I’ve purchased all my materials and fabrication has begun! For my metal rods I used 3/4 inch electrical tubing from McGuckins. I’ve already bent the pipes into the correct shape with the pipe bender at the ITLL, with the help of a laser cut template.
![](https://i0.wp.com/static.wixstatic.com/media/a27d24_bd3fe2cc3ab44fe080c3e15d65fa83aa~mv2_d_3360_1894_s_2.png/v1/fill/w_1480,h_834,al_c,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/a27d24_bd3fe2cc3ab44fe080c3e15d65fa83aa~mv2_d_3360_1894_s_2.png?w=1140&ssl=1)
This process is a little bit time consuming, but remarkably repeatable. All three of my curved sections ended up looking very similar and precisely bent.
![](https://i0.wp.com/static.wixstatic.com/media/a27d24_c9cded0908b840fd979f844862b3ea34~mv2_d_4032_3024_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1480,h_1110,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/a27d24_c9cded0908b840fd979f844862b3ea34~mv2_d_4032_3024_s_4_2.jpg?w=1140&ssl=1)
For the wood sections, I needed to create a jig that would hold everything in the correct orientation in order to drill at a 60 degree angle into the wood, 30 degrees offset from the angle of the board. Here’s the jig in action in the drill press.
![](https://i0.wp.com/static.wixstatic.com/media/a27d24_ad6508ba13804dec8eb2721b56e5b557~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1480,h_1973,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/a27d24_ad6508ba13804dec8eb2721b56e5b557~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg?w=1140&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/static.wixstatic.com/media/a27d24_9619113db59549f2b4726daabf29cc4e~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1480,h_1973,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/a27d24_9619113db59549f2b4726daabf29cc4e~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg?w=1140&ssl=1)
I have a few different angled holes I need to make in the wooden sections, so each time I need to change it I unscrew the section of the board from the jig and reposition it to the correct angle. This process is working well though, and the holes I have drilled so far are accurate and the tubes fit tightly in them. I’ll keep working in the machine shop over the next few weeks and I should be ready in time for my presentation!