New Megatree star and pole

lithgowlights

Dedicated elf
Joined
May 6, 2010
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Over the last few months we have had completely redesigned and rebuilt the megatree here. From a 32 string 64 pixel 360 degree tree with a 50 pixel star, to a completely new 36 string 100 pixel tree and a 360 pixel star, things have got a little larger and a lot neater.

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This is the initial star build, with 110, 100, 90 and 80 pixels in each of the 4 rows, made of aluminium angle iron, tig welded and pop riveted together.

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The star during its initial test. Because of the design, I ended up doing a custom map of it

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Now to the topper, sourced from @BooY and cut down to just the inner ring, I added a 40mm square tube down the center that allows it to smoothly slide up and down the 35mm main pole. This is before I added the holder that allows the connection of the above star. Oh and this is shown upside down

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The topper and star holder on the tree. 2 winches pull the topper up with 3.2mm stainless steel wire, with a pulley at the top making movement very easy. This also shows the hinge point just below the topper that allows easy installation of the pole. PLace the base in position, connect the hinge and walk the top secion up and hold it in place with 2 bolts and then connect 4 guy wires, 2 to the house and 2 to ground. These wires connect to the top of the pole, which is why the pole increased from 6m to 7.5m and the height of the star went from 2 foot to 5 foot

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Side image of the hinge and topper

I now need to tidy up the guy wires, get the pole straight and then make their connection easier - more a clip and then tighten up, taking the installation down to just a few hours in total. I also need to work out how to mount the metal base ring to the base of the pole in a way that it's easy to install while maintaining its strength.
 
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