Minnesota Spring Mini #2

[GWH]

Anyone interested in coming to a mid Minnesota Spring Mini #2?

When Saturday May 22nd

Where: we live out in rural Minnesota 10 miles from any towns (Brooten & Belgrade) or about 2 ¼ hour drive west, and north of the twin cities, about 3 hours from Sioux Falls South Dakota, and about 2 hours from Fargo North Dakota.

I do have work areas/buildings and we do live on/by a lake.

What we have planned so far:
* We do have 1 person that will be doing a seminar on LOR beginner and Intermediate choreographing software
* I will be doing wire frame layout, sizing for lights strings, bending & welding
* hope to have an in state LED light supply company bring out their new products
* I can bring over 2 arches if needed for sequence testing
* Light rod/pole 10 ft long for sequence testing
* 8 spoke wheel/fan for sequence testing
* I can have our light wrapper/winder available to show how it is done
* Please bring your Show and Tell stuff, such as Pictures, Lights, Videos, or what ever you want to bring?

HELP: What would you like to have at this Mini?
We are open for ideas on classes/seminars/work shops; working with music, RGB, CCR, DMX, Fold lights, Spot lights, projectors, trains, Any animated lighting system & or Software, string lights, fixing light strings, Still lots of time to add or change the schedule!

Food & etc:
There will be a small fee of $10.00 per person/attendees to cover the food & drink cost. If you have a special diet, please bring what you need.
The food will consist of: cold cuts, cheese, chips, bread white & wheat, butter, pickles, donuts, coffee, sodas diet & regular, potato salads, ketchup, mustards, mayonnaise.
Everyone is welcome to bring a dessert to share.

Equipment on Site:
I have a complete welding, machining, and woodworking shop with a lot of equipment: stick and MIG welders, plasma cutting torch, abrasive cutting saw, radial arm saw, table saw, drill presses, TAIG CNC 4 axe mill, CNC router, 4 metal laths, 2 vertical Mills, 1 wood lathe, oxy-acetylene torch, 55 ton Ironworker, arch/pole winder for winding lights around pipe, many computers, DSL – WIFI on site, just bring your ideas, your computer, & etc.

I do have ¼” round rods on hand and other steel that can be purchase if you want to build something. If you do want to do a build project please let me know ahead of time so I can make sure we have what you need.

More details will be coming soon.

Please, Please RSVP!!

Garry & Georgia

[dirknerkle]

I'd like to attend, Garry. I tried to make it happen last year but other "stuff" got in the way. I'll be interested in the wire framing, welding and anything LED as those are areas I've not gone (yet).

I could bring some Ren-W wireless controller gear if you think anyone might have an interest in that. A lot of folks have purchased the boards but I doubt anybody has yet to build them up and experiment with them yet.

-dave

[GWH]

dirknerkle

That would be great if you would bring your Rew-w wireless system. I have been following & reading the threads about that stuff but have not tried any of it.

Do you want to build sometime with wire frames that day?

Garry

[dirknerkle]

I don't have any specific plans in mind about wire frames, but I'd like to see efficient ways of measuring, bending, welding, tools needed, kinds of welders to use/not use (tig/mig/???), amperage requirements, etc. I know very little about welding and would like to learn more before I buy anything.

I've toyed with the idea of using copper tubing for frames. Thin coiled copper tubing that you might use to connect an icemaker isn't horribly expensive, is stiff enough to hold a shape yet easy to bend by hand, lightweight (for mounting on a house), and can be easily soldered with some flux paste, plumber's solder and a simple propane torch.

Most of the things I've made to date have been from PVC because they're cheap, lightweight and provide inherent insulation from GFCI issues. But metal has its own benefits that I'd like to see more first-hand before I decide whether welding is in my future.

[Skunberg]

I'd like to try to make it this year too. A Bethlehem star from 1/4 round would be nice. Learn how to use this new soldering iron before I muck up any more boards. See the Ren-w and how it works. Maybe ride share with Ernie. So put me on your list. Thank's!

[GWH]

dirknerkle

I have both a stick and MIG welders on hand, but the MIG welder is easier to use on small things.
I do not use copper as it is too soft, expensive , work hardens, and corrodes too easily.
If you are bending small copper tubing and it has a tendency to kink try this. To remedy this just fill the tube up with fine sand and cap the ends closed then bend your design, do no forget copper works hard real quick and then breaks so you will have to anneal it if you do any rebinding forming or shaping.
Garry

[dirknerkle]

Thanks for the tips, Garry.

At this point using copper tubing is just a curiosity... I'm not doing anything for the time being with it -- just finding various affordable construction supplies that have properties that make them appear to be workable to some degree.

I'm pretty good at bending tubing of various materials and I've used the interior fill idea before. I've had the best luck by first acquiring the material and testing it as-is to see how far it will bend before kinking when (a) in its native state and (b) when heated, and afterward designing the shapes to accommodate the bendable properties of the material. I think that knowing how far a material will give before it craps out is an essential element to matching the material to a use. ;)

-dave

[ErnieHorning]

I’ve already responded on PC that I’m going but I can do it here too. I hope this doesn’t mean that I’m going twice; it would probably upset the time continuum and we can’t have that.

I’ve thought about welding some better mini trees but 1/4” might be a bit overkill for two footers. The coat hanger tomato cages are a bit thin and they get a bit bent up after a few years. Well, there was that one that I stepped on while hanging lights on my pine. There’s also the issue of rust. Gary, what are you charging per foot on the quarter inch?

Skunberg, no problem; you’re on my way anyway. I think I’ll follow the map this time. I used GPS last time. I still got there last time but I swear I when around in circles a couple of times.

Dirk, I haven’t done any wireless, cost still seems a bit high for my cheapness but I’m getting tired of the time it takes for wire. It’s almost like hanging lights three times now so if I can start cutting this down, it would be great. I’d like to see the wireless hardware and how it works live.

[GWH]

ErnieHorning
The price for 20 ft 1/4" round is $3.15 plus tax or $0.16 per ft plus tax.I have over 400 ft on hand.
Garry

[dirknerkle]

Have you heard from many others about the Mini?