Joined
·
1,392 Posts
We decided to upgrade the wing spars on our Creeper wings this year. They were made from lengths of 1/2" PVC pipe, which didn't really work for several reasons. The biggest issue was they are smooth and the same width from end to end, and the wing spars should taper as they go. The other big issue was weight. The long spars were six feet long and the shorter ones were five feet long, and that's a lot of weight to handle and support.
We were going to use fishing poles, but eight poles of the correct length and width were going to be pricey as most people won't sell you a pole without a reel. We did some looking around and came across some lengths of bamboo that Pier 1 Imports sells. They come bundled four to a set, with widths ranging from 3/8" to about 1/4". We bought three sets at $9.99 a set, separated them so we would group them by width, and made new bundles of four or five lengths with the thicker bamboo being used for the top two spars and the thinner for the lower two. Then we used zip ties to hold them together, then coated with wood glue and hot glue to form them into one mass. Then we removed the ties, painted the spars brown, and attached them to the wings.


The final product came out very well. The wings are much lighter and can actually flap in the breeze, plus taking them up a ladder and handling them is now a one man job. Plus the wings were much higher and looked better than when they hung lower due to the PVC.
We were going to use fishing poles, but eight poles of the correct length and width were going to be pricey as most people won't sell you a pole without a reel. We did some looking around and came across some lengths of bamboo that Pier 1 Imports sells. They come bundled four to a set, with widths ranging from 3/8" to about 1/4". We bought three sets at $9.99 a set, separated them so we would group them by width, and made new bundles of four or five lengths with the thicker bamboo being used for the top two spars and the thinner for the lower two. Then we used zip ties to hold them together, then coated with wood glue and hot glue to form them into one mass. Then we removed the ties, painted the spars brown, and attached them to the wings.


The final product came out very well. The wings are much lighter and can actually flap in the breeze, plus taking them up a ladder and handling them is now a one man job. Plus the wings were much higher and looked better than when they hung lower due to the PVC.