Maybe not so much with the Bamboo

I happened to be at the garden center where I picked up my bamboo the other week and I have a look at the same bamboo that I bought...but had been in the sun all summer. You know what? Its cracked like mad....all over the place. I dont mean little cracks either...I mean ginormous cracks...apocolyptic cracks.
This worries me as my Gaia Cart is planned to be in the sun ...alot. I dont want any crack-tastrophies.
So...I am going to switch back to making it with PVC. Its not as environmental....but a human powered vehicle is still quite up on the enviro-scale any how.

Stupid F*%$ing PVC Sizes

So I went to a fancy plumbing warehouse today to get some PVC connectors to connect up my 1.5 inch bamboo. First, its way way in the boonies of the city, and second....they dont have much in the way of selection. Only 7 Tees, 2 elbows, and no crosses or wyes in 1.5 inch. Or 1.25 inch...or 1 inch. So I clean them out!

I am excited by it so I bring everything home and try my new connectors on my piece of bamboo.....and it slides right through. What the hell?

I measure it. You know how big the opening is on 1.5 inch PVC connectors? Wanna guess? Its 2 inches. How the hell does that work? 2 Inches. Now I have to take back all the stuff I got and buy new ones.

Grrrr.

Bamboo it is!

I had great plans to do a strength test of Bamboo vs. Schedule 40 PVC today so I went to Sunnyside Garden Center and bought a 7 foot tall piece of 1.5" bamboo. I went to Home Depot to buy a piece of PVC, but when I saw it I realized that I didnt need to test it because I could already tell the bamboo was that much stronger. The Bamboo felt strong enough that that one little piece would hold my weight....but the PVC....there is no way I would trust it. So I guess I will be using Bamboo to make the Gaia Cart.

Here is a picture of all three girls sitting on the Bamboo and one of just the bamboo stick itself.



Also, I measured it and it is *exactly* 1.5" wide...which means I can still use PVC connectors. Huzzah!!!!

Bamboo - Damn True!

I was thinking about the Gaia Cart today and mulling over my options for using Schedule 20 PVC vs Schedule 40 PVC vs Schedule 80 pVC for strength vs. weight issues....and it got me to thinking....PVC isnt the most environmental of substances.

That led me to this fellows article:

http://www.bmeres.com/bambooframe.htm

He made a bike frame out of Bamboo!!! And it works well.

Bamboo! Why not...its very strong...its very light...and super enviromental. Its a nice natural material....so its strong and retains its flexibility. I must do some experiments with teh strength of bamboo vs PVC.....its worth trying anyway. I figure if I use Bamboo for all the pieces I can with PVC connectors at the joints it will be an interesting vehicle. And cool looking.

Although the downside is that I risk being mocked for driving something that looks like the Professor from Gilligans Island built. Perhaps if I get my lovely wife to dress up as Mary Anne I wont look so out of place.

Three cheers for Bamboo!

Mechanic B

Gaia Cart Project

New and Improved Model

So we did a new model, same scale as the last one. It is extended 8 inches and has alot more stuctural parts. You may not be able to see the braces I added in most cases, but they are there. It is alot stronger, just by feel....which is good. It responds to stress correctly. It still needs a little twist though ro be healthy....so this presents a problem with braces. So my solution is to refrain from putting braces on the bottom (making triangles) with the PVC. Instead I will use those wire dealios you use to keep your wooden gates straight on the bottom of the Gaia Cart to keep the frame in line. Perfect.

I like the new style way better than the one provided. I think it kind of looks like a jeep now. Cool.

Mechanic N was a big help today!

Mechanic B,
Gaia Cart Project


I like the new car better. The wheels are better.

Mechanic N
Gaia Cart Project








I like the old car better because its nice. I like both of them, its just that I don't like that the new one doesnt have colour on the wheels. I like the waffle wheel.

Mechanic K,
Gaia Cart Project

First Model

So the Project Gaia Cart team and I built a model for the Side Kick as it comes pictured.

We built our model 1/12 scale using straws and duct tape. Is there anything duct tape cannot do?

I know its not the most accurate of ways to build this, but they dont make PVC at 1/12 scale :).

We started out as you can see in the picture with everyone excited. We had a false start though as I figured the authors diagrams were to scale and cut the straws from the lengths on the page. Not so much. I really clued into this when I noticed that a 13 inch piece and a 36 inch piece were the same size on the diagram. So we threw away our first pieces and started again, measuring everything precisely and then making it a bit imprecise with the duct tape. Mechanics N and M got bored at this point and went to do some unrelated research (I believe it was barbie.com). Mechanic K and I plodded along.


The result was not bad. It looks like more duct tape than straws....and it probably is....but it gives me a rough idea of its appearance and strength.

(The wheels are made out of a waffle box.....thats why one looks like a waffle)

I like the front end and I think I will leave that mostly alone. Its strength side to side and front to back are actaully alot better than I thought. I thought it would need more traingles in the structure to make it a bit firmer.....but maybe not. I may still add some as I love triangles.

The back end I dont like so much. It just looks a bit unfinished. I think I may extend the plan 6 - 12 inches and rework the back end. I need to add some traingles in the front end and under the seat for support.

The model has alot of give 'twist wise', but I think this is good and on purpose. As every road and surface is not perfectly flat, this thing needs a bit of give.

The next steps are to make a new model of our own design, to perhaps better the plan. Then I need to find a supplier of PVC in town...just so I can get some sample fittings to use for my measurements.

- Mechanic B, Gaia Cart Project



I was so excited for the project because it made me feel happy. It was special because it would be better for the earth. We used straws and tape and cardboard to make the model. It was fun to build. I helped my dad build it and cut out the tires myself.

- Mechanic K, Gaia Cart Project


Little car is good. I like using tape.

- Mechanic N, Gaia Cart Project


I think the little car is nice and cute. We built it with straws and tape. We build a small one to see what the big one is like. I tried to drive it on the table and the wheels bent.

- Mechanic M, Gaia Cart Project

Excited

I am excited to see what it looks like!

Mechanic K, Team Hunt