A Touch of Madness

Tent poles are easy to build. Ask Beth-she made our household's poles. The bigger worry is how long your vehicle of choice is, and make the poles not too much longer than that.

Which style are you guys looking at?

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We're currently leaning towards a 14x18 marquee. That's 16 perimeter poles, 2(?) roof supports and a ridge pole.

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That's a lot of wood.

...

You may just want to buy the poles then and not have to worry about finding 16 strait poles.

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Damnit! We totally shoulda just bought 40 poles from Fabric Place...

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jtdiii.livejournal.com

Those were mostly five and six footers, way too short.

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Yeah, I know.

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Don't let Mali drive behind 'em then.

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Damn you woman! I was gonna be first.

Poles are easy to build. And I think you should both pick a motif you like and repeat it in your colors.

I would not get a pavilion taller than you can comfortably reach. Headroom is nice, but having to strain yourself to put up and reach things in your tent? even better.

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I did reference you.

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You're pretty.

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YOU'RE LOVELY.

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YOUR SKIN GLOWS LIKE PORCELAIN!

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YOUR HAIR SHINES LIKE SUNSHINE OFF A WATERFALL!

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YOUR VOICE IS LIKE A BELL!

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YOU DANCE LIKE A SWALLOW ON THE MORNING BREEZE!

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YOU SPEAK WITH THE ELOQUENCE OF 1,000 POETS

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YOU SEW IN THE MANNER OF THE FINEST FROM PARIS

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YOUR HAIR IS LIKE THE RICHEST SABLE!

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YOUR EYES SHINE LIKE A MILLION STARS!

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YOU MOVE WITH MORE GRACE THAN A SWAN!

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YOUR YETI DEFENSE SKILLS LEAVE ME BREATHLESS.

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Your ways are strange.

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You wanna little cymbal flourish for that one man? Or can we let the bad pun die?

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YOU'RE LOVELY.

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YOU'RE HANDSOME.

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Your way with fabric makes me swoon.

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Your genius makes me weak in the knees

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Ok, so Rachel and I have compliment fights. And shout at each other things like "YOUR HAIR IS LIKE WAVES OF SILK!" and "YOUR VOICE IS LIKE A CHOIR OF ANGELS!" but they invariably start with one going "You're pretty!" and the next "You're Lovely!"

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jtdiii.livejournal.com

The taller the roof, the cooler the tent. This is a big deal at Pennsic.

My best recommendation for tent wall height is to stand upright and put an arm vertically over your head the walls should be no more than the height of your wrist. This allows you to put on the ropes and finials without a ladder.

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You know, you're the first person to remind me that the top of the tent is technically the attic. Thanks for the suggestion.

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eudociainboston.livejournal.com

Is this something you are going to use for weekend events too? A three hour set up is not a big deal at Pennsic but for a regular weekend is not so much fun when you are traveling after work (such as GNE or Vinland) and setting up in the dark.
I love my husband's 16x16 pavillion with 4 corner poles and a center pole(breaks apart into two pieces)- one person can get it up in the dark in 30 minutes. Granted, having a center pole can be a pain but it is easy setup, easy breakdown. Plus it fits in the Prius.
Also, Panther has good long stakes- use those instead of shorter stakes.

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I'm generally an all-or-nothing kind of guy. I have a small, light nylon tent that I can set up alone in the dark in the rain. I'm not really looking to buy a pavilion for that purpose. We'll probably be bringing this to every camping event summer '09 for practice and field testing, but if we opt for the nylon tent for smaller weekend events in the future, I'm ok with that. I'm not ok with a cramped tent for Pennsic.

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eridun.livejournal.com

I second loving the Regent - I just put it up in the cold, in the dark with one other person who's never put a pavilion up before in like 30min. It was awesome, and a quick nod to the thermal properties of a Dunkin Donuts hot cups - the hot chocolate was still warm. Yum!

And seriously - get the premade poles. It's easier, it's less headache to get them "done" because if you're anything like me then it'll be a "when can I fit pole making into my schedule?" and that might not be in time for the first event. Shipping isn't that much - poles and canvas shipped to me in Delaware was $60. Seriously. Not bad at all. So yeah, it's good to get the poles from Panther.
Two tips for the poles:
1- sand the tops a little. The cuts are rough.
2- spray the tips with a little rustoleum in the color of your choice - they will rust, and that will get on your canvas. (yeah, don't look at my corners too close...*sigh*)

And while I love the footprint of Pandaulf's Regent, I love my 7' walls... it's so nice. Just sayin.

:) Yay canvas!

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kls-eloise.livejournal.com

We got seven foot walls on our pavilion. That way my 6' tall husband could walk in the door without ducking. This particular luxury is something we will never do without again. Also, it allows me to stash stuff "up" without creating spaces we can't walk though/use. On the other hand, if he weren't that tall, set up would be a pain.

We bought prebuilt poles, because I figured that was well worth the extra money to have *them* find enough pieces of straight lumber that will *stay* straight. Having seen the way that some of the home-built poles have warped over a year or two, I've never regretted it. It's not economical to make them yourself if you have to keep remaking them. More than ten years later, mine are still straight and sound.

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hlinspjalda.livejournal.com

(Referred from

rosinavs's LJ.)

I really like striping the seams of a pavilion, "celebrating the structure." It gives a nice verticality to it. If you choose a wedge style (unlikely, I'm guessing), then it makes the tent look taller and bigger.

If you pick a pavilion style with a roof, arms look good up there (better than a banner!). I also really like the look of overall designs, like blackwork or gothic arch traceries.

You shouldn't pick the trim color until you've decided how you're going to paint it. Or you could get it trimmed with the same canvas color, which gives you maximum design flexibility.

I also suggest you don't do any kind of painting specifically in order "to piss off the history assholes." That's just bad manners. Besides, like a poorly chosen early SCA name, an obnoxiously decorated pavilion can come back to haunt you years or even decades later!

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It would have to be balanced in our interest level in authenticity. A Mongolian yurt covered with the tortured writings of captured villagers, for example.

Or a barely-literate Cossack copying the scripts of places he had visited. Or the cryptic code of an Austrian mathematician.

Edited Date: 2008-12-05 02:10 pm (UTC)

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hlinspjalda.livejournal.com

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

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Or phonetically written Gaelic!

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hlinspjalda.livejournal.com

I was with you up until this suggestion.

Eeuw. Just -- eeuw. That's so wrong!

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albreda.livejournal.com

I would definately trim it in something dark (and not red-hued, so it won't bleed), and like the idea of covering the seams with trim too, since those are a) the areas most likely to get dingy-dirty, and dark colors cover that, and b) if you cover the seams, it both covers a multitude of sewing sins, and provides another barrier to the inevitable drips.

I didn't answer for height in the poll: don't the side walls taller than the reach of the folks setting the sucker up, and don't get two center poles unless you can RELIABLY get at least one other person to help you and Rosina put it up.

I also didn't answer the make it yourself or not question: I'd agree with buying the poles - straight forever is a good thing, and then you get the nice points to work with too. Sewing it yourself or not is more a question of having the room to sew it, the skill to sew it, and the machine strong enough to sew it that you don't mind trashing on the project. If you want to be fancy, you can buy thread that swells as it gets wet, so it will seal your sewing holes, rather than create another whole line of leak points (covering them with spiffy trim, as stated above, also helps enormously).

Also, don't overlook the necessity of buying giant waterproof bins to store it in, and a place to dry it out, as well as your ability to fit it in your car. (If the latter is a problem, you can buy center poles that break down into two or more pieces, but don't make side poles longer than fit in your car - having to pay for breakdownable pieces for all of that will break the bank bigtime.)

As far as cheap canvas goes, I'd check with sail makers in the Boston area. I got canvas up here (N VT) from a sail maker REALLY cheap.

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Sorry if I wasn't clear, but we are buying a pre-sewn tent from Panther. Sewing a pavilion of this scale by Pennsic is not within the scope of this exercise (though in partial answer to Eudocia's question, I might someday consider sewing a smaller period tent for weekend trips).

The questions at hand are

•whether people feel the attic/headspace of seven foot poles is worth the hassle of needing taller people to help put it up

•whether people feel the security of pre-built poles and ropes outweighs the extra cost (we already feel the security of pre-sewn tent outweighs the extra cost)

•which hue of free trim we should go with

•what interesting ideas people have for decorating the tent

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albreda.livejournal.com

Ah - I get it now - sorry.

Pay for poles and ropes. You could make your own, but then you'd invariably have to replace them as they warped anyway, so if you have the money now, buy the good stuff once, instead of the cheap stuff over and over again.

Attic space/head space for folks other than yourselves is NOT worth it. If you are tall enough to need it, get it, or if you have someone you can count on to help put it up, who will likely also be IN said tent a lot once it is set up, then get it, otherwise, don't bother - lots of hassle for little benefit.

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hugh-mannity.livejournal.com

Another thing to consider is how much interior volume you'll have. Now, it's unlikely to be particularly cold at Pennsic, but if you're going to use it for War of the Roses or other early/late season events, having that extra foot of head room means you've got an extra foot of space for the warm air you generate to rise into. It can get bitterly cold in a large tent, quoth the voice of experience.

Also, you might want to get a set of poles and ropes with the tent, then make yourselves a second set. That way you can leave poles and ropes in storage at Pennsic which cuts down on some of the stuff you have to haul.

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udalrich.livejournal.com

I was looking for green and purple for the overhang cord, but didn't appear to be an option.

Our wall tent it 8 feet in the middle, which lets us hang hooks (from Panther) from the ridge pole and have me not hit my head on them.

For me, pre-made poles added like 10-30% to the cost, but I could also get them cut to fit in my car with joins that still work something like 9 years later. If you go with the pavilion of infinite poles, the pre-made ones may make more of a difference in the cost. You also might have more or less spare cash than I did then.

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pale-chartreuse.livejournal.com

Don't get poles that are taller than you can handle yourself.

Buy 'em. Life is short.

I was going for the darker reds, until someone here mentioned color-fastness. Spot on!

Decorating along the lines of the structure will be easiest. Any decorations on a curved surface are going to be a lot trickier than you think. Have you ever tried painting a grecian urn? It's really hard. If you do go this route, experiment first with some sort of image transfer technology.

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