Sustainable Domes - Geodesic Dome - Aquaponics Domes :: Home Build your own Bamboo Domes This is page 95 of "Domebook Two", a book that was published in the 70's and is very hard to find. It was written by Pacific Domes (not the same as Pacific Domes), and I was able to find it at the local library. Bamboo grows fast, is free material for a dome framework. It might be possible to suspend a tent skin or mosquito netting inside, or pull a stretch cloth over the outside and shoot foam. Tools: a pocket knife and string. Dome Assembly The geodesic dome, as shown in the assembly diagrams, contains two different joints: a B joint which occurs at the vertices of all pentagons formed, and an R joint which occurs at all other points. Cutting and Measuring the Members There are only two different lengths of members used in the erection. For a 5/8 dome, 80 B members and 90 R members are required. A line of color can be drawn around the bamboo members at each measuring point. Cross Assembly With 12" extra on the end of each stick, there'll be a 24" overlap when the crosses are assembled.
Conduit Dome Tips Conduit, or EMT seems to be the material of choice for domes at Burning Man. Conduit is easy to work with, relatively inexpensive, and plated so painting isn't necessary. This page will provide tips for making conduit framed domes. STEP 1: Deciding on a frequency The first thing you need to do is figure out what type of dome you want to build. If this is your first dome, the 2 or 3 frequency domes are recommended. STEP 2: What Size? STEP 3: Calculating Strut Lengths This is where the Dome Calculator comes in. Step 4: Eliminating Waste This part is tedious, but worth the effort because it will save you money and you won't have to feel bad about throwing away tons of wasted pipe. Step 5: Cutting the struts Cut the tubes according to the strut factors plus 1½". STEP 6: Flattening the ends OK, there are a few ways to do this part. Step 7: Drilling Holes To drill the first hole in each strut, cut a V groove in a 2 X 4 six inches longer than the longest strut. Step 10: Break Time! Woo Hoo!