My leaping arch looks like spit :-(

[testraub]

HELP! 70 count LED on 3/4 gray PVC. Wrapping took a little while, but the bulbs sorta lined up and wrapped the pipe well. Looks sorta like _hit. Am I wrapping to tight? What are people using pipe size wise for the sleeve method? My Spiral tree came out good for testing, but my arches... They s_ck! Channels 1 & 2 are covered with 4" viynl vent tube 3-7 are open to air. Any ideas?

Tom Straub

Attached files

[Ron Amedee]

Don't know what to say but...I agree looks like _hit !! I'd Try 100 count 5mm or mini's At least with the vent pipe it hides most of it.

[evan.a]

3/4 pipe is fine. think you need need a few more lights in each section. i have 20 ft pvc @ 400 minis on one section. 7 sections total.
on youtube, members showed how they build and wrapped their arches.

[caniac]

Ron Amedee wrote:

Don't know what to say but...I agree looks like _hit !! I'd Try 100 count 5mm or mini's At least with the vent pipe it hides most of it.

I agree, either tons more lights or the dryer vent. based on the pic, the vent looks really really good.

[Paul Roberson]

Maybe try folding a string almost in half with the lights offset from each other. Then use that to wrap a section.

You should get the same coverage (width) but the lights should be spread out better.

[Surfing4Dough]

You just wrapped the sleeves too tight. I wrap several times around going down the length of the sleeve, and then after several wraps I push these wraps down the tube to bunch them up. This tends to loosen the tension in the wrap a little, which seems to prevent the bulbs from aligning with each other. Kinda hard to describe with words what I mean here, but you can see Holdman demonstrate it at 0:44 in this video:

I do the same thing, but with the sleeves.

Here is a test video of my first arch last summer. Note that these only used 50ct strings, so you don't have to have 100ct strings to have nice looking arches--I just didn't bunch them tightly. My arches are 7-channel ten foot arches.

Here is a decent video of them in action:

http://vimeo.com/17868792

[EARLE W. TALLEY]

Tom,

Try this, take the string of lights and go back and forth making an 18" long section of lights, make sure they are offset and wire tie them. Make however many of these you want for the sections of your arches, then use more wire ties to put them on the front of the arch. On mine I used two sets of 50 count per section, but think one 70 count should work as well. The following video shows the arches.

http://vimeo.com/17908235

Earle


PS also Christmas Don't Be Late is very good show of the arches( same web site)

[jimswinder]

I agree with Paul..I folded mine in half...or even better, fold them and align the lights so they are every 2" (for strings with 4" spacing)...then wrap your PVC...

[Denise Brunner]

I had this exact thing happen and found out that it is the inter bulb spacing that makes them line up like that. I had to use a different set of lights with less spacing between bulbs and then it worked fine.

Hugs all !!

[Guest Don Gillespie]

Arches! Page: 1 2 3


Check out this thread I used 1 inch PVC to wrap my arches with a 34 inch pipe to use as a sleeve to slide my sections on, the arch looks great I found 16 inch sections of 1 inch pipe using a 100 count spaced at 4 inches gave it a perfect wrap.

[Guest guest]

Don Gillespie wrote:

Arches! Page: 1 2 3


Check out this thread I used 1 inch PVC to wrap my arches with a 34 inch pipe to use as a sleeve to slide my sections on, the arch looks great I found 16 inch sections of 1 inch pipe using a 100 count spaced at 4 inches gave it a perfect wrap.

After reading this thread, and being an arches newbie, was assuming doing the sleeve method will help make things look more uniform. I'm looking at 7 sections, 100 lights per section...

[Guest Don Gillespie]

DonFL wrote:

Don Gillespie wrote:

Arches! Page: 1 2 3


Check out this thread I used 1 inch PVC to wrap my arches with a 34 inch pipe to use as a sleeve to slide my sections on, the arch looks great I found 16 inch sections of 1 inch pipe using a 100 count spaced at 4 inches gave it a perfect wrap.

After reading this thread, and being an arches newbie, was assuming doing the sleeve method will help make things look more uniform. I'm looking at 7 sections, 100 lights per section...

Thats is exactly how I built mine I used 7 sections at 16 inch in length after they are wrapped I inserted my sleeve through them and they look great I did cut my sections at a 5 degree angle on each end so when they go on the 34 inch PVC they join tight

[caniac]

can you use the same methods here in doing firesticks?

[Guest Don Gillespie]

caniac wrote:

can you use the same methods here in doing firesticks?

Yup you sure can and the beauty is you can have as many as you want if you really want to big with your firesticks

[Steven]

For longer arches, it may be better to tie, instead of wrapping.
This topic shows how I built my 49-foot "mega arch."

[caniac]

Steven wrote:

For longer arches, it may be better to tie, instead of wrapping.
This topic shows how I built my 49-foot "mega arch."

that brought tears to my eyes!

[paultoole]

Test Video
10ft Arch, using sleeve method, 7 sections

[kevinbrice]

Earle,

What did you make the small green trees in the front of your video out of?

thanks

Keivn

[EARLE W. TALLEY]

Kevin ,

The trees are made from PVC pipe, 5-30" pieces per tree, drill a small hole 1/2" from the top and 2" from the bottom in each pipe, run a wire thru thu top holes, but don't make it tight untill the end, use #9 wire(from LOWES or HD) and make a circle for the bottom and thread it thru the bottom holes, space your legs out evenly, cut the wire, tape in place, tighten the wire at top, paint.

Earle


Attached files

[TJ Hvasta]

I just dont get it how you guys can have 18" sections, mine all turned out 11' long.. 100ct, 23.5' long. Only thing I can think of you wrap a lot looser than I do.. mine are all tightly wrapped together, as in the pix, eight sections per arch.. The bulbs sorta line up, in a spiral, but from the sidewalk, 24' away, you cant see that..

Attached files