Project 12: A Carousel Roundup

So you may have noticed that I didn't post a project last week. No, I did not fall off the bandwagon. I just was overly ambitious. Way too ambitious. So ambitious that it took me a little over 2 weeks to finish the project. However, I think you will forgive me because, in my humble opinion, this project is impressive. I made a carousel. 

The Process:

There were five different components to figure out for the carousel. The base, the center, the support for the top, the top itself and the horses. The first on the docket was the top. The way to create a cone shape is to cut out uniform isosceles triangle and line them up in a circle. A space is left in the circle and the triangles are taped together and pulled into a cone shape.

The top was then soldered to hold its shape.

The next component to be built was the center. I decided to make the center a hexagon because the top was a dodecahedron. A hexagon has half as many sides and that had a nice symmetry. Geometry is fun!

Hexagon

The base was designed to fit around the center, instead of being one solid piece of glass. This was so I could have a way to attach the center to the base. I drilled holes into the base to create a place for the carousel poles to fit.

The top support had to be a solid piece of glass. The top sits atop the support. The support keeps the top from losing its shape. I drilled holes into the support to have a place for the carousel poles. Unfortunately, a piece of the support snapped off, so I had solder that together. An annoying set back.

The top support complete with crack.

Next I attached the top support to the center.

I wanted the center of the carousel to look fancy, so I cut out mirrors and glued them on.

While waiting for the mirrors to set, I cut out the pieces for my horses. I soldered them together and added the carousel poles.

All the Pretty Horses

Then I put my horses into their positions.

I cut apart a tomato cage to get the thicker wire. The thicker wire served as the outer supports. I had to cut the wire with a hand saw, which took an annoyingly long time.

You can see my camera in the mirror!

I secured all the poles into place so they wouldn't wiggle or fall out.

Top view.

The top was soldered into place next.

The final step was to patina my solder lines and attach the lights.

Final Product:

I hope this project was well worth the wait. I daresay next week's project will be low-key.