Bender's Bjurts - Do It Yourself

So, you like bjurts, but you're the kind of make-your-own-lightsaber person who just doesn't want to buy something from a shady, fly-by-night guy with a lame website. I understand. I don't trust all you folks either.

Well, buck up, little burner. Have I got a deal for you!

I will show you how to make your own bjurt connectors. You don't have to give me a dime! Now let me be perfectly clear. This is patent pending, and I will defend my invention against commercial exploitation, other than my own. You can make these for your own use. You can make them and give them away. What you can't do is to make money off of my invention in any, unless you buy the connectors from me. For example, no giving away connectors but charging labor to install them. You know what's fair. Don't be a schmuck.

That said, here are the crown jewels. The instructions reference the drawing below:

1. Read all instructions before doing anything. Really. Also, have a look at the sets in the Products section to see what the completed set should resemble.
   
2. Get 14' of 1.5" x 0.125" steel bar and 5' of 0.75" x 0.125" steel bar. I recommend stainless, but hey, it's your project.
3. Cut the 1.5" bar to 16 8" lengths and the 0.75" to 8 6" lengths.
4. For each of the 16 1.5" bars, drill 0.25" holes where shown for Top connector. Make sure the four-hole groups line up exactly (use a completed group as a guide for drilling other groups).
5. For each of the 16 1.5" bars, cut the two channels to free the "finger" or hinge portions of the Top connector.
6. For each of the 16 1.5" bars, bend the shorter finger portions of the Top connector upwards 90 degrees to form a hinge. The holes in the two fingers should line up.
7. For 8 of the 16 1.5" bars, bend the longer wing portions of the Top connector upwards 22.5 degrees (toward the hinge).
8. For the other 8 of the 16 1.5" bars, bend the wing portions of the top connector downwards 22.5 degrees (away from the hinge).
9. Bolt the connectors from step 8. together to form an octagonal ring with the 8 hinges facing outwards. Double-nut the bolts, and you may want to use Loc-Tite as well.
10. For each of the 8 6" bars, drill 0.25" holes where shown for the Bottom connector.
11. For each of the 8 6" bars, bend the ends upwards 22.5 degrees, where indicated by the vertical lines.