The instructions here are for a 1 foot radius (2 feet in diameter) model dome, using 12 gauge wire - which is in the online spreadsheet. You can make the dome any diameter simply by multiplying or dividing all the arc segments equally to your desired radius. Later I'll have .zip file downloads for the actual spreadsheets with customizable parameters in MS Excel and OpenOffice as well...

Before you bend the wire or rebar, you should become familar with the spreadsheet and it's labled parameters at the Spreadsheet specifications and instructions
page. The whole assembly actually is pretty simple - straight courses (bent into arcs or circular curves) of wire/rebar simply run around the dome and are tied at the overlaps.

Depending on what diameter dome you want, you'll use different gauges of wire. Smaller model domes from 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter work well with 10 to 12 gauge wire and garbage bag ties which are also called twist ties by trade. Larger domes from 6-8 feet diameter on up do well with reinforcement bar (also called rebar) - the link to the wire and rebar gauge chart can be found here. 12 gauge seems to be ideal for 1-2 feet diameter domes. I use/used 12 gauge for these projects along with metal twist ties in vinyl jackets/coverings.

When you make your cardboard dome frame to help tie wire over make sure you also follow this Customized arrangement (with dome pedestal) for your cardbboard dome. The basic steps in completing your dome are:

1) Review, study and gather the materials needed for assembly (Spreadsheet specifications, spreadsheets...).
2) Put together a wire or rebar circular ring bending form.
3) Put together 2v cardboard bending form and circular pedestal.
4) Bend straight or coiled wire and mark and cut on wire or rebar circular ring bending form.
5) Overlap wire/rebar arc segments on cardboard form and tie for final dome assembly.

So, we'll move on to the next chapter:

Materials needed:

For domes up to about 2 feet in diameter, a circular form is necessary for bending spools or coils of wire. You can buy wire in straight pieces as well, but even for a 1 foot radius dome you'll need about 71.5 feet of wire and have a lot more "wasted wire" compared to getting a simple 50' or 100' coil. One advantage to using straight wire is it's easier to mark and cut - the form can be a simple routed channel on a straight board.

So, for using a circular form you can use what's called MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) board that's 1/2" to 1" in thickness. Places like Home Depot or Lowes have them in stock, sometimes they'll even have precut circular MDF in 1 foot and 2 foot diameters - or will precut 4x8 foot boards to any diameter you wish... When putting together the form, you'll need the board to be at least 1" or so in thickness to fit 5 parallel courses of 12 gauge wire and 1/2" wide measuring tape - this means sandwiching together at least 2- 1/2" or 3/4" thick circular forms...

The final circle form should look like a ring that's about 1/2" to 1" thick from the outside diameter. This will allow you to "spring clamp" courses of wire around the ring so you can mark and measure them in place. Since the tape and wire will not be exactly the same diameter on a flat surface (wire will read out extra because of it's extra thickness compared to the tape's diameter in measuring) you'll need to take a router or file and "etch out" 1/2 of the wire's gauge from the flat surface opposite the side of the measuring tape. Once that's done your're ready to go and start uncoiling and marking the wire! Even if decide not to cut the extra "channel", it will not mess up the geodesic geometry, the dome will just be slightly larger than measured (diameter about 1 wire gauge in length more than tape measured).

Once you have the MDF circlular board you'll need to drill sand or file down any roughness out of the edge surface... This will ensure accurate measurements when you go to lay wire aroung for and mark.cut the wire.

If you have the tools necessary for cutting your own MDF circles, here's a list of handy tools needed to keep the whole project going smoothly:

Now once the circle ring form is ready, along with all materials handy, we can proceed to instructions for: Customized arrangement (with dome pedestal) for your cardbboard dome.

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