STC WATER TOWER
Part 2- Construction continues...
Now to disassemble the CD cases.  Remove the door and hold the clear part of the back with both hands.  Pry the back away from the black tray until the tray pops out.  The black tray is the only piece you need for this project.
 

Notice that one side of the tray has a wide raised edge on it.  Take a push pin and score along the inside of the recessed curve on that side.  (Scoring means dragging the point of the pin along the plastic to gouge out a groove in the plastic).  Score it several times for a nice deep groove.
 

Now the fun part- gently bend the tray along the score line, starting at one edge and working your way around until the curved portion snaps off.  If you scored nice and deep, the tray should snap apart easily along the curve.  You've just created an arch!
 
 
 
 

Note that a little bit of a lip protrudes out on the side edges of the tray "arch"- cut  these little nubs off with nippy cutters or a razor saw.
 
 

Now sand the side edges smooth on a sanding pad.  You'll be gluing these side edges later, so the flatter they are, the better.  Repeat all of the above steps for both CD cases, so you end up with two arch pieces.

Now for those plastic clothes pins.  If you are lucky, you'll find the style pictured here, which are almost exactly the same length as the new Cities of Death building panels!  (Just over 3"- if yours are much longer than that, you'll just need to trim them down to an appropriate length with a razor saw).

To seperate the clothes pin halves, just grab both sides and twist gently until the spring piece is loose, then remove it.
 
 
 

Next, be sure to sand the HECK out of the sides of the pin halves.  The flatter they are, the easier they will be to glue.
 
 
 
 

Add a bead of superglue on one side of a pin half.  Then press a second pin half against it, making sure they are lined up evenly. 
 
 
 

Place them down on a flat surface while the glue dries.  This keeps them flat and straight.
 

 

Now for those building panels.  First, be sure to trim off the little pins that stick out of the sides.  These help the panels line up with each other, but for our project they just get in the way!
 
 

Next, glue a bulkhead onto the open side of each building panel, so they are symmetrical.
 
 

Now the fun part.  Glue your pair-o-clothespins to the inside edge of the building panel.  Do this for both sides, then glue another building panel on the opposite side of the clothes pins. 
 
 

Essentially, you're making a rectangular box out of two building panels and two sets of clothes pins.  This part is tricky- keep checking your box from the ends so you can see if everything's lined up.  It's easy to let things get lopsided, so take your time and be sure your superglue is set before moving on to the next step. 
 
 

You'll need to make two of these boxes, using all four clothespins and all four building panels.  Remember that two of the panels will form the inside walls of the tower, so choose which ones you want on the inside and put one on each box.

Now to connect the boxes with the arches.  Start by test-fitting the arches (from the CD cases) against the top of the building panel bulkheads.  Notice that some of the rivets  get in the way- file or trim off the offending rivets before gluing!
 

Superglue the edge of the arch to the top of the bulkhead, with the arches' cool ridged detail facing outward.  Check your alignment frequently- this is one of the hardest steps! 
 

Repeat with the other arch piece on the other bulkhead, then glue the other ends of the arches to the bukheads on the other box.  At this stage, it helps to set the whole assembly upside down on a flat surface (as shown here) for stability and to make it easier to check alignment. 

Once your supports are all together and the glue is set, you can add them to the bottom of the videotape box.  Remember to sand the box for a stronger bond.   Center the supports in the middle of the videotape box, running lengthwise.  No portion of the support should stick out past the box, it should all fit under there nicely.
 

For extra strength, I recommend adding a bead of glue all along the edges where the supports meet the box.  Hit the glue with a light dusting of baking soda to set it.  Don't worry about small gaps- you won't see underneath here, you mainly want to glue it for strength.
 

Once the glue is set, flip the box over and test fit the water tanks- notice how the 3" drain pipe fits right into the tape reel slots!  Add a bead of glue to the bottom of the tanks and glue them in place.

Next: Adding the details

Copyright 2006 Sean Patten

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