Keletica's Dialectic

Weighty Subject

mail@keletica.com (Gayle Knapp) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:08:18 +0000

I'd been lucky until this year to be in outdoor shows that allowed staking into the ground. Now, I have a show this summer that requires 50 lbs of weight PER LEG on my canopy. So, I went on the web to see what others have done. I found pricey weights and bags at commercial sites that wouldn't easily get me to that 50 lbs/leg. I found "jury-rigged" ideas like cement blocks, jugs of water and sandbags. But, again the volume of 50 lbs of any of these would be unwieldy or downright too cumbersome. Then, I found the suggestion of using cement-filled tubes with eye-screws that secure to the tent legs using rope tied to the "rafters" and velcro around the lower legs. But, no details about how to do this were given--particularly to guarantee the weight (one of my potential venues has city inspectors signing off on the set-up). So that y'all don't have to rediscover my wheel, here's what the procedure is for getting your desired weight. My example detailed below will yield 25+-lb 4-inch PVC tubes. For the mathematically inclined I've included the formulas for easily redesigning this setup for different weights.

I grabbed my calculator and searched the web for essential information. Concrete has a density of 145 lb/cubic foot; the inside diameter of 4-inch (Schedule 40) PVC pipe is 4.026 inches or 0.34 feet; the quoted weight of the 4-inch (Sch.40) PVC tubing is 2.01 lb/ft (however, my empirical measurement gave 2.2 lb/ft).

So, put on your analytical thinking cap and let's DO THE MATH.

To achieve a desired weight tube, you need to calculate the volume you'll need using the density of concrete. You find the volume of cement required for the desired weight by solving the ratio:

145 lb/ft³ = 25 lb/V
or, rearranging and cancelling units
V = 25/145 ft³ = 0.172 ft³

The formula for the volume (V) of a cylinder is

V = pi*r²*h
where pi = 3.1416
r = radius of the inside of the PVC pipe = 2.013 inches or 0.168 ft
h = height of the pipe (unknown to be solved for here)

Filling in the knowns gives

0.172 = 3.1416*(0.168)²*h
h = 0.172/0.0884 = 1.95 ft

ERGO, a 2-ft length of 4-inch PVC pipe filled to the top with concrete should weigh 29 lbs (don't forget the pipe contributes significantly).

Now, put on your hard hat.

My first design competition--"Timeless Asymmetry"

mail@keletica.com (Gayle Knapp) — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:28:25 +0000

Two things combined in January to allow me to enter my first design competition. First, I'd resolved to reduce/compact/declutter my personal jewelry collection. Second, BeadStyle magazine offered an intriguing challenge--to make something fresh from odds and ends in your jewelry box. Inspired by the latter, I rediscovered heirlooms that had languished in obscurity for years. Two of these heirlooms, the watch chain and fob which belonged to my great-grandfather, became the focal points of my redesign.

The watch chain had a black bar (for inserting into the buttonhole of a vest) which would work as half of a toggle clasp (adding a purchased Vintaj ring charm). I needed the other half of a necklace and decided to use a half strand of bakelite beads that have a story of their own. These were part of a necklace that belonged to my grandmother. One summer a cousin and I needed jewelry for our dolls and half a strand each worked perfectly. Being a sentimentalist, I kept these "useless" beads. Now, they have a use in my heirloom necklace.

The old wire joining the bakelite beads was weakened from misuse. So, I removed it. I made a set of new bead links--using fresh copper wire and antiqued copper beads for added visual interest. These links were joined to form a segment equal in length to the watch chain.

The watch fob was supposed to be the pendant, but was too small--overwhelmed by the dimensions of the watch chain. So, I rooted around in my collection of focal gemstones and found the hypersthene cross. It was too "flashy" and modern alone with the fob and needed "something" to tie it into the rest of this design. Wrapping it with copper chain solved the problem.

With the design finished I scanned it and submitted the picture to Bead Style. Lo and behold, it made it into the semi-finals to be published in the July 2009 issue along with four other submissions. Readers get to vote for their favorite and the winner gets featured in the November issue.

Shamelessly, I solicit your vote! Please go to the Bead Style Magazine online ballot page and vote for my design. Voting is open until July 9, 2009.

Blogging about Jewelry Design

mail@keletica.com (Gayle Knapp) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:03:47 +0000

When I began considering a blog for the Keletica website, I thought about the topics I wanted to share with my visitors. These are many and varied. Among them are:

where do we get our inspiration for designs?
what are some favorite rockhounding sites?
where do we get our starting materials?
how do you do ___?
what stones, websites, vendors/stores do we like best?

I'm hoping we can begin dialogs on these and more.

I'll be writing about the background for some of Keletica's designs and where the inspiration came from. Sometimes it's a serendipitous rolling together of beads on my workbench. Or, a vignette from nature or even the patterning within a stone suggests a color or bead combination. A vivid "mind picture" evoked by something I read has suggested concepts for designs. From time to time I may write about the trials and tribulations of transforming an idea into a finished creation.

I'm hoping that stories about my collecting trips will provoke similar ones from my fellow rockhounds. I'm always seeking to learn about new sites where materials can be collected.

From those of you just starting to make your own jewelry, I'd love to hear your questions about techniques. I'll write descriptions of How-To's in response (or perhaps another visitor will respond).

So...keep coming back to read and share your thoughts and questions.