Arch material

[nortonz]

I have 2 16 channel controllers from last year, and have them all set up. This year I decided to add cosmic color ribbons, I want to make some arches. I have 2 questions.

1. what do most people use for the arches?

2. can I have 2 arches for each ribbon?

[k6ccc]

8 minutes ago, nortonz said:

1. what do most people use for the arches?

If you are talking about putting the ribbon inside the arch, there is really only one answer - PEX.  If you are talking about zip tying the ribbon to the outside of the arch, your options are larger.  In my case, I am using Cosmic Color Pixels with the pixels drilled into PEX so that the pixel is illuminating the inside of the tube.  I am using 10 foot pieces of 3/4 inch PEX pipe with the 50 pixels spaces 2.0 inches apart.  That makes essentially 100 inches of lit pipe and 10 inches at each end to slide over rebar.  Here is some detail on mine.

http://www.newburghlights.org/CCP_Arches.html

 

13 minutes ago, nortonz said:

2. can I have 2 arches for each ribbon?

Sure.

 

[nortonz]

Thanks Jim that helps a lot.

 

Mike

[Sctiger]

I used 2" HDPE tubing from McMaster Carr. Kinda expensive and a pain to get delivered but I think it's worth it. 

Matt Johnson has a video on YouTube with a parts list. 

 

[k6ccc]

1 hour ago, Sctiger said:

I used 2" HDPE tubing from McMaster Carr.

Note, PEX and HDPE are the same thing. 

1 hour ago, Sctiger said:

Kinda expensive and a pain to get delivered but I think it's worth it.

The pipe is not hideous, but delivery will eat you alive.  Fortunately in my case, I have a McMaster Carr about 20 minutes away...

 

[jtomason]

Another vote for 2" HDPE.   Looks amazing when it's done.   I did pretty much the same thing as Matt's video above.    Looks like a bright neon tube when it's done. 

 

[Sctiger]

I looked back at my invoice from last year. 50 ft of 2" HDPE was $103 and just over $65 shipping (I live 2.5 hrs away). Definitely better if you live closer to a McMaster Carr like Jim. 

To put it in perspective..50 ft was enough for 4 arches and I had 2 long sticks left over. This year I used the remainder to make 2 6.5 ft tall vertical thingies. (I'm not sure what to call them! Lol) So 6 props total. 

They definitely will get the most comments for sure. Hope this helps!

[k6ccc]

21 minutes ago, Sctiger said:

I looked back at my invoice from last year. 50 ft of 2" HDPE was $103

What was the length of the pieces?

 

[Sctiger]

9 hours ago, k6ccc said:

What was the length of the pieces?

 

I ordered the 50 ft roll. It comes in lengths of 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 ft.  I cut 4 pieces for the arches around 9 ft each and the 2 vertical tubes around 6.5 ft each. It definitely has a "memory" so the arches were way easier than the straight vertical tubes. Lol

 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Sctiger

[k6ccc]

1 hour ago, Sctiger said:

I ordered the 50 ft roll. It comes in lengths of 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 ft.  I cut 4 pieces for the arches around 9 ft each and the 2 vertical tubes around 6.5 ft each.

OK thanks.

1 hour ago, Sctiger said:

It definitely has a "memory" so the arches were way easier than the straight vertical tubes. Lol

Don't I know that!  Years ago I bought two 100 foot rolls of 1 inch from Home Depot.  My intention was to use it in a straight application.  Never could get it to straighten out.  My final step was to put one piece under about 1000 pounds of force stretched out in the southern California sun for an entire summer.  When I finally released the tension, it was back into the shape and size of the original coil within five minutes.