More spirals, and a track tune-up.

I built 5 more spirals. There are three counter-clockwise and two clockwise. It's easier to make several at the same time instead of installing and making one at a time. Track tip: Don't forget to cut and face the ends of your track incoming and outgoing your spiral. It may be difficult to get a grinder in there once it is in place.

Here are those 5 spirals installed and hooked up to track. It takes a little over a minute for a marble to get from the top to the bottom of this track alone. The track is pretty close to the bottom. I will leave it where it is. I may be able to fit on one more spiral, but until I know how high the tracks will be where the they starts to merge, I want to leave myself plenty of room. I'll try and get some new video next week.

I also fixed this ugly corner I had built after the last loop d' loop. It was not smooth and very loud. In the picture above I am refering to the 90 degree corner caged in at the bottom after the last tight loop - turing away from the wall.

Here is that same corner - except it is changed into a smooth, fast, quiet corner that looks better, too. Now the exiting marble glides through that section fast, and is ready to twirl through the next set of loops . (Not yet added). Also see the left idler wheel. Ready to be idle.

Shipping

Shipping is a necessary evil. I like to weld because I like to work with metal. I didn't choose to be a woodworker. On the bright side at least a shipping crate doesn't have to be perfectly square, so any circular saw will work. I had to ship more than 5 separate shipments to Korea. Korea only allows wood from other countries that is either hardwood, or manufactured wood. It taught me to only use sheets of OSB to make the entire box. This saves me money, and reduces the tools I need to use. Take one sheet, and cut it into thirds (32"), clamp those three pieces together and cut out 2" strips of wood, getting 3 at a time. These strips can be screwed together for framing, or broken into pieces for stabilizing your artwork so it cannot move - at all. That's the trick. If your item cannot move, then you do not need to fill it with packing. I use saran wrap to make sure the important moving parts cannot move, securing with a bit of tape.



With a sculpture that sits on the table, I make the base first, with plywood. Then set the sculpture on the plywood, and secure each leg, and necessary framing, so it cannot move in any direction. Then make the rest of the wooden frame. Before adding the sheets to the rest of the sides, add more supports wherever necessary to the top of the piece so it cannot move either. Once secured, add the outside sheets to cover, adding sheer strength to your box, and your done. Don't worry that the strips you are using for to make the box are not connected very well. Once the sheets are added to the sides, they hold everything together. I use 1-1/4" drywall screws, and when needed 2-1/2" bright deck screws. Used liberally, you should have no troubles with shipping your piece of art.





If you plan to ship often, then make up these two simple items. A "fragile" template so you can add it as many times as you like, easily : )

Painting around the arrow will leave it's profile, pointing wherever you like. This one is easy. Take a small triangle and a short narrow piece and screw them together with a third piece on top. If you use a screw that is longer than needed, the top of the screw will provide a convenient hand hold.

The sculpture in this box is #72 - Now In: Kentucky

More track

Rolling ball sculpture has a couple different major sections to it's construction. First the frame, then the lift, then track and elements. The frame is straightforward, and should be braced before you begin building, so that the frame will not move. It does not seem too important when the frame has no track on it, but when the marbles start to roll, they exert energy and can make the whole sculpture shake.

The lift is somewhat complicated, but I think the real challenge with the motor is installing it so that the weight of the lift is off of the motor shaft - more of a concern with a helical lift than a chain lift.

Finally there are track and elements. I have somewhat explained making track in my how to secion on my website, but I have a little more to say here. I am working on a table top sculpture that has three tracks. One track for the loop d' loop, one track with just one marble that goes slow and has a few tipping arms. The third track will have a marble collector (adjustable) that will tip with 3-6 marbles, you choose. Track seems like it is the easy part of making RBS. Actually, it can be quite frustrating to make a track that just doesn't seem to fit into the space you have for it. I have found recently that the best way to add track that fits perfect the first time is to bend as much, if not all, of the wire track after it has been attached to the previous section. Track is not just for the ball to get from one place to another, but can be an element in itself. It is very important to keep the spacing consistent and to test the marbles as you go so you will not be surprised later, and not be able to get to the spot to fix it because it is buried behind other things on your sculpture.

I think making track is a lot like drawing a maze. Sometimes the track path must be very carefully led out of a tight spot. If you are truly stuck, the use a tipping arm to lower the ball down. Get creative! Since everything you will make is one-of-a-kind then your imagination is your only limit (besides tooling....).