Dome Builders! Need a lift (for top down dome building)

[dinosaurwilly]

Hello fellow dome builders. We have been building our 32' dome on the playa for the last 5 years. During that time we have discovered that it is FAR easier to build this dome from the top down. In order to do that, we rent a Genie Superlift (SLC-24) and take it to the playa.

www.genie-lift.com/index.html#GSA

This lift is expensive for us to rent. Would anyone be interested in sharing the cost of this lift?

I can be contacted at "srluna _a_t_ dinosaurwilly dot com"

If you want some information on the benefits of top down dome building, please check out ....

dome.zillabit.com/rechargedome.html

Shawn

[Rian Jackson]

Do it like the trashistanis. If you have enough people, your camp mates will make a fine lift. Trust me on this one.

[robotland]

Perhaps you could entice a stiltwalker or two with cold beverages/sexual favors/other bling....

[falk]

How about building a 5-legged A-frame with block & tackle at the top? Has anybody tried this?

[dinosaurwilly]

Using the lift makes dome building SOO much easier! The lift is placed at the center of the dome and the dome is built around it. This particular lift is designed to fold down in to a very compact size so you can roll it right out the door when you are done! very simple! just a little expensive.

[falk]

I made a sketch of the hoist I was thinking of:



The idea is you assemble the tripod (pentapod?) with a block and tackle, and build the dome underneath it, lifting up as you go. When you're done, you disassemble the jig and take it away.

[Scathingharpy]

Ed, thats a fantastic idea! At each stage, the dome is stable, and then you release the pressure or the hook, say with block and tackle or some other cord. THEN, add another level to the legs. re-engage the pressure, and voila!

getting it down is the only thing I cant picture.

[robotland]

What are the legs of this rig made from?

[falk]

I need to work on my artistic skills. What an ugly drawing. I'll add more sketches tonight.

The legs are made of 10' lengths of 1" steel pipe (not emt). Two pipes butt together to make one 20' leg. About 3' of slightly larger pipe slips over the leg at the joint like a sleeve to hold them together (with bolts, clamps, or whatever to keep everything in place.)

The bottoms of the pipes end in disks of 1" plywood to act as feet to keep them from sinking into the playa. Ropes connect to the feet keep the legs from splaying out under load.

The tops of the pipes all thread into pipe caps bolted or welded to a steel plate as shown in the sketch. A chain hoist lifts the dome up as we work.

I figure to build the entire crane first, and then assemble the dome around it, lifting as we go. Once finished, we just climb up to the top of the dome and disassemble the crane.

I'm a little nervous about the legs buckling under load; I figure I'll build the crane this weekend and find something heavy to try it out with.

[dinosaurwilly]

Hey guys! Still wondering if anyone is interested in sharing the expense for this lift.

The lift is very useful for building large domes. It is compact and breaks down in to a small and very portable shape so it is easily removed from the dome when the assembly is complete.

Let me know!

[muppet_warrior]

What kind of money are we talking about?
And how the hell did you get your conduit so damn cheap???? :)

LEt me know what you are thinking as far as cost and when you are getting to the playa.

Thanks,

muppet