Mobility

I Love A Parade, or Getting Your Lantern From A to B

Now, half of the fun of making lanterns is so you can take them out to an event and show them off! How do you do it, though? There are a few things to consider when you are choosing a method, and they might have an impact on your design, so it's a good idea to think about those things first.

Are you planning to carry it? Is someone else? Is that person a child? Will you have to carry your lanterns and supports in a car (perhaps full of people) or on public transport to and from your event?

Everyone's heard the story of the guy who builds a boat in his basement but hasn't thought about how he'll get it out. Don't be that guy. You're smarter than that.

Getting it there

How big will your lantern be? If you are making little hand-held lanterns, or something that you will carry on a stick or pole, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, especially if you choose sturdier lights like a tin can lantern, a pop bottle lantern, or even a glass jar lantern. They don't take up too much room, and you can use knock-down poles for carrying them. Those are easy to construct, and can be taken apart to fit in a car or take on the bus.

Knock-down poles

Bamboo poles are lightweight, strong, inexpensive, and attractive. The only problem can be their length if you need to carry them in a vehicle or on public transit.

One solution is the knock-down pole.

Here's how to make one:

Take a bamboo pole of the length you need, or two shorter ones if the problem is getting them home in the first place. Choose two pieces that each have one end of approximately the same internal diameter as the other.

If you have a single long pole, cut it in half about halfway between two of the knots in the bamboo. You'll need a few inches of hollow bamboo on each side of the cut to make this work. Once you have two pieces of bamboo, here's how to join them together:

Materials:

• Two bamboo poles as described above.
• A piece of dowel about 6 inches (15 cm) long. Choose dowel that fits into the larger hollow centre of the two bamboo pieces.
• Wood glue or hot glue.
• A rasp or knife to shape the dowel to fit the bamboo.
• Sandpaper to smooth all surfaces.
• Optional - duct tape - use a decorative colour if you like!

What to do:

• Fit the piece of dowel into one of the open ends of the bamboo. If it's a bit tight, shave or rasp it down where it does not fit. Bamboo openings are not perfectly round inside, so you'll need to use a little trial and error to get it right. If it's too small, fill the gaps with wooden popsicle sticks, coffee stirrers or toothpicks. Cardboard would do in a pinch.
• Fit the other end of the dowel into the other bamboo piece. Don't worry too much about making this end fill every space - you want it to be snug enough not to slip but loose enough it will slide apart.
• Once you've gotten everything to fit reasonably well on both ends, remove the dowel and anything you're using to fill gaps.
• Using wood glue or hot glue, glue one end of the dowel into the bamboo opening, along with your gap fillers. DO NOT glue the other end of the dowel into the other bamboo piece - it is meant to slide in and out easily. This may seem obvious, but not to everybody, apparently.
• Let the glue set. Trim any excess glue or gap fillers from along the join - you want the two pieces of bamboo to fit together as closely as possible.
• Once the glue has set, fit the two pieces together and you're good to go. If it's still a little loose, use a piece of duct tape to wrap around the join for extra security.
• To make a neat and easy hanging loop on the end of the pole, see the Hanging End instructions.