April 2001, Scout Show

Page 1

The scouts of Troop 163 (with some friends) built an hourglass tower to demonstrate their skills of Pioneering.

The scouts participating were: Neil B, Gareth d [troop 144], Diego D, Paul F [troop 2], Kyle L, Curtis M, Sean M, Thomas R, Conrad S, and Isaac S.

We also had a number of adults helping out including: Bob B, John D, Jody F, Alan M, Dave R, and Don S.

Next year we will be working on a more interactive structure.

Many of these photos come from Jody's camera. The full sized photos are a bit larger than the typical photos on this site. More importantly, the newer camera handles lighting and motion blur much better. Electronics marches on.

There are quite a few pictures which don't show up on this page. However, if you click on one of the photos, you can go sequence through all of the photos.

We had two teams working to build the two tripods. Measurements need to be carefully made so that the tower will be reasonably straight once assembled. On the bottom, we used main poles that were about 12 feet long, with cross pieces about 9 feet long. The specific measurements aren't too critical as long as everything is the same length. The upper portion used somewhat shorter poles. Once the tripods were assembled, and all of the lashings checked for tightness, we tipped then over onto one of their sides. We undid the top of one of the assemblies, and laced it into the other one. It is important to get things reasonably lined up here.

Note that the two sides will not both sit flat on the ground. So you will need to do some support of one of the assemblies to tip up one corner of the base, as well as the point of the tripod. Once the assemblies are laced together, the main poles need to be lashed together, and the point which was disassembled needs to be relashed.

Check all of the lashings, and redo any which has become loose. Again, keep track of measurements. Note that these pieces are heavy enough to cause pinch points which could cause pain or injury. Have all participants keep saftey in mind. Now we had scouts finish assembling the hand rail on the top, and then to weave rope into a type of cargo net for a floor. Because the platform is triangular, this was sort of interesting.

While the floor was put into place, we tied rope between the points of the tripods to appropriate midpoints on poles of the other tripod, and threaded in small sticks to add a certain amount of tension. This helps support the tower, and adds a certain amount of adjustment.

Once the floor was in place, we attached rope to the tower in order to help lift, as well as another rope to keep the tower from going too far. Then we had people get under the tower and walk it up into place. It stood up nicely. From the top of the tower, you can see most of the show floor. The tower was quite stable, even when adults were at the top.

One of the scouts went up to lace in a wall between the handrail and the floor.

This style of project in that it excercises scout skills, leadership, and teamwork. The scouts can see a project that no one of them could build, but as a team, it went up well. The tower that we built is made of two three tripods. One of the tripods is inverted to form the upper portion of the tower.

Edit captions

If you have any question about this page, send mail to Dave Regan

	We had two teams working to build the two tripods. Measurements need to be carefully made so that the tower will be reasonably straight once assembled. On the bottom, we used main poles that were about 12 feet long, with cross pieces about 9 feet long. The specific measurements aren't too critical as long as everything is the same length. The upper portion used somewhat shorter poles.	Once the tripods were assembled, and all of the lashings checked for tightness, we tipped then over onto one of their sides. We undid the top of one of the assemblies, and laced it into the other one. It is important to get things reasonably lined up here.
	Note that the two sides will not both sit flat on the ground. So you will need to do some support of one of the assemblies to tip up one corner of the base, as well as the point of the tripod.	Once the assemblies are laced together, the main poles need to be lashed together, and the point which was disassembled needs to be relashed.
	Check all of the lashings, and redo any which has become loose. Again, keep track of measurements. Note that these pieces are heavy enough to cause pinch points which could cause pain or injury. Have all participants keep saftey in mind.	Now we had scouts finish assembling the hand rail on the top, and then to weave rope into a type of cargo net for a floor. Because the platform is triangular, this was sort of interesting.
		While the floor was put into place, we tied rope between the points of the tripods to appropriate midpoints on poles of the other tripod, and threaded in small sticks to add a certain amount of tension. This helps support the tower, and adds a certain amount of adjustment.
	Once the floor was in place, we attached rope to the tower in order to help lift, as well as another rope to keep the tower from going too far. Then we had people get under the tower and walk it up into place. It stood up nicely.	From the top of the tower, you can see most of the show floor. The tower was quite stable, even when adults were at the top.
		One of the scouts went up to lace in a wall between the handrail and the floor.
	This style of project in that it excercises scout skills, leadership, and teamwork. The scouts can see a project that no one of them could build, but as a team, it went up well.	The tower that we built is made of two three tripods. One of the tripods is inverted to form the upper portion of the tower.