Need help with selecting materials

[srl_welder]

Hey everyone, I need some help selecting materials. My American Government teacher approached me with a project to build. He is a drummer in a band, and needs "drum risers" made, but they need to fold, and it has to be lightweight. It needs to be 6' by 8' by 8"tall.

So since the risers need to be light, I figure aluminum would do the job, and also be strong. If any other opinions please let me know.

Now for the frame, what would be good to use? And also what thickness should the material be?

Any help would be great.
Thanks in advance,
SRL

[Frank865]

What is a "drum riser", & how much weight does it need to support?
More details will help a lot in getting good responses.
Can you post a picture of what he's using now? Or a picture, or sketch of what a "store-bought" drum riser looks like?

[srl_welder]

A drum riser is basicly a stage for drummer. My guess would be 500 pounds or more for the riser to hold, but i'll find out for sure tomorrow. this is a pic of a riser at the link below.

http://img.ziply.com/img/us/image/640m-480m/40005.jpg

Thanks for the response,
SRL

[Frank865]

OK I understand what your wanting now.
How small does it need to be to transport (maximum dimension of component parts)?
Could you use a hinged/pinned angle iron frame & floor it with 2 or 3 pieces of plywood?

[srl_welder]

I'm not quite sure for the dimension, but I'm thinking if when collapsed its 4' by 6' that might fit in his truck (will check though). If it wont fit I'm thinking maybe about making it a trifold. I'm not quite sure what you mean by hinged/pinned?

Thanks,
SRL

[JD in Socal]

Hey everyone, I need some help selecting materials. My American Government teacher approached me with a project to build. He is a drummer in a band, and needs "drum risers" made, but they need to fold, and it has to be lightweight. It needs to be 6' by 8' by 8"tall.

So since the risers need to be light, I figure aluminum would do the job, and also be strong. If any other opinions please let me know.

Now for the frame, what would be good to use? And also what thickness should the material be?

Any help would be great.
Thanks in advance,
SRL

I'd make that thing out of 1/2" plywood. You would be hard pressed to be as light by using any metal, and it would be tough and cheap. I would hinge the sides and ends and 2 or 3 ribs to support the span. You could have it fold in half also. It should weigh roughly what a single sheet (4x8) of plywood weighs (not a lot) and be plenty strong enough for a fat guy and a set of drums. If it needs to hold some groupies too, you could just up the plywood to 5/8 or 3/4".

JD

[srl_welder]

Thanks for the input about the wood. We even told him it would be cheaper (for us and him), and easier for us to do it with wood, but he wants it to be metal....
So now I'm thinking c-channel for the frame, figure some way to hinge it in the middle, and then run one diagonal support on each side of the hinge? But I'm still not sure on what thickness either...
Thanks,
SRL

[Winger Ed.]

but he wants it to be metal....
SRL

Alot of folks are like that,,,,,,,,,,, until you lay a price on them.

After getting a realistic bid/price for what he wants, or 'has to have'.....
he may find the plywood 'a more acceptable option', all of a sudden.

..

[srl_welder]

Ya I complletly understand being hit with a price, when expecting it to be way lower. But I still kind of am needing to know what thickness. I'm thinkin 1/8th inch thick material. If that should be too much or to little please let me know.

[4dstang]

If you can TIG or know someone who can TIG I would make three seperate pieces, so three seperate frames out of 1" box aluminum. Should be strong and light. I would still go with wood (plywood) for the top as it can handle scuffing that would happen in transport and assembly/disassembly.

Look at how concert stages are built. They are in sections for transport. And, the stage sections can be easily assembled and disassembled.

[FusionKing]

If you want it to be "cutting edge" and trendy then there is only one material to make it out of and that is polished treadplate.
I make stuff out of it all day everyday....just figure out where to hinge it etc...
You'd prolly have 4-500 bucks in it for material using 3003 brite tread aluminum and the bracing but it'll look super cool and he can just keep polishing it just like the fire truck guys do!! Also I seen polish at Lowes for their truck tool boxes.
You could also make it out of plywood and then cover it with the tin .060 stuff they use for rockgaurd on trailers and stuff like that.
You could also use neon lights and get some really good effects too!

[srl_welder]

Sorry I haven't been able to respond sooner, been really busy these past days. But I do like all the ideas. I'll see what would be possible to do, and let you know what's going to happen.
Thanks,
SRL