It has been suggested that we leave off the plywood skin on our building so everyone can see the insides. As you can see in the drawing the main gear box will be open leaving the majority of the mechanics exposed. The first 12 feet or so, of the tower is skinned with ply wood. It contains the drop weights and a pendulum. I don’t want people or wind fucking with these objects. So I drew plywood around them. But I also do not want to conceal them as all of the workings should be visible. I’d like to open the debate for discussion…

To ply or not to ply. That is the Question.

Ply Wood:
Pros:
-Hard for tweakers to climb up tower.
-Fast and easy construction. (nail gun)
-Cheaper. Just nails and ply
-Good sheer strength.
Cons:
-Looks like a crappy plywood building, blocks view of pendulum

Big Beams with giant rusty bolts:
Pros:
-less surface area for wind load
-Does not Block view of pendulum. (Pendulum Might need to be
shielded from wind this will most likely be our deciding factor.
Well know when we build and test the gear box. There are of course
compromises like adding a wood lath mesh to stop wind but still allow
visibility)
-Creates a really awesome timeless aesthetic that we like: No modern
fasteners Just big cast Iron washers and rusty bolts.

Cons:
Climbable, Harder to build, More expensive.