Current state of Project TDK -- approaching completion
Last weekend was REALLY busy. There are LOTS of photos under the link
Shoulder cladding, left side
The left panel cut out, with some touchup regluing done after the cutting
Shoulder cladding right side
Shoulder cladding center section
It's slightly rolled up so a couple of end slats could be reglued
Canvas under skirt fully installed with hooks
Closer view of hooks holding canvas skirting
Cuphooks (round, opening upward) around the top, L-hooks (pointing downward) around the bottom
Closeup of upper hooks
closeup of lower hooks
Even closer view of lower hooks
These will be used for tensioning the lines of coconuts
As Seen on TV!
I'm using the Buttoneer to attach the green "grass" skirting to the canvas. It punches barbed u-shaped plastic connectors through all the layers with a pair of (out of focus, sorry) hollow needles
Closeup of the fasteners, one still in its
Closeup of buttoneer fastener in grass
It's the short blurry horizontal rectangle near the center of the top band of the skirting. The skirting is actually interfaced in the sewn region, so the fasteners have something to keep them from pulling through
Grass skirting applied to the bottom of the canvas
Grass skirting on canvas
I'm about to trim it to a manageable length
Lower grass skirting, all trimmed, side view
Lower grass skirting, front view
lower grass skirting, rear view
Lower skirt, with raffia applied over the canvas
There are two complete paper raffia skirts wrapped around the canvas (the string just hooks into the cuphooks). The first time around, I scrunched the paper knots closely together along the string to increase the density of coverage over the canvas.
Lower skirt, another shot
The coconuts will solve some of the blowing-around problem
Lower skirt
Shoulder cladding installed on middle section, left front corner
The simplest way to attach it turned out to be screws through the canvas between slats
Shuolder cladding, right side
shoulder cladding, center back.
I drilled holes into and then screwed individual slats over each of the edge-joins between pieces of the cladding, to cover up the gaps.
closer view of center back
slat covering right front join
slat covering left front join
beginning the coconut stringing.
I'm using upholstery thread and knotted-on beads to hold the coconuts at the correct distances
Fuzzy closeup of the beads on the coconut string
Beads on the carpet/upholstery thread
4 sets of coconuts
If the beads look larger, they are. I switched to larger green plastic beads with bigger center holes, because the small green glass beads kept cracking. The layout was done on a rotary cutting mat so I could get the spacing right.
test installation of 4 strands of coconuts
This was done after I'd knotted all 14 strings (56 coconuts!)
Test install of coconuts, retensioned
The upholstery thread proved painful to work with in terms of installation and tensioning. This was the end of Saturday's work.
Coconuts, RESTRUNG
Sunday I went and got some 1/16" braided blind cord (the stuff that is used to actually thread all the slats together in Venetian blinds). I restrung all 14 sets using this thicker, softer cord. I left the upholstery thread in place, as it gave me an instant way to get the spacing correct.
Closeup of hanger ring on cord
I also knotted tiny metal split rings at the top of each string
Coconuts, hung on the skirt
Coconuts, tensioned and flipped around properly
I used taut-line hitches at the bottom of each cord
Top row of coconuts netted together.
Each shell also has a hole on each side, so I can string them together into a net around the raffia. This keeps them from flipping over an also controls the raffia from blowing around
Inside view
At this point, I opened TDK up and climbed inside to check fit and visibility. Both passed.
Cane webbing for neck
My webbing is 14" of useful weave with ends hanging out beyond a stitched edge. I ran two lines of stitching down the middle and split it in two longways
Cane webbing affixed to lower disk
inside view of lower section of neck (cane webbing)
closeup of staples.
All the fuzzy ends were folded under and stapled down on the back of the plywood disk
applying the cane to the top
The fringe was trimmed away in this case, so as not to interfere with the rollers under the dome.
Test assembly of Project TDK, view one
The neck needs more work (and the neck rings!)
Test assembly, view two
Test assembly of TDK, view 3
You can see that the fiber optics in the Tiki Torch gun light up really well. They actually blink with a red light (from a raver toy)
Along the way I discovered two design problem; the upper cane webbing cylinder fits too closely into the lower one, and the head can't move up and down. This can be mitigated by taking 1/2 to 1 inch off the diameter of the upper disk (the rollers for the dome run on the inside edge of the disk, so they'll still work) and restapling the cane. This will eliminate the interference.
Secondly, the braided reed I did for the rings looks really crappy next to the webbing. I'm going to get a pile of fabric flower leis and use them for the rings instead. I can actually tack them directly to the cane webbing. As luck would have it, one will cover the area where the upper cylinder enters the lower, and disguise the transition.
Almost there! (and boy are my hands tired after installing all those hooks and knotting all those beads!)
Shoulder cladding, left side
The left panel cut out, with some touchup regluing done after the cutting
Shoulder cladding right side
Shoulder cladding center section
It's slightly rolled up so a couple of end slats could be reglued
Canvas under skirt fully installed with hooks
Closer view of hooks holding canvas skirting
Cuphooks (round, opening upward) around the top, L-hooks (pointing downward) around the bottom
Closeup of upper hooks
closeup of lower hooks
Even closer view of lower hooks
These will be used for tensioning the lines of coconuts
As Seen on TV!
I'm using the Buttoneer to attach the green "grass" skirting to the canvas. It punches barbed u-shaped plastic connectors through all the layers with a pair of (out of focus, sorry) hollow needles
Closeup of the fasteners, one still in its
Closeup of buttoneer fastener in grass
It's the short blurry horizontal rectangle near the center of the top band of the skirting. The skirting is actually interfaced in the sewn region, so the fasteners have something to keep them from pulling through
Grass skirting applied to the bottom of the canvas
Grass skirting on canvas
I'm about to trim it to a manageable length
Lower grass skirting, all trimmed, side view
Lower grass skirting, front view
lower grass skirting, rear view
Lower skirt, with raffia applied over the canvas
There are two complete paper raffia skirts wrapped around the canvas (the string just hooks into the cuphooks). The first time around, I scrunched the paper knots closely together along the string to increase the density of coverage over the canvas.
Lower skirt, another shot
The coconuts will solve some of the blowing-around problem
Lower skirt
Shoulder cladding installed on middle section, left front corner
The simplest way to attach it turned out to be screws through the canvas between slats
Shuolder cladding, right side
shoulder cladding, center back.
I drilled holes into and then screwed individual slats over each of the edge-joins between pieces of the cladding, to cover up the gaps.
closer view of center back
slat covering right front join
slat covering left front join
beginning the coconut stringing.
I'm using upholstery thread and knotted-on beads to hold the coconuts at the correct distances
Fuzzy closeup of the beads on the coconut string
Beads on the carpet/upholstery thread
4 sets of coconuts
If the beads look larger, they are. I switched to larger green plastic beads with bigger center holes, because the small green glass beads kept cracking. The layout was done on a rotary cutting mat so I could get the spacing right.
test installation of 4 strands of coconuts
This was done after I'd knotted all 14 strings (56 coconuts!)
Test install of coconuts, retensioned
The upholstery thread proved painful to work with in terms of installation and tensioning. This was the end of Saturday's work.
Coconuts, RESTRUNG
Sunday I went and got some 1/16" braided blind cord (the stuff that is used to actually thread all the slats together in Venetian blinds). I restrung all 14 sets using this thicker, softer cord. I left the upholstery thread in place, as it gave me an instant way to get the spacing correct.
Closeup of hanger ring on cord
I also knotted tiny metal split rings at the top of each string
Coconuts, hung on the skirt
Coconuts, tensioned and flipped around properly
I used taut-line hitches at the bottom of each cord
Top row of coconuts netted together.
Each shell also has a hole on each side, so I can string them together into a net around the raffia. This keeps them from flipping over an also controls the raffia from blowing around
Inside view
At this point, I opened TDK up and climbed inside to check fit and visibility. Both passed.
Cane webbing for neck
My webbing is 14" of useful weave with ends hanging out beyond a stitched edge. I ran two lines of stitching down the middle and split it in two longways
Cane webbing affixed to lower disk
inside view of lower section of neck (cane webbing)
closeup of staples.
All the fuzzy ends were folded under and stapled down on the back of the plywood disk
applying the cane to the top
The fringe was trimmed away in this case, so as not to interfere with the rollers under the dome.
Test assembly of Project TDK, view one
The neck needs more work (and the neck rings!)
Test assembly, view two
Test assembly of TDK, view 3
You can see that the fiber optics in the Tiki Torch gun light up really well. They actually blink with a red light (from a raver toy)
Along the way I discovered two design problem; the upper cane webbing cylinder fits too closely into the lower one, and the head can't move up and down. This can be mitigated by taking 1/2 to 1 inch off the diameter of the upper disk (the rollers for the dome run on the inside edge of the disk, so they'll still work) and restapling the cane. This will eliminate the interference.
Secondly, the braided reed I did for the rings looks really crappy next to the webbing. I'm going to get a pile of fabric flower leis and use them for the rings instead. I can actually tack them directly to the cane webbing. As luck would have it, one will cover the area where the upper cylinder enters the lower, and disguise the transition.
Almost there! (and boy are my hands tired after installing all those hooks and knotting all those beads!)