Subject:
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Re: Any tips for building tall towers?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.build
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Date:
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Wed, 22 Dec 2004 16:18:37 GMT
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Viewed:
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1413 times
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In lugnet.build, Patrick S. O'Donnell wrote:
> In lugnet.build, Joe Strout wrote:
> > ... I need to build some supporting towers that are tall and strong, with a
> > minimum number of bricks. • ...
> I've always wondered about building a tower using just 4 2X4 bricks per level
> arranged in a way that there's a 2X2 opening in the center that would serve
> as a shaft as you go upward. Once the tower reaches its final height, top
> it off with a 2X6 brick with a adequately attached cable / wire centered
> from it's underside and run that cable down through the 2X2 shaft and
> through a hole in the plate and affix it someway to a turnbuckle to post-
> tension the tower to further eliminate sway.
...
While not exactly what Patrick describes, I've built several towers mostly from
2x4 bricks, with an outer diameter of 8x8 and a 4x4 opening in the center. My
application was to support half scale train signs about six or so feet off the
ground; the total height of the sign is eight or nine feet.
While it worked, I had to add guy wires to tie the brick tower to the display
table to prevent the weight of the sign from pulling it over. Also, it was very
flimsy; it is hard to move the column without it breaking in two or three.
So my next try added studless Technic beams down the center of the column, to
tie the bricks together. The beams overlapped so the whole column could be
picked up and held sideways without falling apart. Even so, the column has a lot
of 'wiggle' room -- there's quite a lot of play with 2x4s even with the Technic
beams.
Unfortunately, I found if the column falls over, it dislodges some of the beams,
and since the beams overlap, it is then impossible to repair without
disassembling the whole thing. So my third attempt added a center column of 2x2
bricks in the middle of the technic beams. The 2x2s only serve to prevent the
Technic beams from popping off.
Cary
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Any tips for building tall towers?
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| (...) I've always wondered about building a tower using just 4 2X4 bricks per level arranged in a way that there's a 2X2 opening in the center that would serve as a shaft as you go upward. Once the tower reaches its final height, top it off with a (...) (20 years ago, 19-Dec-04, to lugnet.build)
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