28 August, 2010

So You Want to Build a Pyramid...


Tom Sevy built this German Pyramid and shared with me some very useful tips to help YOU build a successful Pyramid.

You'll want to use a strong light-weight wood (1/8" Baltic Birch plywood) to allow the pyramid to turn freely. Tom used a smooth small glass bowl at the bottom of the pyramid to reduce friction and to keep the support rod centered. He sharpened one end of threaded brass rod to a point to minimize the friction at the base where the support rod meets the base. This was then connected to the threaded support rod as seen below.



When designing the topper for the pyramid, Tom drilled 10 holes in a round block of wood (Tinker Toy Style) and inserted the blades into the drill holes. The dowels were sanded down to form a semi-circle, to which the blades were glued to the flat part of the dowel. Tom used a plastic washer where the support rod exits the top of the project to also reduce friction at the top to allow the pyramid to spin more freely.




Click on the videos below to see more of these details. I truly believe that seeing how this is made, makes it SO much easier to envision completing one! Hopefully this has inspired someone out there to get started on building a magnificent pyramid. Good luck!

1 comment:

  1. Amazing! An inspired design! I'm trying to restore a pyramid I found and the replacement parts are so expensive, I'm researching to see if I could make any of the parts without a wood shop and power tools. Thanks for the inspiration!

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