, he would never build another. If he was successful, he could. Some arches have been standing for a long time. I think we need to hold the architects of our social order to a similar standard. In that spirit, I grabbed onto the circle and hung from it for a bit and at this point I need to mention something.
First, if you're out in the middle of the woods 11' off the ground hanging from a structure you built out of kindling and roof flashing, you might not want to kick the ladder out from underneath you for added effect. (this is only necessary in an 'as-seen-on-TV' info-mercial). Luckily I was not harmed but some structural concerns were revealed.
When there is a load on this roof, the roof goes initially deflects in its 'path of least resistance' failure mode. I guess I'll call it spiral failure. If you were to look closely at the photo above, you can see that the rafters don't meet the circle perfectly, and there is no 'virtual center'. As I loaded it it further, I could see that failure would first occur in the metal things which would simply twist off, and then the whole thing would be unstable. I need to triangulate the structure simply. Please, dear audience, help with any ideas on how to do this simply and, perhaps, with some elegance. I know there's a clever jewelry maker out there who is very good at these types of problems.
Anyway, here's what I left with -
What induces you, oh man, to depart from your home in town, to leave parents and friends, and go to the countryside over mountains and valleys, if it is not the beauty of the world of nature which, if you consider well, you can only experience through the sense of sight -
Leonardo Da Vinci
*I don't know who Sol Hurok is. And, though his quote was the best in a google search for 'roof quotes', I didn't have integrity enough to google him. And, even after writing this, I probably still won't. If anyone out there does, please jot down the top 5 facts about Hal in the comments below.
Sol Hurok
ReplyDelete1. born in Russia in 1888
2. came to America & became a famous concert producer
3. was apparently not well liked by the Jewish Defense League – they bombed his office
4. reportedly had a long and illustrious career producing ground breaking concerts
5. died of a heart attack in 1974
Jesse the roof looks great! Not sure how (or what it even means) to "triangulate" it. My suggestion would be to not hang from the rafters. As a famous Mongolian camel herder once said: "A jungle gym a yurt is not". Ok I might have made that one up. But I think all the stuff about Sol is true.
Keep up the good work!
Maybe you could put pieces between the metal clamps and nail it to the circular center for added support so they don't twist off. perhaps a diagonal piece of wood, flat side out, going from the bottom of the pieces reaching up to the circle to the top might work too? I dunno if that even makes sense.
ReplyDeleteIt's looking good tho!