I spent two hours machining the faceplates to accept half-inch threaded rod, but found once it was done that there simply isn't enough clearance for the nuts on the other side of the facplates (these nuts will be what actually makes the structure rigid enough to carry around).
I can cut away the screw-thread on the faceplate adapter flange to clear the bolts, but I doubt that leaves room enough for the points of the nuts to swing so they can be tightened. I won't even think about how to get a spanner into that tight spot.
I see two possibilities:
- I could assemble the faceplates and adaptors, then cut slots through from the outside to accommodate the nuts and a spanner so they can be cinched down from the outside. These slots could be covered by curved brass plates screwed into the PVC.
- I could abandon the threaded rod altogether, find some copper plate of the right size (from where I do not know) and solder the pipe to the plates to form the spaceframe. Then I could attach the plates to the PVC pieces with screws or bolts.
Option 2 has the advantage of being lighter overall, but I have no source for copper plate of the size needed and I would still need to cut a hole in the middle of it to clear the big square moulding into which the special FX tube is going to be mounted. All things considered, this would be the way I'd go if I had a ready source of copper plate and had thought of it first.
So I will assess the practicality of option 1 tonight and if it looks good I'll start the work needed. If I hit any more unforeseen snags I will regroup and go with option 2, but I'm dreadfully short of time if I'm going to hit my deadline of October 29th.
What an absolute bore!
I did manage to find what might be a suitable wire for connecting the power to the device, but it masquerades as a connecting cable for an electric musical instrument and is very expensive.
Still, any port in a storm.
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