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GRIDBEAM IS NEAT ...but there's not enough of it on the net
14 years ago
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@Snapai (me) / @Snapimation (art)Gridbeam's a neat system that uses perforated square-profile lumber or square aluminum/steel tubing. The holes are spaced equal to the width of the sticks, so that you can bolt them together in all sorts of arrangements, to make furniture or small cars or space-dividing structures like bunkbeds or bed-desks, with storage units, etc.
There's the book: http://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Gri...../dp/0865716137
A few websites-
* http://gridbeam.biz/ (I think this is the official website for the book?)
* http://www.gridbeamnation.com/ (The nicest-looking site on it)
* http://www.gridbeamers.com/ (A website straight out of 1998 about it)
A pdf of the first chapter of the book (from its publisher): http://dev.newsociety.com/titleimag.....I000930_23.pdf
Google Books preview of the first two chapters of the book: http://books.google.com/books?id=Ui4BryMgB7wC&printsec=frontcover
And a few articles on it:
* Boingboing: http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/.....-with-gri.html
* Make Magazine: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/20.....diy-engin.html (which really just points to http://www.sas.org/tcs/weeklyIssues.....iew/index.html
* Unclutterer (something else I found on Google) http://unclutterer.com/2010/01/07/b.....ith-grid-beam/
The problem is, there doesn't seem to be anyone making much with this neat system and documenting it online. Nearly everything you'll find about gridbeam is the initial "Hey look at this nifty building system" thing, whether it's the websites from the book's authors, or reviews of the book elsewhere. There is not very much of "Hey look at this neat thing I built out of gridbeam" online.
So uh. Yeah. Go make stuff with it. :v The standard wood gridbeam is a two-by-two (1.5"x1.5"x8') lumber, that's drilled through every 1.5" starting 3/4" from the end, in both directions, with 5/16" holes, and cut to useful lengths. You can make this in an apartment with a drill press and a hacksaw. 1/4" hex bolts with washers and nuts work just fine on this stuff. Basically, you use 1/4" diameter for things that should slip easily through the holes like bolts that hold them together, and 5/16" diameter for things that should have a snug fit (lighting umbrellas, casters, etc).
There's the book: http://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Gri...../dp/0865716137
A few websites-
* http://gridbeam.biz/ (I think this is the official website for the book?)
* http://www.gridbeamnation.com/ (The nicest-looking site on it)
* http://www.gridbeamers.com/ (A website straight out of 1998 about it)
A pdf of the first chapter of the book (from its publisher): http://dev.newsociety.com/titleimag.....I000930_23.pdf
Google Books preview of the first two chapters of the book: http://books.google.com/books?id=Ui4BryMgB7wC&printsec=frontcover
And a few articles on it:
* Boingboing: http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/.....-with-gri.html
* Make Magazine: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/20.....diy-engin.html (which really just points to http://www.sas.org/tcs/weeklyIssues.....iew/index.html
* Unclutterer (something else I found on Google) http://unclutterer.com/2010/01/07/b.....ith-grid-beam/
The problem is, there doesn't seem to be anyone making much with this neat system and documenting it online. Nearly everything you'll find about gridbeam is the initial "Hey look at this nifty building system" thing, whether it's the websites from the book's authors, or reviews of the book elsewhere. There is not very much of "Hey look at this neat thing I built out of gridbeam" online.
So uh. Yeah. Go make stuff with it. :v The standard wood gridbeam is a two-by-two (1.5"x1.5"x8') lumber, that's drilled through every 1.5" starting 3/4" from the end, in both directions, with 5/16" holes, and cut to useful lengths. You can make this in an apartment with a drill press and a hacksaw. 1/4" hex bolts with washers and nuts work just fine on this stuff. Basically, you use 1/4" diameter for things that should slip easily through the holes like bolts that hold them together, and 5/16" diameter for things that should have a snug fit (lighting umbrellas, casters, etc).
it's easy to find perforated steel beams here in Brazil, we use it in construction works all the time.
I didn't knew there were so little use of it in the US, I thought it was a common idea..
Telespar is the most common kind, I believe, though it's actually perforated with twice the frequency of gridbeam.
There's also 80/20 HT - http://www.8020.net/HT-Series-1.asp
I'm pretty sure that each of these are far more expensive than what I can make out of wood....though probably worth it if I wanted to make something out of steel or aluminum.
After all, an 8' 2x2 is only $2 USD...the bolts to put it together costs more than that!
http://popupcity.net/2009/07/free-c.....by-ken-isaacs/
Anyways, here we use all sizes of steel beams (and some tubular structures too). It's practical for building temporary platforms on building sites and temporary furniture... and we can reuse/modify whenever it's needed...
Those things are VERY practical, and if made of steel, it can last forever XD