Monday was somewhat difficult for me. My partner was gone and I wasn't sure on what I had to do for the Rubens Tube. I tried calling, texting, snapchatting (he usually answers on snapchat faster than text) him to see where he was and what tasks I should complete. I didn't hear back from him until later in the day after Physics was over. After all that I took all my materials out. The balloons we were using on the ends had broke. I then took what clamps off the pipe and took off the broken balloons. Once I took off the balloons I tightened the clamps back on the pipe. I didn't put on new balloons because I was afraid that the balloons would brake and we would eventually run out of balloons. I completed that then moved onto a stand that Scott kept telling us to make but we kept putting that task off to the side. I found a piece of wood and started the measurements. After I did that it was time to cut. I don't know how to use a power saw so I asked my friend Jack to help me cut the wood. He made the few cuts that I needed him to do. While he did this I observed so that next time when I have to cut something, I know how to do it, and I feel comfortable doing it. We had to cut outside so the classroom could remain clean so once we finished the cuts we brought the saw back inside. I sanded the edges of the wood. I finished that and it was time to clean up and go to Humanities.
Tuesday we finished the stand and put on most of the final touches on the tube. My partner and I decided to scratch the stand I had started yesterday because they would have been too difficult to cut. Scott showed us a way to make two even pieces out of a square piece of plywood. The parts we ordered last Friday came in on Monday, but not until later in the day. Tuesday was the first day we had them. It didn't take long the put them together and attach them to the hose. Once we measured the wood we asked Scott to help us cut it with the belt saw. After a quick sanding job to get rid of the rough edges the stand was done. When we put the tube on the stand I noticed it spun when you moved the hose. Our best bet to keep it in place was to glue it down to the stand. We asked Scott what we should use and he gave us epoxy. My partner applied the epoxy to the stand then I pressed the tube down. Once we finished both sides it was time to clean up, meaning class was over. I cleared up a space on the back counter and that's where we let the epoxy dry.
Wednesday we tested the tube with the final touches on it. The propane attachment and valve had came in so the propane was now securely put in the tube (before the seal was held by hand and some tape. It was pretty sketchy.) The stand was also done so the tube wouldn't spin while it was lit up. These additions to our Rubens Tube made everything a whole lot safer. We tested it and everything worked great. There are some things that could be fixed. One being the balloon and speaker. The speaker is taped to the tube. It's up against the balloon but it's not as close as it could be. We tape it but after we let go the speaker sags off the ballon the slightest bit. My partner and I think this is the reason at parts of a song you can hear a vibration. It could possibly be because the speaker might be of poor quality but we're thinking because the speaker is sagging off the balloon just a little bit. Another thing is that Scott wanted us to drill more holes (varying in size) to test if we should drill smaller holes for the 2d Rubens Tube that we are making next. For the remainder of the day we drilled smaller holes until it was time to clean up.
On Thursday we tested our Rubens Tube again. We tested it again because we drilled the smaller holes the day before and we wanted to see how the fire came through the smaller holes. By that I mean how big the flame was when it appeared. The 1/8th inch holes which we have along the whole tube are too big. It works fine but we'd like the flame to be thinner. To make the flame thinner you need a smaller hole. The hole we found to work well was 1/16th inch. My partner and I agreed after testing our tube that we would use a 1/16th inch drill bit to make the holes for our 2d Rubens Tube. After we tested it Scott said we needed to get a regulator so we could easily measure how much gas we are or aren't putting in the tube. I tried looking up a propane regulator but I wasn't very successful. Towards the end of class Scott talked to my partner and I about the next step. Our 2d Rubens Tube. The conversation consisted of how we would make the box and how to get it. After the conversation I jotted down a few quick notes to remind me what we'll need to accomplish the end product of the 2d Rubens Tube.
Friday was a day that I caught up on my blog for the week. There wasn't really anything I could do for the tube so I finished my blog post for this week. I also did a little research on the 2d Ruben Tube that my partner and I are making next. There was only one person that has made it. They have a website. There isn't much information on the site about the 2d tube, but we have a pretty good idea of how to complete it. We know what to do because we already created a Rubens Tube and the next one is just taking a couple extra steps. Jack's dad works with metal and him and his friends would be able to help us out with making the box. Today we had Jack contact his dad to see if his dad was willing to help us. We are still awaiting a response. To end the day we sanded all the paint off the tube and had to re-glue the stands to the to the tube because they broke off.