Need a flexible batten - any ideas?
Discussion
I'm trying to find a material for a decorative project. The best way I can describe what I need is a type of flexible batten. I need to hot-glue items onto the batten, which needs to be flexible enough to be bent into circles, curves but strong enough to support itself if fixed to a wall a few places along it's length.
I need about 5-10m of this stuff and it also needs to be as cheap as possible.
Colour, material etc. doesn't matter too much as I can cover it if necessary.
Any suggestions?
I need about 5-10m of this stuff and it also needs to be as cheap as possible.
Colour, material etc. doesn't matter too much as I can cover it if necessary.
Any suggestions?
fastfreddy said:
It needs to bend more than for some of the curves I need to make and also I need a wider area on the front surface to glue other parts to. The front surface needs to be about 20-25mm wide ideally.
What thickness, roughly? Strip materials generally only bend in one plane. That's the real problem, I realise. Thickness just needs to be enough to be able to fix some tubes to the front of the flexible batten at right angles to the batten. The tubes are approx 15mm in diameter.
I was thinking of something like solid flexible plastic/nylon tube, or even hollow tube of some sort would be OK as I could drill holes in the tube and push the tubes into it.
I was thinking of something like solid flexible plastic/nylon tube, or even hollow tube of some sort would be OK as I could drill holes in the tube and push the tubes into it.
The other plane!
Ok, think of it like this.
You want to create a heart-shaped outline approx 1.5m in height which can then be attached by screws or nails or glue to a trellice backing. On the outline, you need to attach several small tubes (which are actually lights) around the circumference. A bit like the make up mirrors which have lights around the frame.
Does that make more sense?
Ok, think of it like this.
You want to create a heart-shaped outline approx 1.5m in height which can then be attached by screws or nails or glue to a trellice backing. On the outline, you need to attach several small tubes (which are actually lights) around the circumference. A bit like the make up mirrors which have lights around the frame.
Does that make more sense?
If you want it to hold its shape then I'd suggest a 8'/4' sheet of ply (thickness to suit the weight you plan to attach to it) and cut the shape out with a jigsaw. There'll be a huge amount of waste material, and if you wanted to make several you could make the all from the same sheet (by cutting out concentric shapes).
GreenV8S said:
If you want it to hold its shape then I'd suggest a 8'/4' sheet of ply (thickness to suit the weight you plan to attach to it) and cut the shape out with a jigsaw. There'll be a huge amount of waste material, and if you wanted to make several you could make the all from the same sheet (by cutting out concentric shapes).
cutting them out of ply was the starting point and would certainly be a good way to do one or two but I wanted to find a solution which would be less wasteful and easier for those with dodgy jigsaw skills (like me).It is proving tricky to find a suitable material though...
Could you cast it? I'm thinking sheet of plastic or finished wood, draw outline you want, sitck pins in on the outline. Then form a "fence" using flexible plastic sheet (ie the thin secondary glazing plastic sheet) at 90deg to the sheet of plastic, held in place by the pins. Might need a fillet of silicone to seal. Then you could cast your shape using exopy resin, casting resin, concrete, plaster of paris etc. Lot of hassle, but worth it if you have a few to make.
Be careful whatever you cast with won't melt the plastic and use some form of strengthening in the casting to form a composite material - anything from string to chopped strand mat.
Be careful whatever you cast with won't melt the plastic and use some form of strengthening in the casting to form a composite material - anything from string to chopped strand mat.
Actually, have you considered making a former (possibly similar to the above or using some old off cuts of wood), and building up the shape by laminating? Could build up the thickness either using paper, card, thin ply, string, carbon fibre etc depending what properties you required.
It sounds as if you want something that is flexible but will hold it's shape once bent, and torsionally stiff so you can hang stuff off the front without it twisting under the weight.
How many are you planning to make? Drawing the shape on a piece of plywood and zipping round with a jigsaw still seems like the most practical approach if you're only after a few. Depending how much of it is on show you could make it out of multiple smaller sections.
An alternative would be to bend it out of copper tube or something like that, but it would be tricky to get the shape right and the result would be a lot heavier and more fragile.
How many are you planning to make? Drawing the shape on a piece of plywood and zipping round with a jigsaw still seems like the most practical approach if you're only after a few. Depending how much of it is on show you could make it out of multiple smaller sections.
An alternative would be to bend it out of copper tube or something like that, but it would be tricky to get the shape right and the result would be a lot heavier and more fragile.
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