Gauteng Kontiki liveblog (test) (opens in a new tab)
Today is the start of Kontiki 2010. With a bit of luck, I'll be posting some photographs of the rafts and campsites over the course of the weekend (if I can get my phone to work).
The Bloggers
Ropes and Poles
- Active 2007–2017
- Posts 232
- Words 36,208
Original site: ropesandpoles.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab) ↗
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Showing 201–232 of 232 · page 5 of 5. Each title opens the post in a new tab.
In the Wild: photographs of Ropes and Poles projects (opens in a new tab)
Most of the projects posted on Ropes and Poles have been tested in working conditions, mainly by my troop. Here are some photographs of projects that have featured here in the past. The large image above show the camp 'couch' designed by Scouts in our troop.
Two Coracles (1953 Article) (opens in a new tab)
Coracles are lightweight, dish-shaped boats, that have been used in Britain since Roman times. John Sweet's article from the Scout magazine in 1953 describes the construction of 2 different types of coracle. To make an ancient British coracle you require a tarpaulin or outsize groundsheet with eyelets round the edges.
Paper Tensegrity Task Lamp (opens in a new tab)
Tensegrity structures have fascinated designers since they were invented by Kenneth Snelson in the 1940s. Robbert Spikman, studying Industrial design at the Technical University Eindhoven in the Netherlands, designed this LED desk lamp using a tensegrity tower, and made from paper structural members (with the help of the step-by-step instructions from Ropes and Poles ).
Cloverleaf Hourglass Tower (opens in a new tab)
Hawk from Australia sent some photos of an hourglass tower with 4 legs, that was built as part of a Ropes and Spars training course, run by West Australian Scout Pioneering, a team formed to help train Scout leaders in pioneering skills.
Guitar String Turk's Head Woggle (opens in a new tab)
Other than Scouting, one of my hobbies is music: I play bass guitar (like this one , and recently the one I made as well), and the other day when I changed bass strings I made this woggle (neckerchief slide) for my Scout scarf out of the thinnest string from my bass.
Pioneered sculptures on the 49th floor (opens in a new tab)
Dor Posner has reported on some enormous Scouting structure before (like these ), and has been busy again, this time to celebrate the 90th year of Scouting in Israel, and the centenary of the founding of the city of Tel Aviv: 40 scouts (ages 16-18) built a model of the land of Israel on the roof…
JOTI pioneering- the router lashing (opens in a new tab)
I've featured a few JOTA towers , but no JOTI pioneering.. until now. :) We were relying on a wireless internet connection this weekend, so the modem needed to be placed high up for good signal. So here is the modem, securely lashed to the wan router , both suspended from a window in our Scout hall.
JOTA Tower from the Netherlands - 2008 edition (opens in a new tab)
Loy shared a great explanation of how his group built their radio tower last year.For JOTA this year, they have built another radio tower, and pictures of the tower, as well as the rest of their weekend, are available here . Thanks for sharing, Loy.
JOTI/JOTA this weekend (opens in a new tab)
This weekend, Scouts and Guides from around the world will be gathering around the world for the annual Jamboree on the Air and Jamboree on the Internet. Around 570,000 Scouts and Guides took part last year, in 121 different countries.
Three years of Ropes and Poles (opens in a new tab)
Next Monday, it will be three years since I published the first post on this blog- a small Scout trebuchet . Here are some highlights from the last three years: Massive Israeli pioneering projects It's been great to hear from Scouts around the world.
Swingboat (opens in a new tab)
8th Pretoria Saint Alban's built this Swingboat earlier this year at Gauteng Kontiki . Total construction time was around 4 hours, with a troop of approximately 20 (relatively young) scouts. The swing seat plank is suspended using a scaffold hitch . A complete list of equipment for a smaller version of this swing is available at the…
Pioneered Millenium Dome (opens in a new tab)
This beautifully drawn and well explained project is modelled after the Millenium Dome in London. The instructions explain the whole process of construction, including the procedure to make the net which supports the plastic sheeting forming the dome. The net alone requires some 1700 feet (625m) of rope, so this is not a small project…
Simple Friction Lock 'Bridge' - Instructions (opens in a new tab)
I've written about friction lock projects before- like this table and this pole rack . This post a simplified friction locking pioneering bridge. The purpose of this project is as an 'icebreaker' in a pioneering session - even Scouts who have no knotting experience can build one of these 'bridges', and feel that they have achieved something.
Scouting Cartoon- the Highwayman's Hitch (opens in a new tab)
From John Sweet's weekly 1950's Scout magazine page. (...and more about the Highwayman's Hitch for those who are mystified by the cartoon)
Belgian arch bridge (opens in a new tab)
This bridge was built at last year's Belgian Jamboree , by members of Ploeg Technieken , who have featured previously with the cloverleaf lashing . Kim notes that this was built 'only with manpower, no cranes, winching ... just people with hands ;-) ' This is a large and complex project, built from a series of smaller assemblies- see, for example…
Pioneered 'Strandbeest' walking machine (opens in a new tab)
I posted a couple of weeks back wondering whether any Scouts could build one of Theo Jansen's walking creatures out of ropes and poles. As you can see in the video above, it has been done- be Shevet Hanasi in Tel Aviv.
Northern District Pioneering projects (opens in a new tab)
These projects are all built by troops in the Northern District in Gauteng, South Africa. This district holds regular inter-troop Pioneering competitions, as well as a Scouter's competition. The above photo shows the winning Scouters from 2008, 1st Athol, in front of their 35ft-span suspension bridge, built in 4.5 hours.
Vleermuis tower (opens in a new tab)
De Vleermuis " (Bat) Scout Group from Belgium built this tower, a relative of the Hourglass Tower , during December of last year. Klipdas sent me these photos, and you can see them and many more in the Flickr group here .
Sailing from California to Hawaii on 15,000 plastic bottles (opens in a new tab)
JUNK is a raft made from recycled and discarded materials, that is sailing from California to Hawaii to highlight the problems caused in the ocean by discarded plastics. Built only from discarded materials, and held together using knots, this is a perfect example of modern pioneering,even if the materials used might not what we traditionally…
Japanese lashings (opens in a new tab)
Japanese traditional architecture and crafts are a great source for inspiration about lashings and pioneered structures. The images above and below are from the book 'Structure and Form in Japan' (apparently out of print but possibly available from Amazon.com ) Flickr user Anthony Grimley took this beautiful photograph of a fence outside a tea house: And…
Best project for beginner's pioneering? (opens in a new tab)
I received an e-mail this week asking for advice on the best simple project for people who have never done any pioneering before. I suggested an A-frame, because it is a simple, stable structure that is quick to build and can be used for many fun activities.
The Combined Fish Harvester: vintage chain reaction project (opens in a new tab)
Like the breakfast machine , this device comes from John Sweet's weekly column in the 1950s (page 104 of the 1953 Scout annual). He writes: ... A rather more orthodox use for cast-off mousetraps is proposed by Patrol Leader Phillip Edwards of the 12th Stockport Mallory Patrol, but also breaks new ground by suggesting that we might…
Theo Jansen's walking sculptures (opens in a new tab)
(thanks to AxelHH for the photograph) Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist who builds enormous, walking sculptures powered by the wind. He calls this type of creature a Strandbeest- 'beach animal'. I first saw these sculptures in a South African BMW advert (watch it here ).
Water writing (opens in a new tab)
Here's on for those used to celebrating tomorrow with fireworks: 'Tekes Esh' is a ceremony in Israeli Scouting that I have blogged about , where Scouts write messages and draw pictures in flames- using fire-proof pioneered structures soaked in paraffin. Omer and the Shevet On group (sorry, Hebrew only website) in Kiryat Ono , Israel, had an…
New SketchUp 3d web plugin (opens in a new tab)
Google have released a new tool for SketchUp that lets you share your models on the web in a different way: try clicking on the image of the two barrel raft above and dragging your mouse left or right to watch the model rotate on your screen.
Bowline in 3 strand rope- as a SketchUp model (opens in a new tab)
Browsing the 3D Warehouse the other day, I found an incredible model TaffGoch posted - a bowline made entirely in SketchUp. This is a pretty impressive piece of modelling work, and complete instructions for modelling a knot are included. The first file shows how to model the shape of the knot, while the second one shows…
Model Pioneering from Malaysia (opens in a new tab)
Keat Lee is a former Scout from Malaysia who has shared some model pioneering photos with me. The five models featured in this post are all of Keat's own design- thanks for sharing them with us! Keat uses cotton thread to tie the lashings, and uses real square and diagonal lashings, not the elastic band…
...blogging again (opens in a new tab)
Things have been quiet around here since October. I'll be posting regularly on this blog again in the next few weeks. The final term of a Master's degree, followed by a new job have been keeping me busy since October but I'm going to try and post regularly here- starting from tomorrow I'm going to…
Rugby World Cup 2007 Final (opens in a new tab)
GO BOKKE!...
Pioneering around the world (opens in a new tab)
Scouting is a worldwide movement - it is thought that there are only six countries on Earth that have no Scout troops. I've been lucky enough to speak to Scouts all over the world while I've been running this blog. I realised the other day that I've spoken to Scouts on every continent on earth, except…
Discworld Jamboree (opens in a new tab)
I've been a fan of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books for about 15 years. This year, the Discworld fan event being held from the 3rd to the 5th of August in Wincanton is a ' Scout Jamboree ', complete with Discworld troops, a Gang Show and a wide range of 'interest badge' events.