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Assembling a cardboard model dome (from Ozark Domes)

Customized arrangement (with dome pedestal) for your cardbboard dome

When you assemble your 2 foot diameter 2 frequency wire dome model, you're going to need a form to temporarily hold and tape the overlapping courses of wire. The form can be put together from this "Assembling a cardboard model dome page" (using either posterboard or some amazon.com cardboard box sides).

To make a 1 foot radius model, from the spreadsheet we can tell the inside wire diameter for Course 4 (the innermost course) is .3017 meters, with another 1/2 gauge wire thickness added gives you the "absolute" inside wire diameter. So, .3017 meters minus (1/2 of .00205 meters), which is .3017 minus .001025 = .3000675 meters for the radius. .3000675 meters divided by .3028 (the metric/foot constant) equals .99298 feet radius or 1.98596 feet diameter.

We use this 1.98596 foot dome diameter to make a size that will best adapt to taping and tying the wire over. So for sides A and B the lengths of the triangles to be cut from the cardboard dome assembly link are:

Side A = radius x chord factor or .99298 x .54653 = .54180 meters (or 5.42 centimeters)
Side B = radius x chord factor or .99298 x .61803 = .61369 meters (or 6.14 centimeters)

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Once the cardboard dome is assembled of proper diameter, we need to make 1/2" to 5/8" holes at the dome verticies to give ample room to tie the intersecting/overlapping courses together. Also we need to make a 4-5" pedestal to help secure the wire in place and maneuver the dome.

To make the holes for the verticies you can use a 1 1/2" drill bit for wood and a drill, or just make good use of a utility knife to cut the holes out...

To make the pedestal just trace out on a proper piece of cardboard a circular cardboard cutout about 2 feet in diameter. This will then be matched with a 4-5" strip of cardboard to make what looks like a large size "cake" or cake mold... The strip of cardboard is them cut to match in size (a few strips taped together may be needed) the circumference of the cardboard circle. The strip should be first rolled up and loosened to make it more "pliable" for securing around the circular cardboard piece. After securing the 2 main parts (cardboard circle and ring) with 1/2"-1" clear tape, you can glue them together to help keep the pedestal secure.

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Now once the assembly of the cardboard dome and pedestal are complete, we can go to Instructions for bending wire or rebar (for wire-rebar bending, cutting and marking).

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