[TheForge] multiple questions concerning a possible project

[terry l. ridder]

hello;

i am mulling over the idea of building a yurt from scratch. ( yes, i know
you can buy them from several manufacturerers. ) there are several parts
of the design that would require either brass or stainless steel
fittings. this is were the questions arise.

brass grommets verses stainless steel grommets.
what are the pros and cons of using either type of grommet?

brass verses stainless steel window fastners.
these may be difficult to visualize but here goes.
a grommet with an oval-shaped hole through which and oval-shaped stud
passes. the oval-shaped stud turns 90 degrees to lock the grommet in
place.

rafter to compression ring connectors.
these are basically pins and sockets. the pins are in the end of the
rafters and the sockets are in the compression ring.
brass verses stainless pros and cons.


rafter to stainless steel tension cable.
each rafter is notched so it slides over the cable.
there needs to be someway to protect the rafter from splitting it's
length from the all the combined forces of the cable and the compression
ring. also at the same time lock the cable into the notch.

the rivets/bolts/etc which hold the walls together.
the walls are basically large baby gates in the way they fold up and
expand. i have better much ruled out rivets since if a slat breaks i do
not want to have to be drilling out several rivets.

 /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ /
   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ 
 x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ 
 x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

i have idea for a connector type/style but sofar i have been unable to
find it one the internet.
here is my idea for a connector.
a round washer with a barrel attached. the barrel is thread 3/4 of the
length. the other 1/4 of the length is an hex socket for an allen
wrench. the barrel length is the thickness of the wall slat. when
assembled the two barrel halves would meet. this allows the slats to
move yet be held in place. also allows for easy replacement of broken
slats. no protruding bolt/screw heads to wear on the canvas wall and no
threads and nuts protruding into the yurt. depending on the size of the
yurt these could be hundreds if not a couple thousand of the connectors.
also depends on the number of slats in the wall and slat spacing.
obviously the more slats the more connectors required. assuming that
each slat is 8 feet long there is a connector hole every 12 to 16 inches
starting 4 inches from one end. (8 foot long slats give roughly a 6 foot
wall height.) the slats are made from wood. they are sort of like 1x2.
think 2x4 ripped into 4 pieces.

well there are more design questions but that is enough for now.

-- 
Terry L. Ridder ><>