Here my first prototype for an armillary sphere, I designed this pretty blind just trying to see what I could do with some spare ply.
My next iteration will be a more delicate looking base to compliment the sphere and the inclusion of more engraving.
The central sphere spins using a crude thread method but I will come up with something more elegant.
Any suggestions on what I could use to stain or colour the ply before cutting? Or is pre treating something that could cause issues with fumes etc?
I’ve always stained ply after cutting, I wouldn’t stain before because as you say we don’t always know what is in the stains so could cause toxic fumes, etc…
Yeah, the base needs a bit of finessing…
I wonder if you cut thicker rings and less of them then you could make short pins (like from panel pins or similar) which would allow you to join together pairs of rings together and get the independent rotations?
I can picture it in my head but not sure how to describe what I’m thinking but happy to discuss…
Yeah that’s what I though, I was looking for a shortcut so I didn’t have to paint the rings 
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Yeah I agree, I’m thinking something a bit like this, maybe with some double end bolt things
I’ll probably pick your brains when it comes to the next assembly 
I was thinking of something more delicate that would allow you to keep loads of the rings and not need so much clearance between them but I’ll sketch it next time I see you…
the base would look cool if you cut some crazy intricate pattern all up inside it. IE there’s nothing wrong w/ the shape… perhaps it’s just too plain
Agreed, I think it needs to be something a bit more spindley, I didn’t really think about it when I designed it but it looks very heavy
Hi Elliot,
We are starting to look at our content inclusion for the Dulwich festival Maker fair we have a “Don’t be Shy! submit your Make” event happening on Friday. Would this be of any interest to you maybe and/or do you know anyone else I can reach out too?
Cheers
Dorine
