Probably the question I get asked the most is “What bridge design holds the most weight?” or “What bridge design is the strongest?”

The answer to that question is not simple and probably is not going to be what you expect. The truth is, I cannot answer the question. There are too many variables that are not being defined.

This ebook, 5 Steps to Building a Model Bridge, answers the most common questions people have about building bridges. In the ebook I outline the steps of building a model bridge, and then walk people through the actual construction of a bridge. The ebook contains many photos and illustrations, as well as 25 bonus tips.

Objective: To build a boomilever with the greatest efficiency. Basic Design: There are two basic types of boomilevers. First is the tension boomilever, where the tension chord is longer than the compression chord. Second there is the compression boomilever, which is the opposite of the tension. It is generally accepted that the tension boomilever is [...]

Lateral What? Exactly. Perhaps the most important aspect of your bridge and you aren’t sure what it is. Lateral bracing is the term I use to refer to any pieces on a bridge that help keep the top chord from bending horizontally. In the figure before, lateral bracing is red: Why is lateral bracing so [...]

Today I found out what exactly a pony truss is. I had heard the term before, but never understood what it meant.In fact, it is quite simple. A pony truss is a truss bridge which allows traffic through the truss, but the top of the bridge is not joined together with cross braces. Example of [...]

Yesterday (Nov. 11, 2006) was the Science Olympiad competition, the Westminster Invitational. This has to be one of the earliest tournaments in Science Olympiad. Normally the invitationals aren’t until January. The boomilevers there were not impressive (including mine). Only one boomilever had an efficiency score over 200, which did happen to be mine. I placed [...]

I have become enamored with the idea of building a suspension bridge. I am not exactly sure why, and I also need to finish my toothpick bridge. However, I have begun thinking about how I would go about it. A suspension bridge would be the most difficult challenge so far for me. I am thinking [...]

All the time I am asked “How tall should I make my bridge?” This article will attempt to answer this question by illustrating a principle in model bridge building. There is no cut and dry answer, as you should evaluate your bridge specifications and guidelines and conduct experiments to reach the best answer for you. [...]

My first event was Circuit Lab, which I don’t know much about. My partner ended up doing most of the work, I helped connecting wires when I could.Rocks and Minerals went okay, or so I thought. Ended up with 7th. My tower broke too soon, weighing 6.5 and only holding 6.8kg. At least I worried [...]

If you have visited my Projects page, you probably have seen the Fernbank Bridge. It is coming up on a year since I built that bridge. Original Fernbank Bridge Which means, it is about time to build a sequel. Unfortunately, the date for the Atlanta Toothpick Bridge Competition (where I test the Fernbank Bridge) and [...]