Quarter Sphere

[1eyemountainmen]

I am thinking of building a quarter sphere for the up coming renderzvous season. I am a western, pre 1840ish freetrapper- it feels alot more real because I can't seem to sale my furs. Has anyone built one of these? If so do you have any pics. I've been on the Barren River Party web site. Any help would be great

 

[Rod Lassey]

There's a good article on building fur trade era shelters in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal, published by the Museum of the Mountain Man.
http://www.museumofthemountainman.com/journal/home.htm

Rod

 

[Smk50]

WHAT is a quarter sphere? I am interested. Tent, hard shelter?

 

[davemcg]

Are you talking about the dome type shelter Rufus Sage describes, where you bend the saplings over and stretch the hides over top?

Here's a link that some fellas posted in the trekking section back in Sept. of 08
the thread is called Spider Trek. It shows so pretty good shots inside and out.

http://www.cows.fi/autumntrek-08/kuvat/index.html

Here's a link to their website, with more pics.
http://cows-finland.org/kuvagalleria/thumbnails.php?album=273

 

[Many Klatch]

I saw a bunch of reenactors from Iowa do wickiups or wigwahs that might be what you are talking about. They used 1/2" PVC pipe for the frame. Make a circle on the ground. Drive in long stakes at an interval. Put one end of the PVC on one stake and then stretch it across to the matching stake on the opposite side. Tie the PVC pipes where they cross.

Their covering was ingenious. They bought a couple of rolls of the wide paper that you protect new tree trunks with. They cut the paper into 5 or 6 foot long pieces and then painted it to look like bark. Install the paper like shingles from bottom to top, pin where you have to and tie down with ropes. Leave a smoke hole at the top, door to the East. For real watertight they had a couple of canvas diamond flies that they stretched on top of the wickiup.

I had to get within 12 inches of the "bark" before I could tell that it wasn't real.

Many Klatch

 

[davemcg]

That is pretty ingenious, I've never seen tree wrap in wide sheets before, course I never really looked for it either.

Did they paint the PVC pipe, or cover it somehow on the inside?

 

[chipper]

I'm not trying to be judgmental or negative but one possible effect of using PVC is; it gets brittle when it's cold. I would hate to see some one impaled with plastic pipe. I can actually think of another reason not to use pvc too but it's too obvious to mention.

regards

 

[Black Hand]

I am thinking of building a quarter sphere for the up coming renderzvous season. I am a western, pre 1840ish freetrapper- it feels alot more real because I can't seem to sale my furs. Has anyone built one of these? If so do you have any pics. I've been on the Barren River Party web site. Any help would be great

I think the term you are looking for is "half-face" shelter.....

 

[ameling]

I have made a number in the past - using green willow poles and canvas tarps. Nothing fitted or really planned out. I just poked the green willow poles in the groun in a circle, and then started tying opposite pairs together over the center. And then a couple ties around all where they met/crossed to help hold things together better. On some, I even wove some more green willow poles around the sides to stiffen it up - and help keep the canvas tarps from sagging in places.

A quarter sphere would be just half that. But it will be a little harder to get the green willow poles to bend gracefully towards the center top/front.

If you can transport the already curved poles, the putting up your quarter sphere open-faced camp will go quicker/easier. Otherwise you will have to balance out and tweak the poles to get them to curve in correctly. And that will usually mean some fairly deep holes to poke the ends into so you can bend them.

The full dome/wickiup is pretty good to camp in. Just doesn't usually have to much height or head room. But they shed rain and wind well, and are pretty easy to keep warm inside.

Hope this helps.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[ameling]

I also know of one younger couple that made a portable Indian style Long House to take to events.

They laid out 2x4's as wide and long as their trailer, and nailed them together at the corners - with triangle plywood braces. They then drilled holes through that framework - to put willow poles through. They laid it on the ground, poked long green willow poles through all the holes, and then started tying pairs of them together - from one side to the the other. This created their arched frame. Each end the ran the poles striaght up, and tied them to the arch to help stiffen it. Then the tied long green willow poles along the sides - to stiffen up the sides and top.

With their framework made up, they then cut canvas tarps to fit over it - overlapping where necessary. And leaving a section right in the top center that they could uncover to use as a smoke hole.

They made it all up at home, and got it all tweaked to look and work right. To go to an event, they picked the whole framework up and set it on their trailer. Then tied it down to the trailer. The canvas pieces were rolled up and packed right inside that "cage" type framework.

At the event, they would pick that framework up off of the trailer and set it in place. A couple steel stakes pounded down in the corners through those plywood braces locked it into place. Then they pulled the canvas tarps over it. The back canvas cover was just put up and the extra corners/edges just pulle over the sides and tied in place. The front they fitted better - including a doorway to fit the framework. A larger canvas hung down over the door. And a separate small piece of canvas was tied to ropes and pulled up over that smoke hole. It was then pretty easy to pull to the side when needed.

It was a pretty neat idea, and worked well for them. It just looked kind of funny when they were driving down the road with that weird "cage" on their trailer.



In your search for a wikiup, you might also search for a sweat lodge. The full dome is the same for it as the wikiup.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands