Modeling a load of corrugated pipe
The first step in making the pipes is to measure and cut the foil to the needed width and length (above). The foil is then carefully wrapped around the bolt–shiny side in–and slowly worked in be- tween the threads (above right). Turn the bolt and use both hands
to press the foil between the threads (below left). After the foil has been fully worked around the threads, it should be unscrewed from the bolt. This needs to be done carefully so as not to bend or dent the foil (below right). Glue the seam to complete the pipe.
measured out 20 scale feet to give me the pipe length.
I carefully marked the measure- ments (length and width) on the alu- minum foil using a fine point felt-tip pen. It was easier to mark out several cuts at one time. Once that was done, I used a steel rule and hobby knife to cut the foil to size. Be sure to use a new blade when cutting the foil so that you have clean edges and no tears in the foil. It is best to begin cutting in the middle of the sheet and work your way out to the edges, as this helps to reduce tearing the foil. After all the aluminum foil was cut
out, it was time to get the carriage bolt. I placed the top part of the cut foil sheet parallel to the bolt threads with the shiny side of the aluminum foil on the inside of the pipe and the dull side on the outside.
Line up the end of the foil with the end of the bolt threads. This will make it easier to remove the “pipe” once it is done. Now, with your right hand’s fin- gers, carefully press the foil into the threads of the bolt while holding the
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edge of the foil against the bolt with the other hand. Once you get the foil pressed into the bolt’s screw threads at the starting point, you can change hands or use your left hand to further press the foil into the threads. Continue pressing the foil into the screw threads while turning the bolt until you have gone full circle. Once all the foil is pressed to shape, you can then slowly unscrew the foil from the carriage bolt. This step may take some time. Care must be taken so that you don’t bend or dent the newly completed pipe. Once the pipe is removed from the car- riage bolt you can glue the seam by us- ing some medium viscosity cyanoacry- late. The cyanoacrylate only needs to be placed in the center and at the ends. The pipe can then be set aside until dry. I usually make ten to twenty pipes at a time and then glue them all at once. When the glue has set, the pipes can be painted with dull, silver-colored paint. Painting will help give the pipe more structural integrity, but even a painted pipe is still quite fragile and can be dented very easily.
Next, I built a wooden cradle-style frame to use for the transport of the pipes. Normally this type of pipe would be shipped in stacks that are bundled together. With the size of the pipe I fig- ured two bundles, each containing nine pipes, would fill a gondola quite well. I started by cutting some scrap bass- wood to the approximate width of the car floor, allowing for the two side sup- ports of the wooden cradle. Next, I laid out the cradle bottom pieces on a flat surface and proceeded to glue the com- pleted pipes to the wood with Walthers Goo Three pipes were laid down and glued side by side, keeping the spacing parallel and even between them. Then, I glued three more cradle boards on top of the just-glued pipes, making sure they lined up with the bottom cradle boards. I next glued three more pipes to these boards. Again, I made sure everything was lined up and parallel with the previous pipes and cradle boards. I repeated this step one more time with another set of boards and pipes so that I had a stack of pipes three rows high.
APRIL 2014
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