Beams

Most of the Walking Machine is built using the old tube-and-gusset aircraft building technique, except we couldn't afford the aluminum tubing so it's really steelbeam-and-gusset technique.

The beams are made out of drywall U beams which are very light steel but somewhat structural.

It's a simple method:

1. Align two beams facing each other and cram together
2. Apply pressure to get the edge folds to clamp over the other beam
3. Apply rivets liberally

They are lightweight (equivalent to electrical conduit tubing) and relatively strong (better than electrical conduit tubing).

Each 8 foot beam, assembled, costs about $6.50, not including the electricity for the drill or the band-aids for the builder.