http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5?format=rss Tribe.net. Local Connections http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#d9fad530-98fe-4a79-be4f-39f9865c0c11 The bamboo domes described at desertdomes.com don't require hubs, just string or wire. Fri, 29 May 2009 04:16:08 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#d9fad530-98fe-4a79-be4f-39f9865c0c11 Jim 2009-05-29T04:16:08Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#cb7c1415-ea20-4212-892e-96df23f1b0cb Hi Sarah, I don't think you will be able to buy a canvas cover retail, but you should be able to find patterns... If this is for living, you may want to think of something besides canvas, something more water resistant or that will not rot? There are some guys on Waiheke Island here in New Zealand that have a lovely cover for a large dome they had made, maybe it was some kind of treated canvas or something. Perhaps that is what you are already thinking about :-) But whatever you do, you will probably have to make it yourself/have it made custom. I just googled: dome cover pattern and got heaps of relevant links http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=dome+cover+pattern&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Fri, 08 May 2009 04:07:14 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#cb7c1415-ea20-4212-892e-96df23f1b0cb Bruce 2009-05-08T04:07:14Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#433e1c0e-8174-45e0-baab-1b6bd22700ba google though i have, geodesic canvas covers have not come up, other than slack covers just for a festival or something, but not like the sort you make for permanant living tent. i like the star domes, i wonder how to make one bigger. ii need a fairly large dome, about 9m (30ft). thanks for all the groovy ideas, i'm wondering if i really need to order those pvc dome climber hubs now..... Mon, 04 May 2009 11:23:54 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#433e1c0e-8174-45e0-baab-1b6bd22700ba Sarah 2009-05-04T11:23:54Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#c13581ac-0a5a-4c95-a1a9-bda35e703122 Good thinking, Bruce. On reading that, a thought occurred> Bamboo pole ends can be jammed into short aluminum tubing pieces. The metal tubing then can be flattened,drilled,etc., providing a mechanical joint. Tubing can be further secured to the bamboo poles by crimping it in, or else by adhering metal to bamboo with a gob or two of epoxy in the tube piece before jamming it on. Obviously one needs to select and match harvested bamboo for uniformity of thickness before assembly. It becomes meaningful having structural member uniformity in geodesics where each of the designated components should have equal characteristics. Otherwise your dome has flat areas and bulged places. Sun, 03 May 2009 02:54:17 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#c13581ac-0a5a-4c95-a1a9-bda35e703122 Briggi 2009-05-03T02:54:17Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#d56d03c7-2aec-4d19-a8da-1d43bd3170bf First, for the OP, you should be able to find good patterns for geodesic dome covers by googling. Look for words like geodesic and pattern. >the problem I see with hubs for bamboo is due to bamboo having varying diameters (due to the very nature of the material)... hubs will be too loose, too snug, and just right all over the structure. For a looser dome with more give but still quite strong, you can loop bamboo together with rope/cord through the ends. See my previous post on building an octahedral dome with PVC. For a more rigid structure with bamboo, i have read a suggestion that you glue a dowel into the open end of the bamboo. That wooden dowel can then use traditional or non traditional joinery methods. For a dome, you could make a flat tab of metal and slide it into a slice in the dowel. Drill a hole in the tab of metal and then attach the tabs at the hubs in the same manner you would with pressed emt end. You can also do this with pvc-- two holes in the tab, one to accomodate a bolt which goes through the end of the pvc to hold the tab in place, and the other hole to attach to other tabs from other struts at the hub by putting a bolt through. Maybe use this method and skip the dowel with the bamboo? Just have to reinforce the bamboo end somehow maybe? Perhaps a strong glue around the holes. Sun, 03 May 2009 00:36:04 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#d56d03c7-2aec-4d19-a8da-1d43bd3170bf Bruce 2009-05-03T00:36:04Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#096dc2cf-0a9c-4b5c-b3d2-824acdce7efd If you want to build a dome out of bamboo, check out http://tribes.tribe.net/stardomes It is just a diferant way af making a dome. Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:07:46 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#096dc2cf-0a9c-4b5c-b3d2-824acdce7efd Cheesy Bob 2009-04-27T20:07:46Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#cda74677-bac0-4985-827e-29cceafd1854 I really like bamboo for domes too (and have plenty growing here to boot), but the problem I see with hubs for bamboo is due to bamboo having varying diameters (due to the very nature of the material)... hubs will be too loose, too snug, and just right all over the structure. Any one have ideas on how to fix this problem?? If you go with hubs that slide into segments of the bamboo (instead of fit over them), the same problem exists btw. Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:06:12 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#cda74677-bac0-4985-827e-29cceafd1854 boarhead 2009-04-25T20:06:12Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#79e59410-3bd0-4b85-b746-fe1d496aeec9 Even dry, bamboo retains plenty of tensile strength (flexibility) so that's not the problem. Dried and wet, though, can lead to mold & fungus growth.... so when you employ bamboo in a rainy environment, then be sure to treat it with waterproofing. For example, brushing on a coating of liquid polyurethane would help alot to keep the bamboo from absorbing moisture it's once dry but the canvas cover grows wet.. Bamboo is beautiful stuff. Wish we had some around here in the semi-arid Rocky Mts. Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:44:26 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#79e59410-3bd0-4b85-b746-fe1d496aeec9 Briggi 2009-04-25T07:44:26Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#054dc5a9-9c14-4ee8-9928-2508c645e5e7 thankyou for your info, when i was first looking in on this tribe discussion, i found someone had put in a link to domeclimbers.com, kids geodesic climbing frames. and i was really happy to go back to my original interest in a hub and bamboo strut design, which was only stuck on designing and making the PurrrrFECT HUB. i like their pvc ones and have ordered a set of hubs from them, the price is relatively cheap compared to the price and time involved with making my own. there's ample bamboo around here, and thats truly what i've always wanted to build it out of. next question, anyone know the best way to treat bamboo, once dried, so that it can handle being up against a potentially damp canvas cover throughout the winter? i will keep loking for Electrical conduit here for other dome projects. thanks for the additional info. after making a little dome model the canvas cover is looking more straight forward as well. Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:28:18 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#054dc5a9-9c14-4ee8-9928-2508c645e5e7 Sarah 2009-04-25T07:28:18Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#32ed466f-1144-4209-bdd9-c8f13e8b0ce0 structural alloys and castings are definitely _very_ different from materials used for conduit. Even metal channel, angles, and I-beams are seperated from simple extrustions used in assemblies (even which can and might be extremely strong), and the differences should not be ignored. Where availability and expense are the motivating factors and conduits may be well sufficient, it should not be forgotten that the hazardous materials and circumstances that create the need for very reliable standards do _not_ include structural loading. Conduit is actually an alloy specifically and carefully maintained to standards that _allow_ bending and flexing without load focus and cracking... very different from structural castings in, for example, iron beams and channel (where gussets in those castings are manufacture process controlled to necessarily high standards.) Fence posting is definitely structural, and the materials and casting methods are engineered for that integrity. Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:20:59 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#32ed466f-1144-4209-bdd9-c8f13e8b0ce0 jon 2009-04-23T14:20:59Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#1b3171fe-3f3d-4e5f-8740-22b0927dca44 ....thanks for that link, Chee..., totally useful website! Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:28:30 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#1b3171fe-3f3d-4e5f-8740-22b0927dca44 Briggi 2009-04-20T02:28:30Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#ad63a874-0daa-467b-aa18-f3966b3289d0 Check out www.desertdomes.com You will find a lot of info on there. I have build some bigger domes and fence post and top rail fence for chain link works real good when you start to get above 5' on a strut. Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:26:52 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#ad63a874-0daa-467b-aa18-f3966b3289d0 Cheesy Bob 2009-04-19T23:26:52Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#6055d168-a422-41f3-87ad-68e08764394f Electrical conduit is galvanized steel tubing with a thickness of about 1 or 2 mm. It was designed to route household wiring safely , and not for structural purposes. But some innovators in the 1960s discovered that it *did* have some structural integrity, although not designed for it, and you could easily hammer flat the ends of the tubes for drilling and making attachment points such as required for dome building. The whole object was to find lightweight, durable, minimally sturdy materials that also were cheap and easily available. So if you can find old tentpoles, then why not? Although the tent poles will be heavier they are designed to have greater structural integrity than conduit. I've seen even plastic pvc tubing used for dome apps. Domebuilders, as a tribe, seem to value innovative original solutions. So use those materials that are available locally, and make them work for you. Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:15:56 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#6055d168-a422-41f3-87ad-68e08764394f Briggi 2009-04-19T15:15:56Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#d148cb03-28be-41eb-9e2f-03c578431be6 EMT is Electrical metal tubing, sometimes also goes by ECT electrical conductor tubing. It is used in industrial applications (mainly) to run single insulated wires from a breaker box to an outlet. Its like pipe but with a thinner wall that can be more easily bent. i have seen conduit used in SE Asia and I think you may also use it in Australia but don't know the local name for it. Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:27:21 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#d148cb03-28be-41eb-9e2f-03c578431be6 B 2009-04-19T13:27:21Z http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#ffb624d5-f593-4fed-be22-71f57143c2ba questions, questions..........i'm planning on building myself a geodesic dome to live in. i need something portable because i don't own land. it needs to be really strong, we get storms, and i will make a fairly heavy duty canvas cover for it. i live in australia. neither myself or any of the fools at the hardware store, or local steel traders can make sense of 'E.M.T' or 'Conduit'. both terms apparently unique to the US? what exactly is the regular use for this stuff, and what does EMT stand for? also, are there any patterns or books on sewing a really decent canvas cover for a dome? ....on this one i am stumped at wanting to do it really well.......back on steel....they can only offer me a steel pipe of 30mm diameter and 2mm wall thickness, which would be damn hard to press. and very expensive. what is the wall thickness of EMT, is it the same stuff regular old skool canvas tent poles were made of? anyone tried recycling old tent poles to make a dome? if you could find enough..... Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:03:00 GMT http://geodesicdomes.tribe.net/thread/79f890a8-a028-4c32-ac47-149709c1dac5#ffb624d5-f593-4fed-be22-71f57143c2ba Sarah 2009-04-19T13:03:00Z