kevinbrice Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 So we embarked today on creating 4 Holdman style 20ft 9 channel leaping arches. After 5 hours and way into the dark we have completed one of our arches. The assembly is much more time consuming then I would have ever imagined. Props to everyone who has previously made them, i owe you a little more respect.On another note, how have people handled supporting the weight of the lights while assembling, specifically after you have covered sections with light. We tried chairs and shoe boxes but our drill wasn't powerful enough to overcome the friction. Twine from the ceiling? How do you get it not tangled?KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrice Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 Here it is, a small section needs to have the bulbs twisted. Thanks little brother Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shfr26 Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Have you done any research on the "sleeve" method of arches? That is what I use and it is so much easier to make and repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 shfr26 wrote: Have you done any research on the "sleeve" method of arches? That is what I use and it is so much easier to make and repair.Agree completely. This is definitely the way to do it. Even though you already invested time in the making of the first arch, I would think you would still be way ahead by converting to the other method. Even if it doesn't save time now, it helps in other ways too. These are much easier to store since you can break them down if needed. Much easier to repair, since you just repair the single sleeve that is out--and can have a spare sleeve ready to go if this happens while the show is going.Some refer to these as Harbs Sleeves, and their creation was first discussed here: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulanator Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 The lights on your arch look great.I also agree with the others on the sleeve construction.I did this with big mega arch and the smaller arches in my display and it rocked. Storing in a plastic tub, done, stored.If a section goes out, you can have another section handy, and quickly and easily replace it.Also for the 4th show, I was able to reuse the smaller arches and slide them on a pole and create a straight up pole with 5 channels, and it worked great. When done, put them back in the plastic tub. Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Dye Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I wrap 20' poles in 1 piece with support in 2 areas of the center. I like doing this way because I can put the zip cord under the lights. I have 7 sections on my arches and 6 sections on my mega tree. Here is a picture of 1 of the support sections. All made from stuff in the garage. I use a momentary foot switch to control the motor. I got to where I could build a pole with the zip cord on it in 1 hour. Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrice Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 wow great advice! i am very interested your casters setup, that might be just what we are looking for. I like the sleeve idea but for now i think we are going to stick with the one inch tube method. thank you all i will post back with results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I had done one "traditional wrapped" arch, then tried the sleeve method.. I will NE-VER go back to long pole wrapping again!! Sleeves rock!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrice Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Here is the first video of our arches. We made them the old fashion way, which believe me was time consuming but i am so happy with the finished result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Rise Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 kevinbrice wrote: Here is the first video of our arches. We made them the old fashion way, which believe me was time consuming but i am so happy with the finished result.Awesome job Kevin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Jeff Millard wrote: Gents,Thank you for this thread. I just completed my CCR arches, and was about to begin wrapping 3/4 grey PVC with incan minis for the rest. Yesterday I went and bought more grey PVC to make sleeves, rather than arches. Several of the suggestions led to this decision but the three that stand out most to me are: they fit in a storage bin, they can be used fof both arches and a straight up pole, you can have a spare handy for easy replacement when a section goes out.Thanks again! ...and just before build time, perfect timing... Time to go cut some sleeves...JeffJeff I cut my sleeves at 16 inches with a 5 degree angle at both ends so when they go together on the PVC main sleeve they sit tight together, I don't know if you cut yours yet so I thought I would throw that out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Saul Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Congratulations Kevin!If you are tight on Channels, I put 2 next to each other and mirrored them using one set of channels for both.As for the sleeves, last year I made the long poles. But I'm probably going make a few more next month and will try the sleeves. Big factor for me is that I can quickly swap out a section IF it goes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe2000 Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Very nice Kevin they look great.Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Mitchell Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Does anyone have any pics of sleeved arches at night with a traditional arch as a comparison. I just fear that a sleeved arch will look like a bunch of straight segments in an arch and not a smooth curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Batzdorf Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I guess I'll let you know this season. I've got 4 7-segment arches planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Brian Mitchell wrote: Does anyone have any pics of sleeved arches at night with a traditional arch as a comparison. I just fear that a sleeved arch will look like a bunch of straight segments in an arch and not a smooth curve. Best thing to look at is some video. I don't have a comparison to the traditional arch (but there are plenty online). I too worried about the segmented look, but found during my testing that they didn't have that at all. The sleeves bend some, and the lights on the ends of the sleeves blend just fine with the adjacent sleeve, so you can't see the break.Here are few to view:http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=17326240http://www.vimeo.com/17326240There must be at least 4 feet of snow on these arches. http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=17868850http://vimeo.com/17868850This was my first prototype last summer, recorded only about 10' away from the arch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrice Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 the ones i are were non segment. we just hung them in the garage for storage, and though it was a little tricky, with 2 people helping lift really not all that hard. and they fit the 20ft length of the garage. I'm pretty happy witht the end results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Should also note that on my arches in the videos above, that they are 7 channel arches, 10' long, using sleeves. Each segment/channel has only a 50ct string of warm white LEDS on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Brian, here's my sleeved build, night test. Each 7' arch has eight 11" sleeves, tightly wrapped with 100ct minis. As you can see in multiple angles, there are no gaps visable in the arch, no "segmenting" either. it entirely depends on how long the sleeves are.. mine are 11".. if you use 16" like some others here, it might appear more segmented.. but not with "foot-longs". Realize too, that people stand at least 15-25' from most arches (on the sidewalk, or in cars) so the segments look smoother still.TJ Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa-LF Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Somone asked about these videos recently. The winder style will work for sleves as well.http://www.papasplace.us/video/08LOR/ArchWinder08.wmvhttp://www.papasplace.us/video/08LOR/Light%20Arches%20HowTo%20Part1.wmvhttp://www.papasplace.us/video/08LOR/Light%20Arches%20HowTo%20Part2.wmv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now