bob_moody Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I stated in a different post that there wasn't any one correct way to build a pixel tree... BUT .. there are several ways to build it wrong .. With that in mind, I have to ask this .. I purchased 12 strings of 12mm pixels.. the overall string length ends up right around 12' +/- a few inches .... What is everyone seeing for their tree heights? How long are your pixel strings and how many pixels are on the string (mine are 50 pixels .. making the spacing about 3 to 3 1/2 inches. As some know and/or have read, the base of my tress is the top rail of a hay ring (I use the middle rail for a platform to run my G-Scale train) and the middle to bottom rail has a custom made red banner that wraps around the whole thing.) If the strands are approx. 12' The radius of the base is 4' Using a little Jethro Bodine cipherin .. the height of the tree will be around 11.3' Any input on the size/shape of this tree? tall/skinny, short and fat ... or just "oh my God Bob.. what were you thinking? " I need to finish buying my parts... several people have stepped up with offers and I need to move before the opportunities vanish.. Appreciate the feed back .. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Boyd Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Mine last year had 3" spacing and somewhere around a 4' radius. It was a 180 degree tree. As far as the structure, it's based loosely on Walter Monkhouse's Color Motion Tree structure. I had 16 strings and it was about 12' high plus a little over 2' more for the star. I thought it looked great and it got rave reviews. My wife said she wanted another Pixel tree for this year, so I'm doing a 360 degree tree that will stand somewhere around 10' plus the sphere topper. It will be very similar to Brian's CCP tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_moody Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Ron, You and I sound like we are on the same basic track ... Same spacing, same height, same bottom radius .. Since you didn't specify .. I will add that the bottom of my 180 will be on a half circle because of the hay ring .. Based on the same Monkhouse tree design .. I have to get with Matt on the topper though.. I REALLY like the machined topper but I'm confused over the 12 or the 24 ring topper .. We would MAYBE like to upgrade to 24 strings and a full 360 .. not sure if I should just get the 24 ring topper to start since Matts 12 appears to be based on a 360 design ... I'm thinking that for what I want to do this year .. I need to 24 anyway .. I'm also a little concerned about how to raise the pole and set the topper since I'll be 4 to 5 feet away from the mast (again because of the hay ring) .. Also .. I need to figure out how to put a star on top since Matt's design doesn't incorporate the pipe holder for most add on stars .. Looks like what I need is a cap for the top with a 1/2 pipe threaded hole (?) .. Any thoughts? Bob Edited June 16, 2014 by bob_moody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainyoregonchristmas Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 If you want to do a 180 degree tree with 12 straps, for my topper you'd need to go with the 24 strap bracket. Then only put straps on 1/2 of it. My design with the 24-strap bracket has a hole large enough for 3/4" threaded pipe either galvanized or black pipe. So if you want a star and have one with a 3/4" threaded pipe thread on it, just attach it above the bracket with a coupler. To raise and lower it, for my tree, I actually have a hinge at the bottom and can tilt it up. But if you want to raise it up with pulleys, you can put two 1/4" eye bolts in two of the four holes of the bracket instead of the hex head bolts. This will give you a little idea. The top bracket is for twelve straps, the bottom is for 24 straps. https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=B391FEB1972280F0!229&authkey=!AMCr9P0XlkcWBXU&v=3&ithint=photo%2c.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince4xmas Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Has anyone used 3/4" gray pvc conduit as a structural member for attaching RGB ribbon lights?Wonder if gray pvc pipe is dark enough and has ample rigidity. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Boyd Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Look at my vids on my website. The pixel tree I did last year was 1/2" gray conduit. While watching after dark, the conduit could not be seen. So, yes, conduit will work. I'm redoing my strings this year using banding thanks to Darryl at CLS. He's developed some great stuff to aid in building the Color Motion style tree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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