The Human Hamster Wheel

Today we had a mini-building session, because some people were coming to take pictures of us for college publicity type stuff.  The photographers seemed minorly disappointed that the wheel was not up and running, but they still stayed to get some pictures.  It was too crowded in the first floor lab, so we wheeled the hamster wheel out to the back porch of Martin to work on it.  We didn’t really want to lay it down, so we worked on it while it was upright.  They took some pictures while we attached a couple more brackets and screwed in some of the missing screws on the existing brackets.  It was kind of funny that every time we started to screw something in, the wheel would move or slide away.  Also, the photographers seemed more interesting in us pretending that we were working than seeing us actually working, but I guess that’s how it works.  Then it started pouring down rain, so all of us crowded under the overhang trying not to get too soaked (or electrocuted from our power tools).  Then it was just about time to go, so we took the (now slightly wet) wheel back to its home in the lab, and went to warm up in the physics lab/office.  Hopefully we will get some more of the work done soon so that the wheel can be finished by the end of the semester.

Before we started building again, Dr. Sheldon and I had to make a quick run to Home Depot to pick up some more parts.  The week before we tried out the brackets on the wheel and realized that we could only use the T-shaped reinforcers on one side of each of the ladder rungs, so we decided to use two right angle reinforcers on the other side.  Unfortunately it meant that we had to return a lot of T-shaped reinforcers and pick up 40 more right angle reinforcers.

After the quick shopping trip, we started work at 12 out the back door of Martin after we managed to wheel the hamster wheel out the front door, through Margaret’s Gate, and down Norfolk Avenue.  The main work on the wheel consisted of attaching these two types of reinforcers to all of the ladder rungs.  We also had to sand down some of the overlapping corners, so that the right angle reinforcers would fit.  Aliyah and Iva followed by Felicity and Cat did a great job on a less than glamorous task and only running out of screws halted their swift progress!!!

 Felicity working on the wheel:

Work on the base did not always run quite so smoothly.  First, Kate, Michael, and I cut the angle iron for the corner pieces, and then Kate and Michael bolted together the entire metal base.  Meanwhile, Dr. Sheldon and I had to do some quick trigonometry to figure out how long the 4″ x 4″ posts should be.  Unfortunately we ended up with a transcendental equation (one that can’t be solved algebraically) at one point.  After some approximations, we decided to cut the posts in 60″ lengths, slightly longer than we thought that we would actually need (which turned out to be a good thing later on).  Who says you won’t use geometry later in your life? 

We then had to position them in their positions in the metal frame to make sure they would fit okay.  Then we had to cut the angles off the bottom of the posts so that they would sit flat on the metal frame.  It was kind of complicated as each post leaned 54 degrees in order to meet at the top of a triangle and 78 degrees toward where the wheel goes between the two sides.  This meant that we had to cut two angles out of the bottom of the posts, but we forgot that we had to cut two 36 degrees and 12 degrees one way and then the other two had to be 36 degrees the same way and 12 degrees the opposite way.  Unfortunately we cut them all the same way, so we had to cut two of them in the opposite way, so two of the opposite posts ended up a little bit shorter than the others.  Then because of the way the corners of the frame were bolted together, we had to cut a little more wood off the corner so that the bolts had room to fit too.

Then we had to attach the side supports to hold the entire frame of the base together.  This seemed to involve one person holding up the posts while other people cut and drilled things.  We wanted to use the nail gun for this part, but it was not working properly.  The batteries were either dead or not charging properly, so instead we had to do a lot of marking, drilling, and bolting.  We drilled the holes in the posts and then in the 2″ x 6″ side supports and bolted each long side together.  Then we had to attach the side supports on the short sides, but we had to make sure that they would be low enough that the hamster wheel would have room to spin freely. 

Bolting in the short sides:

These sides were a bit more difficult due to the angle they were at, but we finally got both of the shorts sides done too.  One of them is a little too short for the metal frame, so we may have to get another 2″ x 6″ and replace that one side support.  Finally we cut off the edges with the Saws-all and sanded down the edges until the sander mysteriously died.

Nearing the end of our work on both the wheel and the base:

We still need to buy another piece of wood, some more screws, and the diaganol rods, finish the reinforcements on the wheel and attach the wire mesh, fix the one short side of the base, and cut down the corner braces a little bit so that no one can get hurt by them.  Then all we have left is to attach the diagonal rods and figure out the axel mechanism.  Almost done!!!

People who worked on this stage of the hamster wheel were Catherine Khoo, Michael Zeutenhorst, Aliyah Barrett, Iva Gerasimenko, Felicity Mills, Kate Descoteaux, Kacey Meaker, and Peter Sheldon.  Thanks again for a really great day and a lot of work done!!!!!  Thanks also to Cat for the pictures!!!

Today Dr. Sheldon and I went shopping again for more parts for the second stage of the building.  First we worked some of the bugs out of our plans so that we could finalize our shopping list.  We decided to make the bottom of the base out of angle iron so that it will hopefully be stronger and do a better job of holding the wooden posts in place and keeping the hamster wheel stable.  We decided that it should be 4′ x 6′ with the 4 4″ x 4″ posts holding up the axel attachment with 2″ x 6″ lengths on the four sides of the base.  Other than that we kept most of the design the same.

 After many arduous hours at Home Depot we found a rod to hold the axel, two axel attachments (hand cart wheels), wood and metal for the base, carriage bolts for the 2″ x 6″ pieces, and bolts and screws to hold everything together.  To reinforce the actual wheel part, we purchased corner brackets for the ladder rungs and 5″ brackets for the inside of the wheels to match the ones we have on the outside (from Lowe’s).  We couldn’t find the diagonal rods, because the 8′ aluminum rods were too weak, and the 6′ steel tubes were too short, so we are going to have to special order the metal tubes.  We even picked up some stuff for Reeju’s senior project while we were there.

Hopefully this is enough stuff to get the next big chunk of the wheel built over fall break.

Today Winncy, Dr. Sheldon, and I (after our weekly coffee break) worked on some of the designs for the next part of the hamster wheel.  We worked out a plan for a wooden base, which is very wide to add extra stability.  Then we realized that unless the legs are detachable, the base would not fit through the door.  So we decided to use some postholes on the corners of the bottom part of the base, so that the entire top part can be removed.  We decided to make to legs out of 4″ x 4″ posts so our hamster wheel will be nice and sturdy.  The radius of the wheel is about 40″, but there are also 3″ wheels on one of the sides, so the total radius is about 43″.  Our current design looks kind of like a trapezoid with a narrow part holding up the axel of the hamster wheel, and the longer sides on the ground.  So now we just have to draw up specific plans, make a shopping list, buy the parts, and build it.

Yay!!!!  The first part of the hamster wheel is now complete.  In only five hours we built the wheel in which the “human-sized hamster” will run.

Overall the build went pretty well.  We had to figure out how to do each of the steps as we went, but we learned and improved as we went.

First we had to measure the pieces that we would need to make the outer rim pieces (22.5″ trapezoids) and ladder pieces (17″ rungs). 

Then we used a chop saw to cut each of those pieces out of the long 2 x 4’s. 

We then had to measure out and mark how to cut notches out of the 22″ pieces so that the edges would overlap later in the build. 

The notches were somewhat difficult to cut out.  We learned that we needed to make the first cut with the chop saw. 

But the second cut on the notches could not be made with the chop saw due to the angled shape of the trapezoidal pieces.  We experimented with a jig saw, hand saw, and table saw.  The cuts made with the jig saw were not straight enough, so we then resorted to the hand-saw.  The problem with this method is that the sawing became extremely labor intensive, so we eventually resorted to a combination of the table saw and hand saw.  This was probably one of the harder parts of the build: cutting almost 48 notches using a hand saw.  Way to go!!!!

After what seemed like a year of measuring and sawing, we finally managed to get all of the pieces actually cut out, so we could start putting them together again.  It took a little while to work out a system of how to keep the pieces in the right position while someone else pre-drilled holes and used a lag screw to bolt the two pieces together. 

But before you knew it we had both of the outer rims connected (though we almost had a 13 sided figure by accident).  We reinforced the rings and held the joints at the correct angle (150 degrees) using metal brackets.  We also needed to pre-drill holes into the ladder rungs and outer rim pieces.

One of the most difficult parts of the build was attaching all of the ladder pieces to one of the outer rings.  Then we had to place the second ring on top of the first ring and attach the other side of the ladder rungs to the ring.  Because some of the pieces were a little bit short or too long or not exactly in the right place, we had to do a bit of maneuvering to fit the rings together right.  But after some strenous work, voila, we have a hamster wheel!!!!

Then all we had to do was attach four wheels to the bottom of the hamster wheel to make it more easily transportable and manage to get it up one floor into the physics lab.  I think because we were so tired after the end of a long arduous build, this almost seemed like the most difficult part of all.

People who worked on the hamster wheel were Kathryne Allen, Barbara Ruiz, Yanpainq Oo, Nway Oo, Catherine Khoo, Laura Black, Reeju Pokharel, Wai Sze Cheung, Kacey Meaker, and Peter Sheldon.  Thanks to everyone who came and helped out.  We couldn’t have done it without you!!!!

Dr. Sheldon and I went shopping for all the parts so that we can start building on Sunday!!!  We have changed the design a bit.  Previously we were talking about using cross-pieces just to support the structure and then covering the inside with metal or plywood, but we decided to use the cross-pieces as the main floor of the hamster wheel and cover them with chicken wire so that you can’t feet slip through the wheel.  We found just about everything we needed, and we decided to move the brackets to the side of the wheel so that we don’t have to bend them.  Unfortunately there was only one box of the kind of brackets that we need, so we may need to go back and buy some more.  While we were there we looked at a couple of different metal pieces that might possibly work as diagonal pieces, so we will probably be able to find some more later.  While we were checking out, the lady asked us what we were making, so we explained.  She seemed quite amused as do lots of people whenever I talk about it with anyone.