# Wooden Water Tower - Creating Cylinder



## JHWelch (Jul 3, 2015)

I want to try and create a wooden water tower for a production of Urinetown. Looking something like this: http://www.nrhc.org/img/nrhc/water-tower.jpg I think I could figure out the structure (though if anyone has any tips that would be great) but I don't know what to put over the surface!

I don't know if luan will bend enough to for me to cover the surface if the diameter is only 6' or 8'. Is there anything I could use that would work easily? 

Thanks


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## Amiers (Jul 3, 2015)

6' - 8' Sonatube. if you can find one.


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## JohnD (Jul 3, 2015)

Do a google search for "bendy plywood" lots of companies make it, the problem is to source it locally.


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## Colin (Jul 3, 2015)

If you can't find bending ply (A.K.A. wacky wood, wiggle wood, flexply...) affordably then 1/8" hardboard can make a 6' diameter with an appropriate frame behind it. Lots of glue and a few screws help hold the ends of the sheet from popping off (staples alone tend to pull through the thin sheet). Cheaper than ply, but less fun to work with. 

I'm about 90 minutes from Westford and haven't had to source bending plywood in forever, but it used to be a special order. If you do find someone in eastern MA who is stocking it I'd love to know about it.


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## bobgaggle (Jul 3, 2015)

Sonatube isn't going to be cost effective. I bought a 4' diameter one @ 16' long for $400 once. If you can source a 6 or 8 foot the cost will be insane. You'll have to sand down or otherwise modify the surface to get rid of the spiral seam of the material. Unless you're planning to crud it up, a wood grain paint treatment wont hide that spiral. Go with Luan. It'll bend just fine around that raidus. Screws on the edge as said above, staples will pull out.


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## MeasureThrice (Jul 3, 2015)

1/8 inch luan will definitely make an 8' diameter. I've faced plenty of round platforms that size before. It might be a stretch to get it to 6', but you might make it if you take your time. You won't find bender board plywood in any of the box stores, but you might make some calls to lumber yards in your area. Anyone who supplies cabinetmakers will carry it. That takes care of the main portion, I doubt luan will work for the roof. The spherical bottom can be done with muslin with the proper framework. I seem to remember seeing some in-process photos of a British style phone booth somewhere in here that someone built. Similar process that they used for the domed roof.


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## venuetech (Jul 3, 2015)

Luan will bend just fine, just pay attention to the grain.
you could even use luan to make the cone top just cut it out like a paper cone
you can over lap the edges, stich and glue them together with bailing wire


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## bobgaggle (Jul 3, 2015)

venuetech said:


> Luan will bend just fine, just pay attention to the grain.
> you could even use luan to make the cone top just cut it out like a paper cone
> you can over lap the edges, stich and glue them together with bailing wire



I'd like to see the end result if that happens. Seems to me like you wouldn't be able to get a true cone, because the radius gets progressively smaller towards the vertex, and luan has a limit to how much it'll bend, maybe 2' diameter, based on a 4' width? Maybe he could fab a small cone top out of foam and paint it in...

The more I think about it the less I think it would work haha. He's talking a 6' diameter. You'd have to seam a lot of pieces together. Would be a cool effect though. Has anyone done this?


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## venuetech (Jul 3, 2015)

It would only take one seam to do.(plus the cone forming seam) I think a small relief hole may be needed at the center 2"- 3". with a 2" overlap for the glue you could have a circle 7'8" to make the cone so you would loose a few inches of that to the height of the cone.
this would be hard to do with luan on a small scale but this size i think it will work well. a 48" proof of concept could be made from the scraps of the tank cover. 
have i done this? no but if i needed to make such a structure it would be on the list of things to try. I built my stitch and glue kayak with a core of luan and it bumps with the sealions for 8 years or so.


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## SHCP (Jul 3, 2015)

If I am making curved walls I use Thermo Ply or RAM Board. The advantage of RAM Board is that it already is in a roll and curves really easily. Thermo Ply works really well structurally, but needs a bit of work to paint prep.


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## Colin (Jul 3, 2015)

SHCP said:


> If I am making curved walls I use Thermo Ply or RAM Board. The advantage of RAM Board is that it already is in a roll and curves really easily. Thermo Ply works really well structurally, but needs a bit of work to paint prep.



I've never seen Thermo Ply stocked anywhere in my neighborhood but I poke at Ram Board in the store thinking some day... How do these materials take paint/texture/applique?


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## SHCP (Jul 3, 2015)

Colin said:


> I've never seen Thermo Ply stocked anywhere in my neighborhood but I poke at Ram Board in the store thinking some day... How do these materials take paint/texture/applique?


RAM Board takes primer and paint really well. I typically use staples instead of screws to affix it to anything. Thermo Ply is pretty common in Home Depot and Lowes in the Bay Area, I don't know how common it is on the east coast. Maybe there is a similar product in the sheathing/insulation section over there.


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## Davetp (Jul 5, 2015)

Why dont You Just try Using Canvas or a material that you could paint on
it would also be lighter that using wood. and it can wrap asily just need two guide poles at the top and bottom


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## Colin (Jul 5, 2015)

Davetp said:


> Why dont You Just try Using Canvas or a material that you could paint on
> it would also be lighter that using wood. and it can wrap asily just need two guide poles at the top and bottom



Fabric could work but it can be tricky to stretch around a curve just enough to pull wrinkles out without causing hourglassing. That is, assuming a smooth cylinder shape is what you want. If a polygon is okay (why not--I'm sure I have seen water towers like that) then fabric could be easy since there will be frequent uprights in the frame to make the fabric hold a straight edge around the corners of the polygon. Might not be much weight saved by that point though, and you have to worry more about bracing with a soft facing while a rigid facing takes care of a lot of that for you, so saves framing.


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## VCTMike (Jul 5, 2015)

I think I would build this from 6-8" wide strips of lauan with the desired bevel cut on each edge and make a cradle type jig with the required radius of a section of the wall and then lay them down and glue sections together, maybe a quarter or eighth at a time. Once the sections are done assemble with beveled cleats on the back side. Add a wash paint and wood patterning to make it look like aged lumber. The top could be done the same way. Just need a different template and jig. Should be quite sturdy and light.


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## lwinters630 (Jul 6, 2015)

Consider a cheap sheet vinyl flooring, bottom side out. The felt backing is paintable. It will bend smoothly over the framework and even work for the top. A flooring store may donate a piece.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Jul 6, 2015)

Photo looks like sheet metal, but you want wood - barrel - look? For that. I think VCTMike is closest to what I would do. Might think about avoiding the lay up with glue, but luan or similar strips on a couple or three plywood rings.


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## VCTMike (Jul 6, 2015)

BillConnerASTC said:


> Photo looks like sheet metal, but you want wood - barrel - look? For that. I think VCTMike is closest to what I would do. Might think about avoiding the lay up with glue, but luan or similar strips on a couple or three plywood rings.



I guess it's a tradeoff of layup time versus making and assembling the plywood rings. If the diameter is over 4' it will require multiple pieces of plywood ring pieces cut out and assembled as well - 4' or less probably a better way and faster. I would think the rings would need flat sides cut on them or else the mating of the strip edges will be problematic without gluing them together, in which case it's just added work. I built a crow's nest with rings (~ 24") and narrower strips (maybe 2" each) and it was a challenge to get the edges to mate, although when flown at 14' not many people were really examining it when Cap'n Hook was fighting Peter. <g>


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## Colin (Jul 6, 2015)

BillConnerASTC said:


> Photo looks like sheet metal, but you want wood - barrel - look? For that. I think VCTMike is closest to what I would do. Might think about avoiding the lay up with glue, but luan or similar strips on a couple or three plywood rings.



Of course you're right in a world of plentiful skilled labor and time. 

Aside from the OP asking about materials to bend, I was basing my suggestions on an assumption (from OP's profile info) that the production in question is at a high school where one might like to avoid the table saw time and careful assembly required to do planks (staves?) like that. Did I do things like this in my time as a HS TD? Yes, I actually sort of made a point to have at least one nice/complex thing in each show. But if you have young novice carpenters, it comes with headaches you have to be willing to work through for the payoff. Certainly not trying to discourage, just painting the whole picture.

Another thing you have to deal with an increasing amount of as you add joints to a structure like this is light spill through the joints. Got to back the joints with something during assembly to avoid a real pain trying to fix it all after installation.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Jul 6, 2015)

Colin said:


> Of course you're right in a world of plentiful skilled labor and time.
> 
> Aside from the OP asking about materials to bend, I was basing my suggestions on an assumption (from OP's profile info) that the production in question is at a high school where one might like to avoid the table saw time and careful assembly required to do planks (staves?) like that. Did I do things like this in my time as a HS TD? Yes, I actually sort of made a point to have at least one nice/complex thing in each show. But if you have young novice carpenters, it comes with headaches you have to be willing to work through for the payoff. Certainly not trying to discourage, just painting the whole picture.
> 
> Another thing you have to deal with an increasing amount of as you add joints to a structure like this is light spill through the joints. Got to back the joints with something during assembly to avoid a real pain trying to fix it all after installation.



If metal, overlapping sheets of thin cardboard with some sort of rivet like pieces on a simple wood armature would be simple and light tight.


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## lwinters630 (Jul 7, 2015)

JHWelch said:


> I want to try and create a wooden water tower for a production of Urinetown. Looking something like this: http://www.nrhc.org/img/nrhc/water-tower.jpg I think I could figure out the structure (though if anyone has any tips that would be great) but I don't know what to put over the surface!
> 
> I don't know if luan will bend enough to for me to cover the surface if the diameter is only 6' or 8'. Is there anything I could use that would work easily?
> 
> Thanks


I think you will find the Ram board will work well. It is fiber reinforced and about the thickness of poster board.you can get it at Home Depot
Ram Board 38 in. x 50 ft. Temporary Floor Protection Roll-RB-38x50 - The Home Depot
It is about $40.

If you chose the wood plank look, you can pick up old cedar fence boards that are already weathered from a fence company. Usually for free.

Post some pictures back here when you finish so we can see it!


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## manuallyfocused (Jul 10, 2015)

Luan can definitely be bent to make that radius if you're careful about it. Make a plywood ring at least every 2' and add as many 1x3 ribs as you can to provide gluing surfaces and support. Start on the upstage side of the unit and give yourself a good 2" or so of attachment surface to start with. Place your sheet horizontally so you are bending in the direction of the grain (if your tower is more than 4' tall you'll need to double up plywood rings at 4' to give you a full seam catcher). Be VERY liberal with your glue and use lots of clamps or extra hands, and instead of just using fasteners through the luan, add a piece of 1x2 on the outside and screw through it with 2" screws through the luan and into your framing (you'll remove this once the glue dries). 

Proceed slowly and carefully around the rings, adding a 1x2 with screws every time you pass a support rib. Add extra support ribs wherever your seams end up hitting, and add extra 1x2 screw pads to help keep them in place. Again, LOTS OF GLUE! Once you've made your way all the way around, carefully cut your luan to fit (or leave it a little long if you want an overlap at the back) and finish with a final 1x4 to cover the seam (this can replace the initial 1x2 piece that held your starting point. You could start with 2 2' pieces of 1x2 and replace them one at a time with 1x4 to cover the seam at the end). Give the glue plenty of time to dry, then pull the screws and take off your 1x2 boards. Putty the screw holes, or drive new screws into them just barely countersunk into the luan, and paint! I used this technique to bend luan around the complex curves of the top of a unit I created for a traveling youth circus last month. Some sections had a radius of about 1'-6", so your 3' radius should be fine.



For the top, ramboard is going to be a far simpler way to go than the luan. It might work physically to make a luan cone, but you're going to be cursing your design every step of the way. Build your frame, cut your seam, put it in place and staple it down. Maybe give it a thin coat of joint compound and texture it to look like rusted metal, or give it some woodgrain texture if you would rather.

Good luck!


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## MeasureThrice (Jul 17, 2015)

lwinters630 said:


> Consider a cheap sheet vinyl flooring, bottom side out. The felt backing is paintable. It will bend smoothly over the framework and even work for the top. A flooring store may donate a piece.


I'd forgotten about vinyl flooring. I, too, have used it for curves. It's really great if you're working on organic shapes. This is a tree stump I made for a show That has about a 4' diameter. The upper is vinyl flooring and the lower is chicken wire and lightweight muslin. ***Apologies for the poor early-camera-phone picture quality.***


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## AsherSB (Jul 17, 2015)

Everything lwinters said is great, go with that.


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