Tutorials to build wacky cake stand? - Page 3

[quote="mamacc"]


Ok, I used to be an apprentice and the way that the guys bent PVC when I was doing it was using a torch (a simple one) to heat it then bend it to the desired shape. I don't know if that's the "right" way -- they tended to do whatever worked-- but that's how they did it.

I think that is what they must have done because the pvc pipe is a little darker were it is bent.


shelly

Hi IBMoser and CakesbyLJ, I will be at the class in Charleston too. (Just the sculpting one) Look forward to seeing you there.

I want to know how the cakes don't tear apart too!!!

IBMoser if you are who I think you are, we sat next to each other at the Bronwen class in Savannah when we did the sculpted dog!!

See Ya!

I think that is what they must have done because the pvc pipe is a little darker were it is bent.


shelly

oops double post sorry

Good luck! I hate that when nothing goes right! That happened to me last weekend on my elmo cake. I've done like 4 other elmo's but for some reason I had all sorts of issues....hopefully that means the dragon will go smoothly. please please!

[quote="sweetideas"]


I was actually reading about that online recently. And what I found out is that before trying to bend the pvc you fill it with a fine sand and then use the heat gun and bend. The sand keeps the pvc from buckling so you can make a smooth curve. Haven't tried it yet myself though. I managed to get a decent curve just using pvc and 45 degree fittings so I didn't need to.

You can make your own cake plates using regular slip fittings and PVC glue. Just glue the slip fittings to the bottom and top of the cake plates. PVC glue is exceptionally strong.

They also have 90 degree and 45 degree angled fittings at Home Depot.

I've done quite a bit of plumbing in my coral reef aquariums (200 gallons) so PVC is a familiar friend. I am going to try to build one of these on a small scale (3 cakes) and see how it goes.

Cakepro ............do post when you succeed.

Mamacc - thanks for the sand tip. I will give that a try with some of the scrap pieces of PVC we have. I'm a little familiar with pvc pipe, too, but from dealing with plumbing problems . Guess that makes me a plumber's friend of sorts - ewwwwwwwww!

I showed this to my husband and he wants to build one to see if it works. He went to HomeDepot and purchased PVC pipe. He found some with angels -- so not sure if we need to bend the PVC pipe. So once he finishes the stand, I'll post and figure out if we can get the cakes to stay. This is an experiment he's willing to try with me! We'll see. If anyone else gives it a try, please post. I'm watching this one.

Hi, Just wondering if anyone ever figured out what keeps these cakes from tearing?

For Courtney's final cake in the Last Cake Standing, the two sets of stair-step cakes had angled supports/pipes run through them. The pipes were off center in the cakes so the weight of the cakes was heavy to one side. The cakes kept falling to one side so much that she had a hard time keeping the cakes positioned the way she wanted.

Why didn't the weight of the cake pulling down against the pipe just tear a hole in the side of the cake?

Has anyone else done one of these cakes where the cake is over a support that is set at an angle, with the support run through the cake off center so there was more weight to one side than the other?

If so, what prevented the cake from tearing?

I "tivoed" the episodes an after close inspection there's like a pvc pipe in the hole.

Thanks. I saw that pvc pipe too, but since that's just more pipe to pull through the cake, I think there must be something in the cakes (boards for each layer, etc.) that keeps the cake from falling off the pipe.

You can make a cake plate (the bottom part where I normally use cardboard) out of a slip? I was at Lowes in the PVC section today and was at a TOTAL loss. So, what is a slip and where in the hardware store would I find one? Thanks!!!

Hi, this is Francois, and I build the caddy wampus stands. I just wanted to post here to answer a few of your questions. If I some how forget one you really wanted to know, just remind me.

Tearing- The cakes don't tear is for a couple of reasons
1. the angle is not extreme enough to cause a lot of pull
2. when stacking the cakes on the stand, the cake should be on a cardboard with a hole in the middle and the cardboard should be taped to the plastic plate. We have had much success with this method, even when delivering.

Bent pipe vs. angled fittings- I know that some people like to use the PVC elbows to construct stands like these, but I shy away from them because of the angle. I bend my pipes to a much slighter angle than 45 deg. I tried to find that the effect that it gives is ample while still being user friendly. If you should decide to bend your own pipe, do so with caution, PVC, when heated to a certain temp will release toxins that can lead to angiosarcoma, which is a deadly liver cancer. For this reason I recomend using a heat gun (industrial strength hair dryer), and not a plumbers torch.

Plates- I use a plastic sheet product to make my plates, I like it because it is dishwasher safe and you can tap threads quite well into it. The big downside to this material is the cost, around $300 for a 4'X8' sheet, plus it needs to be cut on a cnc router table. You can of course use wood and flanges, which I have done in the past. I prefer the plastic because you can sterilize it, unlike wood, as well as put any sort of food product on it, unlike flanges. The flanges are galvanized, and when they come in contact with acids (like lemon juice, or honey) they will leach out zinc into your food, which can lead to heavy metal piosoning. This can be avoided by using ungalvanized, or black iron, flanges, or by simply wrapping the flanges with plastic wrap.

I hope this takes some of the mystery out of the stands. Happy decorating