Yurt update

I decided that I will need to buy tools! I went by Home Depot today and priced inexpensive jigsaws. They are about $30-40 (Black and Decker 4.5 and 6 amp on either end). I will use the jigsaw to cut the arc sections for the tono (roof ring). I've been thinking of 8 arcs of 45° for each of the three levels (each level being one inch), so $40 for 24 pieces? You betcha.

I have also been trying to CAD the yurt. I have been working on the tono, but I am using a trial version of ACAD LT 2009 and I haven't figured out how to do the layers and the older versions, there was a way to spin the object in 3-space. I have 26 days left on the trial to figure it out and see if my plans will work. Dontcha just love trying to figure out software without a manual with time constraints? BTW I ought to be using my IE training and get out MS Project and look at the critical paths, but first the money....

I still have no clue as to how you can bend the khana pieces in computer space. I can still use CAD to figure out the knot positions and the triming of the laths to fit them together.

Have I mentioned the door? While the tono has a dome that I'll need to figure out how to mortise and put together. The dimensions will be a 34 inch chord segment of a circle, I just need to figure out what looks best – maybe a fibbonci of the tono radius? 1.618 times 34 is 55 inches and 34 divided by 1.618 is 21[1].

Getting back to the door – this will be the most difficult of all the things that I'll have to do carpentry-wise. I'll have to use the khana to determine the gap for the door. I'll have to mortise the pieces together, all the times learning how to do it for the first time.

I'm going to see if I can find some 12# canvas (which I will be using for the cover). Wife (Shannon) says that she'll teach me how to use the sewing machine. Practice this, get the right needles and thread, see if I can use the machine to sew canvas seams. Then see if I can do this to waterproofed canvas[2].

[1] I am learning how to use OpenOffice and had to use help to figure out how to figure out the Golden Mean. You know Fibbonacci, right? 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,.... Start with zero and one, and the next entry is the sum of the proceeding two values. The Golden Mean is i(sub n)/1(sub n-1) and is roughly 1.618. This is an aesthetically pleasing proportion (due to natural selection?).

I CADed both 55 and 21 inches on the tono dimensions and both my son and I agreed that a 21 inch circle looked best. The gentle reader can plot and decide for themselves.

[2] I figure that I will waterproof myself. There is a recipe on the web that uses soya oil and turpentine for waterproofing. Will have to get some and test.