Bender's Bjurts - Documentation - Assembly

The last step was drilling the poles.

You should now have 40 beautifully prepared poles, 8 roof poles (long, two holes), 16 cross poles (long, three holes), and 16 brace poles (short, two holes). You should also have your connector kit at hand. If the top ring is not already assembled, bolt and double-nut the pieces to assemble the top ring (details forthcoming).

All fasteners are 1/4" diameter. I strongly suggest you use clevis pins with hitch clips as the fasteners. Between the folding action and the vibration of transportation, nuts and bolts tend to separate. If you insist on using nuts and bolts, be sure to use LocTite, lock nuts, or double-nutting. Also add 1/4" to 1/2" to each fastener length (1/2" if double-nutting). Here are the number of fasteners you will need:

* Roof hinge pin length must be verified for new connector design.

Each bjurt will need 88 washers and 88 hitch clips.

Assuming the same size pole stock is used for the entire structure, a bjurt built with 1/2" EMT would require 16 x 2", 8 x 1 3/4", 64 x 1 3/8", 88 washers, and 88 hitch clips. A bjurt built with 3/4" EMT would require 16 x 2", 8 x 2 1/4", 64 x 1 5/8", 88 washers, and 88 hitch clips.

The bjurt can be assembled lying down on its side, but it is cumbersome to roll the bjurt, it is easy to misconnect pieces, and the poles and connectors may bend under strain of assembly. It is better to build the bjurt standing up. This requires a ladder, but the results are superior. The following instructions describe the standing up method:

1. For each of 8 cross hinge pins, connect two cross poles together via the center hole. Fasten with washer and hitch clip. This results in 8 cross pole pairs made up of all 16 cross poles.
   
2. For each of 8 roof poles, attach the hinge of the top connector (the one with the bat wings) to one end of roof pole. Fasten with washer and hitch clip.
3. Place the top ring on the ground, hinge side down.
4. Secure roof pole vertically with top connector up. Ensure bend of top connector wings is parallel to top ring. Attach roof pole to hinge of top ring. Fasten with washer and hitch clip.
5. Repeat step 4. attaching roof pole to next hinge counterclockwise to the last.
6. Hold a cross pole pair with the head of the pin facing your body. Scissors open pair slightly with closer pole upward to the right and farther pole upward to the left. Attach closer pole to the top connector to the right and farther pole to the top connector to the left. Fasten with washers and hitch clips.
7. Repeat steps 5. and 6. until all roof and cross poles have been attached. Each time a new cross pole pair is installed, use a bottom connector to attach the cross pole pair to its neighbor. Fasten with washers and hitch clips.

Congratulations! You have just made a bjurt! Note that the horizontal and vertical braces are not installed until the bjurt is erected.

Now, you're probably going to want to cover it.