2026 Marching Band Props

August 17, 2026 – The Other Marching Season Workshop

Marching season in the Maker At Play workshop doesn't only mean building props.

For the past few years, Susie has also taken on the job of making the band's drill spot shirts, and this year was no different. So while I've been filling the garage with steel, plywood, welding sparks, and paint, Susie has spent the past few weeks turning our front living room into a shirt factory.

For those unfamiliar with marching band, every student is assigned a "spot number" that identifies them in the marching drill. Each instrument section is assigned a letter, and each student within that section gets a number. Together, those become the student's unique spot number that is printed on their drill shirt.

Once all of the spot numbers are assigned, the band director sends the information to Susie. She then does a data merge between the spreadsheet containing the students and their shirt sizes and the spreadsheet containing their assigned spot numbers. The result is a master list telling her exactly which number needs to be pressed onto each shirt.

In previous years, Susie printed all of the spot numbers herself using our sublimation printer. This year, she decided to try DTF, or Direct-to-Film, transfers instead.

Rather than printing hundreds of individual numbers at home, she ordered all of the transfers from a local DTF shop on what is called a "gang sheet." The transfers arrive together on large sheets, ready to be cut apart and heat pressed onto the individual shirts.

The DTF process turned out to be significantly easier than sublimation.

With sublimation, every shirt required multiple sheets of protective paper to keep the ink from bleeding through the shirt onto the back and to prevent ink from transferring onto the heat press itself. DTF doesn't have the same ink-bleeding issue, eliminating much of that extra preparation and cleanup.

Once all of the spot shirts were pressed and sorted into their instrument sections, the living room shirt factory immediately switched to its next job: show shirts.

Susie didn't make the show shirts, but someone still had to take the full order and sort everything for distribution. That means separating shirts not only by band section, but also sorting all of the orders placed by family and friends. To make sure everyone receives exactly what they ordered, she prints an individual label for each shirt and attaches it before everything is distributed.

For weeks, our front room has been filled with stacks and stacks of shirts.

But just as quickly as all of those shirts leave the house, something else is about to take their place.

The printed coroplast for this year's props should be arriving soon, and when it does, we'll need a large space to unpack it, sort through all of the panels, verify the artwork, and organize everything for installation.

So the shirt factory will soon become the coroplast sorting facility.

There's always something taking over part of our house during marching season.

August 16, 2026 – Finishing Touches, Delivery, and What's Next

There was one final detail to take care of before loading the props and taking them to the high school.

The instrument shelves needed a little more finishing work.

We decided the raw plywood shouldn't be left exposed, both for aesthetics in case the shelves can be seen through the stairs and, more importantly, to protect the instruments. We also wanted the shelves to have a little friction so instruments wouldn't easily slide around as the props move.

Our high-tech solution? Cheap black towels from Walmart.

Susie and John worked on covering the shelves with the towels. They used John's trombone to determine exactly where the bell rests on the shelf and added some extra padding in that area. This gives the trombone a natural "registration" spot where the bell settles into place while also providing a little additional protection.

While they worked on the shelves, I turned my attention to another project.

Since our 20-foot trailer was already at the house for transporting the props, it seemed like a good opportunity to tackle some overdue trailer maintenance.

Earlier this year, we had a bit of a mishap while hauling some large carts. Despite being secured, the carts worked themselves loose and crashed into the inside of the trailer's side door with enough force to damage it. Part of the aluminum siding was knocked out of the edge framing that normally holds it in place.

Today I removed the entire door from the trailer so I could take apart the edge framing, flatten the aluminum siding, and work it back into the frame.

Success...mostly.

The siding is securely back where it belongs, and the door looks much better. I'm no longer concerned about the aluminum continuing to pull away from the frame. Unfortunately, the door and surrounding frame are still slightly misaligned, so the door sticks and takes a little more effort to open than it should. It's not perfect, but it's a significant improvement.

With the shelves finished and the trailer door reinstalled, it was finally time to load props.

Four staircase props are about all we can fit into the trailer at once, so we loaded the first four and hauled them to the high school. The final two will require another trip.

While we were at the school, we also covered the instrument shelf on the prop that was already there, which means all four instrument shelves are now complete.

And because apparently delivering props means I need to bring more props home...

We loaded all seven of our existing media frame props onto the smaller trailer and brought them back to the Maker At Play workshop.

With all twelve staircase props now built, my attention can shift to the next phase of this year's prop project. The artwork package includes enough panels for eight media frames, but we currently only have seven. That means my next fabrication project is building Media Frame #8, followed by making some improvements to the existing seven frames.

The staircase build may be wrapping up, but prop season isn't over quite yet.

August 15, 2026 – The Final Six Come Together

Today was another parent prop workday, and once again we had a great group of band parents show up ready to help.

Getting four of the six props painted earlier in the week paid off immediately. Instead of waiting for everything to move through our single paint sprayer, volunteers could start working on those four props while we finished painting the last two.

From there, the focus was getting all six props across the finish line.

We attached the plywood stair treads and top platforms, followed by the plywood for the slides. Then the Polywall went over each slide to create the smooth, durable surface the students will actually slide on during the show.

With plenty of extra hands, we were able to keep multiple jobs moving at the same time. By the end of the official workday, all six props had their plywood and slide surfaces installed.

That means all twelve staircase props are now built!

After lunch, I still had a few additional pieces I wanted to fabricate.

Four of the twelve props need instrument shelves underneath the stairs so soloists and ensemble members have somewhere to stow their instruments during portions of the show. I had already built one prototype shelf, so I spent the afternoon fabricating and installing the remaining three.

I also continued experimenting with the flag troughs that will eventually be installed underneath all twelve props for the color guard.

The first prototype I built was only four inches wide. After getting feedback from the color guard, it sounds like something in the 12-to-15-inch range would work better. For this next version, I went with 12 inches.

There was also a practical reason for choosing that dimension: material efficiency. A 12-inch-wide trough divides nicely into a standard 48-inch-wide sheet of plywood, allowing me to get four widths from each sheet with very little waste.

So the flag trough design is getting closer, but I still want to get feedback on this larger version before fabricating all twelve.

Another very productive volunteer workday is complete. All twelve staircase props are built, four now have their instrument shelves, and we're narrowing in on the last piece of fabrication with the flag troughs.

After months of cutting, welding, grinding, painting, and assembling, the staircase prop build is very close to being completely finished.

August 12, 2026 – Getting Ahead on Paint

One of the lessons learned from our previous parent prop workdays was that painting can quickly become a bottleneck.

We only have one paint sprayer, and several of the assembly tasks can't begin until the steel frame has been painted. At the last workday, that meant volunteers were sometimes waiting for a prop to make its way through the paint station before they could move on to attaching plywood.

With our next parent workday coming up on Saturday, Susie and I decided to get a head start.

Tonight's goal was to paint four of the remaining six props.

Painting these large frames also presents another challenge: figuring out whether you actually painted everything. With all of the tubing, stairs, supports, and different angles, lighting and shadows can make bare spots surprisingly difficult to see. You can look at a prop from one direction and think it's completely covered, then move a few feet and suddenly spot an area you missed.

Tonight we experimented with painting inside the garage and partially closing the garage door to change the lighting. It helped reduce some of the shadows and made it easier to spot areas that still needed paint.

By the end of the evening, four of the six props were painted and ready for Saturday.

That leaves only two props to spray during the volunteer workday. Instead of everyone waiting for the first prop to come out of paint, we'll start Saturday with four frames already ready for plywood.

Hopefully, a little work tonight will keep a lot more hands busy on Saturday.

August 8, 2026 – The Metalwork Is Done

Today was a milestone I've been working toward for almost two months.

The goal for this Saturday in the Maker At Play props workshop was to finish the remaining welding on the final six props. All six were already standing on their own wheels, but the tops of the stair and slide assemblies still needed to be fully welded to the platforms.

Before I could start welding, though, I needed to make a few more parts.

Earlier in the week, I had borrowed some of the 12-inch pieces intended for the tops of the props and used them as mounting brackets for the instrument shelves. That meant a quick trip back to the saw to cut replacement pieces before I could finish the props.

With those pieces cut, it was time to weld.

I worked my way through the six props, finishing the upper connections between the stairs, slides, and platforms. One prop after another moved into the completed column until there were none left.

And that's it.

The metal fabrication for all twelve staircase props is officially complete.

I started cutting steel for the production run back on June 13. Nearly 40 work sessions later, hundreds of individual pieces of steel have been cut, drilled, ground, fixtured, and welded into twelve rolling staircase and slide props.

There were prototypes, design changes, fixtures to invent, mistakes to correct, hundreds of holes to drill, a few empty bottles of welding gas, and a whole lot of welding along the way.

But the steel fabrication phase is finally finished.

Next up: paint, plywood, and getting these final six props ready to join the first six at the school.

August 7, 2026 – The Subassembly Piles Disappear

Tonight was more of the same in the Maker At Play props workshop, and that's a good thing.

The goal was to keep working through the assembly process I started earlier this week and get Props #4, #5, and #6 through the welding-table stage. Platform, stairs, slide, wheels, then off the table and on to the next one.

At this point, the process is pretty well dialed in.

The coolest part of tonight wasn't necessarily completing another three props. It was watching the piles of subassemblies disappear.

For weeks, the shop floor has been filled with stacks of bases, stair assemblies, platforms, and slides waiting for their turn. Every time another prop comes together, several of those piles get a little smaller. Tonight, the last of the base assemblies disappeared completely.

That actually created enough floor space to park one of the newly assembled props where the stack of bases had been sitting.

There's something satisfying about that transformation. A few weeks ago, the shop was filled with hundreds of individual pieces of steel. Then those became piles of subassemblies. Now even the subassembly piles are disappearing as everything comes together into finished props.

By the end of the night, all six of the remaining props were standing on their own wheels.

They aren't quite finished with fabrication yet. I still need to go back through all six and complete the upper welds where the stairs and slides attach to the platforms, but that's a job for the next work session.

For now, it's nice to look around the shop and see six more rolling staircase props instead of piles of parts.

Twelve props are standing.

Just a little more welding to go.

August 5, 2026 – Starting the Second Six

The first six props are complete and at the school, which means it's time to start all over again with the remaining six.

Fortunately, this time I have a much better assembly process.

My goal for tonight's session in the Maker At Play props workshop was to get three more props assembled with their platforms, stairs, slides, and wheels.

After working through the first six, I've learned which parts of the assembly really need to happen while the prop is on the welding table and which can wait until later. For this batch, I'm focusing only on welding the platform to the base, welding the bottoms of the stairs and slide, and attaching the wheels while each prop is on the table.

Once those steps are complete, the prop comes off the table and the next base goes on.

That's a change from how I built the first six. Previously, after a prop came off the table, I would stop to finish welding the tops of the stairs and slide to the platform before moving on. It worked, but it meant constantly switching between different tasks.

This time I'm treating the build more like an assembly line. I'll get all six props through the welding-table stage first, then come back and complete all of the upper welds as a batch.

It's another small improvement that comes from building twelve of the same thing. By the time you reach the second half, you've had plenty of opportunities to figure out what works and what slows you down.

By the end of tonight's session, three more staircase props were standing on their own wheels, and Base #4 was already sitting on the welding table waiting for the next work session.

The second six are officially underway.

August 2, 2026 – The First Six Delivered

Today was all about making room for the next six props.

Before the first batch could leave the workshop, though, there was one final fabrication task to complete.

The band director had requested that four of the props include a shelf underneath the stairs where soloists could temporarily place their instruments during the performance. Just like the flag trough, I wanted to build one prototype shelf and send it to the school with the first batch of props. That way, the band staff could see it in person, try it out, and provide feedback before I built the remaining three shelves.

With the shelf completed and attached, it was finally time to clear out the workshop.

The first stop was the high school to pick up our 20-foot trailer. After bringing it home, we loaded the first four props. That turned out to be the trailer's limit, so it would take two trips to deliver all six.

Back at the high school, we unloaded the props and tucked them underneath the home stands in the football stadium where they'll stay until rehearsals begin.

Then it was back home for one final trip.

We loaded the remaining two props, made the drive back to the school, and added them to the growing collection underneath the stands.

Seeing all six props lined up together at the stadium was a rewarding moment. Just a few months ago they existed only as a sketch, then a Fusion 360 model, then a prototype, and finally hundreds of pieces of steel spread across the workshop floor. Now they're sitting at the school, ready for the students to start using.

Even better...

The workshop is empty again.

Well...empty enough.

There's now just enough room to start building the second set of six props. Fortunately, thanks to all the lessons learned from building the first batch, the remaining six should come together much faster.

Six down.

Six to go.

August 1, 2026 – Six Props Completed

Today's second volunteer prop workday was a huge success.

We had a great turnout of band parents, and with so many helping hands we were able to tackle multiple jobs at the same time. Within the first 90 minutes we were already checking tasks off the list, and before long the workshop was running like a small assembly line.

The only things slowing us down were having a single paint sprayer and a single track saw. We had to wait for each prop to be painted before plywood could be installed, and much of the plywood still needed a little final trimming to fit each prop perfectly.

Even with those bottlenecks, we accomplished far more than I expected.

By the end of the day, all six props were fully assembled.

That included fabricating and installing the first prototype flag trough on one of the props. I'm happy with how it turned out, and it should make building the remaining eleven much more straightforward.

One nice side effect of today's work was how much we accomplished for the next six props.

While one group assembled the first six, another group kept working ahead. We trimmed all of the remaining plywood, cut the Polywall for all twelve slides, and drilled the mounting holes for the flag troughs on every base. That means when it's time to build the second set of six, much of the prep work is already finished.

We also made one small design improvement during assembly.

After installing the platform plywood, we noticed a few sheets had a slight warp. The original design used two carriage bolts on each side of the platform, but we decided to add one bolt at the front and one at the back as well. Those two additional fasteners pulled the plywood down nicely and made the platform feel even more solid.

Looking back at the task list we started with that morning, it's impressive how much was accomplished in a single day:

• Ground the remaining welds on all six props
• Cleaned the steel in preparation for paint
• Painted all six props
• Drilled the mounting holes for the flag troughs
• Trimmed and installed all stair plywood
• Trimmed and installed all platform plywood
• Cut, drilled, and installed the slide plywood and Polywall slide surfaces
• Built and installed the first flag trough prototype

By the end of the day, what had started as six welded steel frames had become six finished staircase props, complete with stairs, platforms, slides, and ready for their trip to the high school.

Days like today are why these volunteer work sessions are so valuable. What would have taken me the better part of a week to accomplish happened in a single Saturday thanks to an incredible group of band parents willing to give up their weekend to help.

Six props are complete.

Now it's time to clear the workshop and start building the next six.

July 31, 2026 – Ready for the Workday

Today's prop session actually started with a trip to Home Depot.

With another parent workday scheduled for Saturday, I needed to make one last supply run before everyone arrived. The shopping list included plywood to build a prototype of the flag trough that will be mounted under each prop, six sheets of Polywall to cover the slide surfaces, and a box full of carriage bolts and nuts to attach all of the plywood during the workday.

The Polywall is a key part of making the props functional. Each 4×8 sheet is cut in half, providing two slide surfaces. Once attached over the plywood, it creates a durable, slick surface that allows the students to actually slide down the props during the performance.

With supplies loaded into the truck, it was back to the workshop.

The first task was finishing the remaining top welds on Prop #6, officially completing the major welding on the first six props.

Then I moved on to welding the final piece of steel for each prop. This is the small square tube that bridges the top of the slide to the top rail, giving the illusion that the slide extends all the way to the top of the structure.

That's when I discovered...

...another mistake.

The pieces I cut earlier in the week were all about a quarter inch too long.

Fortunately, this turned out to be one of those mistakes that's much easier to fix than it is to prevent. A piece that's too long can always be trimmed.

After a little investigating, I realized the problem wasn't actually the pieces I had cut. The mating cross member on the slide assembly had been welded about three-quarters of an inch too low. It should line up flush with the top surface of the platform plywood and the steel that supports it.

Thankfully, I had only welded one of those cross members into place before catching the error.

I trimmed the new pieces to fit correctly and continued welding them onto the remaining props, leaving the incorrectly positioned cross member on the first prop alone for the moment. By that point in the evening, I wasn't in the mood to cut it back out and relocate it. Sometimes it's better to recognize when it's time to stop and tackle a repair with fresh eyes the next day.

Even with that small setback, the timing couldn't have been much better. The first six props are now welded together and ready for Saturday's volunteer workday, where the focus shifts from fabrication to attaching plywood, painting, and bringing these first six props another big step closer to completion.

July 30, 2026 – Six Props Take Shape

Another evening in the Maker At Play workshop, and the finish line for the first six props is finally coming into view.

The night started by rolling Prop #5 off the welding table and onto the floor, making room for Base #6. Once the base was fixtured up, I went back and completed the remaining top welds on Prop #5.

With that finished, all my attention shifted to Prop #6.

The now-familiar assembly sequence continued. The platform was aligned and welded to the base, followed by the stair assembly, then the slide. After that, I attached the wheels so the prop could roll as soon as it came off the table.

I intentionally left the upper welds on Prop #6 for tomorrow.

Not because I was finished for the night, but because I needed to reclaim some shop space.

The table extension that has been attached to my Fireball welding table for weeks had to come off, and the welding table itself needed to be pushed back into its normal position. With six nearly complete props now occupying the workshop, every square foot of floor space matters.

That goal of six props wasn't picked at random.

When I planned this project months ago, I estimated that six fully assembled props would be about the maximum my workshop could comfortably hold. Once these six have their plywood attached, receive their final paint, and are delivered to the high school, I'll finally have enough room to start assembling the second set of six.

It's another milestone that reminds me how much this project is driven by logistics as much as fabrication. Building twelve props isn't just about welding steel. It's also about managing space, organizing materials, and keeping the workflow moving from one phase to the next.

By the end of the evening, six props were standing in the shop, with only a few finishing welds left before Saturday's parent workday.

The first half of the production run is almost complete.

July 29, 2026 – An Unexpected Interruption

Another evening in the Maker At Play workshop, with one goal in mind: keep the production line moving.

The night started by attaching the wheels to Prop #4 so it could finally roll off the welding table. Once it was mobile, Susie helped me move it out of the way and lift Base #5 onto the table so work could continue.

With the next prop fixtured up, I went back and finished welding the top of the stair assembly and the slide on Prop #4. Then it was back to Prop #5. I aligned and welded the platform to the base, attached the stair assembly, and even took a little time to grind two slide assemblies so Prop #6 would be ready when its turn came.

Everything was moving right on schedule.

Then dinner happened.

Or, more accurately...

A golfer happened.

In the middle of our dinner break, we heard the unmistakable sound of a golf ball striking something it definitely wasn't supposed to strike. Living on a golf course, we knew exactly what that sound meant.

Sure enough, another golf ball had found its way into our yard and shattered the back window of my truck.

Unfortunately, this isn't our first experience with golf ball damage. Over the years we've had broken house windows, broken car windows, and even a golf cart take out part of our fence. It's become one of the less enjoyable realities of living on a golf course.

So the evening took an unexpected detour.

Instead of welding props, we spent the next while cleaning shattered glass out of the truck and off the driveway.

Once the cleanup was finished, it was back into the workshop.

I finished welding the slide onto Prop #5, attached the wheels, and called it a night.

Even with an unexpected broken truck window slowing things down, I wasn't about to lose momentum. The goal is still to have six props welded together before Saturday's parent workday, and that's the pace I'm determined to keep.

July 28, 2026 – Finding the Rhythm

Another productive evening in the Maker At Play workshop.

The first task was getting Prop #1 back onto the welding table so I could finish attaching the slide. Susie gave me a hand lifting it onto the table, and I immediately confirmed my theory from last night. Welding the bottom of the slide while the prop was on the table was much easier than trying to do it while the prop was sitting on the floor.

Once the bottom welds were complete, I was ready to finish the top of the slide. Rather than asking Susie to help lift the prop back off the table, I grabbed my ladder, climbed onto the welding table, and finished the welds from above.

It worked...

...but it definitely isn't the process I want to repeat for the remaining eleven props.

That's one of the benefits of building multiple copies of the same project. Every prop teaches me something that makes the next one a little easier.

With Prop #1 complete, Base #3 went onto the welding table.

By this point, I was really starting to get into a rhythm. The platform was aligned and welded into place, the stair assembly followed, and before installing the slide I took a few minutes to grind the welds on the slide assembly so everything would be ready for paint later. With the slide clamped into position, I welded the bottom of both the stairs and the slide while everything was still securely fixtured to the table.

Before removing the prop, I installed the wheels. That way, as soon as it came off the welding table it could roll out of the way under its own power instead of having to be carried around the shop.

As soon as Prop #3 rolled off the table, Base #4 rolled on.

While Prop #4 was fixtured, I went back and completed the remaining top welds on Prop #3. Then it was right back to assembling Prop #4, welding on the platform, attaching the stair assembly, and fitting the slide.

By the time I called it a night, Prop #4 was still sitting on the welding table, well on its way to completion.

Three props are now fully welded together, and the fourth isn't far behind.

It's rewarding to feel the assembly process becoming more refined with each prop. The time spent building prototypes, designing fixtures, and working through the first few assemblies is finally paying off. The production line is finding its rhythm, and that's exactly what I was hoping for before this weekend's volunteer workday.

July 27, 2026 – Back to Welding

After running out of shielding gas over the weekend, the first stop today wasn't the workshop.

During my lunch break, I made another quick trip to Airgas for a bottle swap so I could get back to welding after work. With a fresh cylinder loaded into the welder, it was time to get production moving again.

Another evening in the Maker At Play workshop.

I picked up where I left off on Prop #2 by finishing the top welds on the stair assembly. After building the first prop, I'm already learning better ways to assemble the remaining eleven. On Prop #1, I climbed onto the welding table to reach the upper welds on the stairs. It worked, but it wasn't exactly comfortable. This time, I only welded the lower portions of the stairs while the prop was still on the table, then finished the upper welds after the prop was off the table. It proved to be a much easier approach.

With the stair assembly fully welded to the base and platform, I attached the first slide assembly to Prop #2.

That gave me another opportunity to evaluate the assembly sequence.

Before calling it a night, I clamped a slide assembly onto Prop #1, but intentionally held off on welding it. After wrestling with the slide on Prop #2, I realized I'm not happy with my current process. Welding the bottom of the slide while the prop is sitting on the floor isn't very comfortable or accessible.

I'm now thinking it makes more sense to weld the lower portion of the slide while the prop is still fixtured on the welding table, then finish the remaining welds after it's removed. That's one of the advantages of building twelve identical props. The first few become learning experiences, and every improvement to the process saves time over the remaining builds.

That's the constant balancing act of production work. You're not just building the product, you're also refining the process.

We have another parent prop workday scheduled for this Saturday, and my goal is to have six props fully welded by then. If I can hit that milestone, we'll be able to spend the volunteer day painting the remaining steel and attaching the plywood instead of waiting on fabrication.

One prop at a time, the workshop is beginning to fill with actual staircase props instead of stacks of parts.

July 26, 2026 – A Day of Drilling

With the shielding gas bottle still empty, welding was off the schedule today.

That didn't mean there wasn't plenty to accomplish.

The first priority was fixing the wheel mounting issue that surfaced while assembling the first prop. After thinking through a few options, I decided the simplest solution was also the best one: enlarge the mounting holes in the wheel plates. The bolts are large enough that the slightly oversized holes won't affect the strength of the joint, but they provide just enough extra tolerance to eliminate the frustrating alignment issues during assembly.

So today's work became a drilling marathon.

Susie helped me lift the remaining eleven base assemblies onto the welding table one at a time so I could redrill the mounting holes. Each base has four wheel plates, and each wheel plate has four mounting holes, meaning sixteen holes per base.

That's 176 holes.

It wasn't the most exciting shop day, but by the end of it every base had been updated, and we stacked them back out of the way, ready for final assembly.

Since welding wasn't an option, I shifted my attention to the last remaining piece of the slide assembly.

This square tube bridges the gap between the top of the slide and the top rail of the prop, creating the appearance that the slide extends all the way to the top of the structure. It's a small detail, but one that helps tie the whole design together visually.

It also turned out to be one of the more interesting parts to fabricate.

This tube required angled cuts on both ends and since the rise and run of the piece aren't equal, neither end could be cut with a simple 45-degree miter. Instead, I had to calculate the correct angles before making the cuts so each piece would fit cleanly between the slide and the top rail.

With the day's fabrication work wrapped up, my attention shifted to another design problem that still needed solving: the flag holders.

Each prop needs a flag holder that spans between the wheel supports, which means each one needs to be at least six feet long. My first thought was to use 4-inch PVC pipe, but PVC is sold in 10-foot lengths. That would only yield one full-length flag holder per pipe, and buying twelve 10-foot sections starts getting expensive.

That got me thinking.

What if I cut the PVC in half and used something else to bridge the final foot? That idea eventually led me to mounting the PVC onto a six-foot strip of plywood. Then another thought occurred: if the plywood is already providing the structure, why use PVC at all? Maybe the simplest solution is to build the flag holders entirely out of plywood using three strips: one for the bottom and two for the sides.

Nothing has been decided yet, but that's often how these projects evolve. One idea leads to another until eventually the simplest solution reveals itself.

By the end of the day, the wheel mounting issue had been resolved, the final slide components had been cut, and I had another design problem well on its way to being solved.

Not exactly the day I had planned, but sometimes solving the little problems is what keeps the big project moving forward.

July 25, 2026 – Back in the Shop

After a great family vacation, it was time to get back to work in the Maker At Play props workshop.

The first order of business was finishing the slide assemblies. Before we left on vacation, I had drilled most of the carriage bolt holes in the slide rails. This morning, Susie finished drilling the remaining holes while I focused on the next challenge: figuring out how to fixture the slide assemblies for welding.

The slide turned out to be one of the more interesting fixturing challenges of the project.

Since the slide sits at a 45-degree angle, both the top and bottom cross members have to be welded to the angle iron at that same angle. It took a little experimenting to come up with a setup that was both accurate and repeatable. In the end, my Fireball Monster Square turned out to be the perfect solution. By clamping the angle iron against the square, I could reliably hold every piece at exactly 45 degrees while welding.

Once the fixture was worked out, the rest became another production run. It was simply a matter of rinse and repeat until all twelve slide assemblies were welded.

After lunch, I walked back into the garage to find an unexpected surprise.

While I'd stepped inside for a few minutes, FedEx had quietly dropped a very large box in the middle of the shop. It turned out to be Susie's new heat press that she purchased to upgrade her setup before making this year's spot shirts for the band.

The funny part?

The shipment was marked "signature required."

Apparently, the driver interpreted that as "set a 100-plus-pound box in an open garage and quietly drive away." Thankfully, everything worked out, but it did make us laugh.

With the slide assemblies complete, I reconfigured the welding table, reinstalling the extension so I could begin welding the slides, platforms, and stair assemblies onto the prop bases. At this point, the project is transitioning from building subassemblies to building complete props.

The day ended with another attempt at mounting the wheels on the second prop. Unfortunately, I was still fighting the slight bolt hole alignment issue that showed up on the first prop. Rather than forcing every wheel into place, I'm leaning toward redrilling the mounting holes so the remaining eleven props go together much more smoothly.

Then, just to put an exclamation point on the day...

I ran out of shielding gas.

For the past few work sessions, I'd noticed the trigger on my MIG torch occasionally sticking. Even though it wasn't feeding wire, it apparently was still opening the gas valve. Somewhere along the way, it quietly emptied the bottle.

That means no welding tomorrow since I won't be able to swap the cylinder until Monday.

Instead, tomorrow's shop time will probably be spent redrilling the wheel mounting holes. It's not what I had planned, but solving problems like this is all part of building twelve custom props.

July 18, 2026 – One More Shop Day Before Vacation

Another Saturday in the Maker At Play workshop.

Today's goal was to squeeze in one more day of prop building before the family heads out on our summer road trip tomorrow. There are always a hundred little things that can be knocked out in a day, so I wanted to keep the momentum going before taking a short break.

The first task was finishing the wheels on the first prop we assembled earlier in the week. After correcting the mounting hole issue, I was finally able to get all four casters installed. With the prop now sitting on its own wheels, it was easy to move around the shop, which is becoming more important as these assemblies continue to grow in size.

Having the first base, platform, and staircase fully assembled also allowed me to confirm the final dimensions for the slide. While Fusion 360 got me very close, I always prefer taking the final measurements from the real assembly before fabricating the last major subassembly.

Before starting on the slides, though, there was another project to tackle.

Organization.

As the props continue to come together, the workshop is getting tighter by the day. Individual parts that once stacked neatly on shelves have become seven-foot-long assemblies that consume a lot of floor space. Before making anything larger, I spent some time reorganizing the shop so we'd have room to work when we return from vacation.

With that done, it was finally time to begin the slide assemblies.

The first step was cutting all of the angle iron to length, so I once again set up my chop saw with a stop fence to make the repeated cuts quick and consistent. Anytime you have to make two dozen identical cuts, spending a few minutes building a setup saves a lot of time and improves accuracy.

Of course, this is Texas in July, so I also made sure to take plenty of water breaks throughout the day. Metalworking in a hot garage is a good reminder that staying hydrated is just as important as having sharp tools.

Each side of the slide uses three carriage bolts to attach the plywood slide surface. Rather than drilling those holes by hand later, I decided to drill them now on the milling machine while the angle iron was still easy to handle. That meant drilling 72 holes across all 24 slide rails.

Fortunately, this wasn't as tedious as it sounds.

Months ago, I made a simple jig from a piece of 1½-inch square tubing, and it continues to earn its keep. The angle iron clamps against the jig with a stop locating the first hole. After drilling it, I simply drop a locating pin through the new hole into a matching hole in the jig. That automatically positions the second hole. Repeat the process again for the third hole, then move on to the next piece.

It's a simple fixture, but it makes the job both fast and repeatable.

I didn't quite finish drilling all of the holes before calling it a day, so there will still be a little work waiting when we get back from vacation.

Not a bad place to pause the project. The first prop is standing on its own wheels, the slide fabrication has officially begun, and after a week away, it'll be time to make another big push toward getting all twelve props finished.

July 14, 2026 – The Artwork Arrives

Yesterday I received the artwork package from our show coordinator so we could place the coroplast order with Flash Visual Media.

This is always one of the more exciting milestones because it transforms the props from steel and plywood into something that starts looking like this year's show. The engineering may have been happening in the workshop for months, but the artwork is what gives the props their personality.

One of the first things I did was pull all of the graphics for each prop element, including the staircases, stages, media frames, and front slide screens, and import them into my Fusion 360 models. Not only does this create a great visualization of what the finished props will look like, but it's also an excellent way to perform quality control on the order itself. Do we have every coroplast panel we need? Are all of the pieces sized correctly? Is everything laid out in a way that optimizes material usage and keeps costs down?

One design decision we finalized was the backs of the staircase props. Earlier in the design process, we considered using black fabric so performers could easily access the flags stored underneath the stairs. In the end, I preferred using coroplast because it creates a much cleaner finished appearance. Instead, we'll add a hinged access flap at the bottom of each prop so students can still reach the flags. Four of the props will also include a shelf underneath for soloists to temporarily store their instruments during the performance.

The two front stage props are designed to resemble a pair of docks, which is a fun visual play on the show's theme of paradoxes.

While reviewing the media frame artwork, I noticed there are twenty-four images. Since each media frame uses three panels, that means we're ordering enough coroplast for eight media frames. We currently only have seven, but since we decided not to build the additional stage piece, I have time to fabricate an eighth frame if we decide we want to use all of the artwork.

The front sideline screens are made up of ten panels, with five panels for each side of the field. Each side uses its own color gradient, which should create a nice visual balance across the front ensemble.

It's always fun to zoom in on the artwork and start imagining what the finished props will look like on the field. We're getting closer to placing the coroplast order, and before long the steel frames in the workshop will begin transforming into the colorful scenery that audiences will see at marching contests.

July 13, 2026 – The First Complete Prop

Another band dad joined me in the workshop today, and our goal was simple: bring Prop #1 to life.

Up until now, we'd been building individual subassemblies. Today was the first time we would weld a base, platform, and stair assembly together to create something that actually looked like a staircase prop.

The first challenge was simply getting the base onto the welding table. At nearly seven feet long, it was far too large to fit on the table by itself, so I installed the table extension that I built a few weeks ago specifically for this project. It provided the extra support needed to safely fixture the base while we worked.

Next, we positioned the platform assembly onto the base. To align the four platform legs, I reached for one of my favorite Fireball tools: the 3-Axis Square. It's designed specifically for positioning posts and legs perfectly square to a base, and it made quick work of getting each leg aligned before welding. Good fixturing removes the guesswork, and when you're building twelve identical props, accuracy and repeatability matter.

With the platform welded to the base, it was finally time to add the stair assembly. Because of its size, this took both of us along with my Fireball Monster Square and several large C-clamps to hold everything securely in position while it was welded together.

For the first time, we could step back and see a nearly complete staircase prop standing in the shop.

Then we got to the wheels.

As soon as we started installing them, we discovered a problem.

When I fabricated the wheel mounting plates several weeks ago, I reused the same bolt pattern I'd successfully used on previous prop builds. Since I was using slightly larger bolts this year, I had already increased the hole diameters to account for the larger hardware. Unfortunately, while the holes were larger, the bolt pattern itself was just slightly off. The wheels would bolt on, but they didn't sit quite right.

Rather than forcing the issue, we decided to stop and think through the best way to correct the alignment before permanently mounting all forty-eight casters. It's a disappointing setback, but catching it now on the first prop is far better than discovering the problem after all twelve were assembled.

Even with that hiccup, today was a huge milestone. For the first time, the hundreds of individual parts we've been fabricating over the past several weeks came together to resemble the staircase prop that started as a sketch and a Fusion 360 model months ago. There's still work to do, but seeing the first prop standing in the shop made all those evenings of cutting, welding, grinding, and painting feel worth it.

July 12, 2026 – Making Room for the Next Step

After yesterday's volunteer workday, it was back to a quieter day in the workshop.

Today's focus was welding the platform assemblies. With all of the parts prepped and ready, I welded together all twelve platforms while Susie painted the stair step assemblies that had been ground and prepared the day before.

The Fireball welding table really earned its keep today. Each platform has to sit at a precise height relative to the 58.5-inch support legs, and consistency across all twelve assemblies is critical. I flipped each platform upside down on the table and used my 16-inch Fireball extension blocks to support it at the correct working height. With the platform securely fixtured, I could position each leg so the top extended exactly 10.5 inches above the platform before clamping and welding everything in place. It's another great example of how good fixturing makes repetitive fabrication both faster and more accurate.

One thing that's becoming very apparent is just how much space these props require.

A single base frame takes up a good portion of the shop floor. Now add twelve completed bases, twelve stair assemblies, twelve platform assemblies, stacks of plywood, and all of the remaining parts waiting their turn, and the workshop is starting to feel a little crowded. Every completed subassembly is progress, but it also means finding somewhere to store it while the next pieces are built.

Finishing the platform assemblies marks another important milestone. With the bases, stairs, and platforms complete, I can finally weld the three major subassemblies together and verify the exact dimensions for the slide. Although the slide was designed in Fusion 360, I always like to confirm critical measurements on the real assembly before cutting and welding the final subassembly.

Once those measurements are verified, the slide assemblies will be the last major pieces to fabricate before everything starts coming together into complete staircase props.

It's exciting to be reaching the point where individual parts are about to become finished props.

July 11, 2026 – The First Volunteer Workday

Today was our first official volunteer workday, and what a difference a team can make.

We had a great group of band parents spend the day in the Maker At Play workshop, tackling all of the jobs that would have taken me days to complete on my own. Having so many extra hands meant we could work on several tasks at once, and by the end of the day the project had taken a huge leap forward.

One of the biggest accomplishments was processing all twelve sheets of plywood. We cut every sheet into the individual stair treads, platforms, and slide panels needed for the twelve staircase props.

As soon as the plywood started coming off the saw, everyone spread out to different jobs. One dad began routing the edges of all the stair treads to remove the sharp corners and give them a finished appearance. Another started grinding the welds on the stair step subassemblies so they would be ready for primer and paint. After lunch, a third dad joined him, and together they worked through the growing stack of metal parts.

Meanwhile, the base assemblies were being sprayed black. Painting all twelve large steel frames was a project in itself and kept one team busy for most of the day.

Once all of the plywood had been cut, another group rolled black paint onto the stair treads and platform panels. The slide panels were left unfinished because they'll eventually be covered with a plastic wall covering that provides a smooth, durable surface so students can actually use them as slides.

At one point, we had four different projects happening in parallel: plywood cutting, edge routing, metal grinding, and painting. Watching the shop operate almost like an assembly line was incredibly rewarding, and it showed just how much can be accomplished when everyone pitches in.

By the end of the day, stacks of painted plywood filled one side of the shop while freshly painted base frames and cleaned-up stair assemblies filled the other. The transformation from raw materials into actual prop components was impossible to miss.

Days like this remind me how much of a community effort these projects really are. What would have taken me the better part of a week was accomplished in a single Saturday thanks to an incredible group of volunteers. The staircase props are finally starting to look like real props instead of a collection of raw materials.

July 9, 2026 – A Plywood Run

Today's work session took place outside the Maker At Play workshop.

With Saturday's volunteer workday quickly approaching, one of the major tasks will be cutting all of the plywood for the props. The plan is to cut the twelve sheets into the required parts, drill the mounting holes, and get everything painted. Before any of that could happen, though, I needed to go pick up the plywood.

The easiest option would have been to make a quick trip to the local Home Depot and load twelve sheets into the truck.

But I've learned over the years that convenience isn't always the best choice when it comes to plywood.

The plywood at the big box stores tends to be more expensive and the quality can be hit or miss. Last year, while building my miter saw station, I discovered The Plywood Company of Fort Worth. They carry a much larger selection of plywood and hardwoods, and I've found both the quality and the pricing to be considerably better.

The only downside is the drive.

So today became a road trip to Fort Worth instead of a quick run across town.

By the end of the day, the truck was loaded with all twelve sheets of plywood, and another important item was checked off the project list.

Now we're ready for Saturday.

With the steel prepped, the paint ready, and the plywood stacked in the workshop, everything is in place for our first volunteer workday. I'm looking forward to seeing how much progress we can make with a full crew helping build the props.

July 8, 2026 – Many Hands Make Light Work

Tonight the Maker At Play workshop welcomed another band dad to help with the prop build.

With our first parent prop workday coming up on Saturday, the goal was to get as many parts as possible ready for painting and final assembly.

Our primary task was grinding the welds on all twelve base assemblies so they'd be ready for paint this weekend. At the same time, we also cleaned up the platform assembly parts, preparing them for welding in the next phase of production.

Having an extra set of hands made a huge difference.

Each base assembly is large and awkward to handle by yourself. Our workflow quickly settled into a rhythm: lift a base onto the sawhorses, grind all of the welds on the top side, flip it over, grind the bottom side, then stack the finished base on the shop floor before moving on to the next one.

It's one of those jobs that's hard to appreciate until you've done it. Grinding isn't particularly exciting, but it's what transforms a rough fabrication into something that's ready for primer and paint. Taking the time now also makes the finished props look much cleaner.

By the end of the evening, all of the base assemblies had been prepped for Saturday's painting session, and the platform parts were ready for welding.

With the first volunteer workday just around the corner, everything is coming together for the next big push.

July 7, 2026 – A Major Milestone

Tonight's goal was to finish the remaining six stair assemblies.

After spending the past few evenings developing the fixture and refining the welding sequence, these six came together surprisingly fast. Once you have a good system, making six of something really isn't much more work than making one. The time is in figuring out the process. Once that's solved, production becomes almost routine.

By the end of the evening, all twelve three-step stair assemblies were complete.

That makes this one of the biggest milestones of the project so far.

Each stair assembly is made up of 20 individual pieces of steel. Completing all twelve means 240 of the roughly 600 total metal pieces that make up these props have now been transformed into finished assemblies.

Standing back and looking around the workshop, it's amazing how much has changed over the past few weeks. The pile of stock steel that covered the shop floor when it was delivered has almost completely disappeared. In its place are neatly stacked subassemblies waiting for final assembly.

It's rewarding to reach a point where the project starts feeling less like cutting and welding random pieces of metal and more like building actual props.

There's still plenty of work ahead, but another major building block is complete, and the finish line is beginning to feel a little closer.

July 6, 2026 – Halfway Through the Stair Assemblies

Another productive evening in the Maker At Play workshop.

Tonight's goal was simple: keep building stair assemblies.

Before I could start welding, I spent some time grinding several of the individual step assemblies to prepare the joints. It's one of those jobs that's easy to overlook, but clean joints make for better welds and less cleanup later.

Once everything was prepped, I welded together five more three-step stair assemblies.

After completing the first assembly, I settled into a good rhythm. Each stair assembly requires welding four vertical support pieces, with welds on all four sides and both ends of every support. That's a lot of welding for each assembly, but once I established the sequence, I could work efficiently without constantly repositioning the assembly or second-guessing what weld came next.

About three assemblies into the evening, production came to a temporary stop.

I ran out of welding wire.

Changing the spool isn't normally a big deal, but my welder lives underneath my welding table, which isn't exactly the most convenient place to access it. Swapping wire while crouched under the table wasn't the highlight of the evening, but after a few minutes I was back in business.

By the end of the night, five more stair assemblies were complete. Combined with the one I finished yesterday, that brings the total to six completed stair assemblies, leaving just six more to build.

Halfway there.

Tomorrow's goal is to finish the remaining six and check another major assembly off the list.

July 5, 2026 – Building the Stairs

Another productive day in the Maker At Play workshop.

The first bit of good news arrived before I even struck an arc. The shipment of 12 sets of 8-inch casters showed up today. One thing I've learned on projects like this is to stay ahead of the material schedule. The last thing I want is to finish a portion of the build only to have everyone standing around waiting for parts to arrive.

I also finished welding the last six top step subassemblies, which cleared the way for the next major phase of the project: assembling the full three-step stair sections.

This was the point where the project literally started going vertical.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a pair of 13-inch Extension Blocks for my Fireball welding table, knowing they would eventually be needed for this stage. They allow me to fixture one step exactly 12 inches above another while keeping everything square and repeatable.

After building the prototype, I knew I wanted to approach this assembly differently. The new fixture is a significant improvement over the method I used on the prototype, giving me much better control over the alignment of the steps during welding.

Even though I had already worked out the fixture design in CAD, getting everything set up on the welding table still took some time. There was a fair amount of adjusting before I had the extension blocks, fixtures, and clamps positioned so the two vertical supports between the steps could be securely held for welding.

Once the fixture was dialed in, I ground the welds on several of the individual step assemblies to prepare them for final assembly, then welded together the first three-step staircase.

It's always satisfying when a fixture goes from being an idea in CAD to something that actually works as intended.

By the end of the day, the first three-step subassembly was complete. With the process now proven, I expect it will take a few more evenings this week to work through the remaining eleven stair assemblies.

Slowly but surely, twelve staircase props are starting to emerge from what was just a pile of steel a few weeks ago.

July 2, 2026 – Back to Welding

After experimenting with paint last night, it was back to welding this evening.

Tonight's goal was to continue building the top step assemblies. After spending some time grinding the welds on the previously completed pieces, I fixtured up another support for the top step and welded together six more assemblies.

At this point, the process is becoming nicely repeatable. That's one of the rewards of spending time designing good fixtures. Once everything is dialed in, the focus shifts from figuring out how to build the part to simply building it accurately over and over again.

Before calling it a night, I assembled the final fixture needed for the remaining top step welds. That should make Sunday's shop session much more productive. Rather than spending time setting up, I can jump right into welding the last of the top step assemblies.

Once those are complete, it will finally be time to move on to assembling the full three-step staircase sections.

It's exciting to be approaching that milestone. Up until now, most of the work has been producing individual subassemblies. Over the next several shop sessions, those parts will begin coming together into recognizable sections of the finished props.

One evening at a time, the pile of parts continues to become a set of staircase props.

July 1, 2026 – Preparing for Paint

The first parent prop workday is coming up on Saturday, July 11, and one of the biggest jobs will be painting.

Rather than waiting until the props are fully assembled, I'm planning to paint many of the subassemblies first. My hope is that this will make it much easier to get complete paint coverage, especially in all the tight corners that become difficult to reach once everything is welded together.

In past years, we've painted the metal frames using rattle cans. They work well enough, but when you're painting twelve large props, spray cans become both expensive and time consuming.

This year, I wanted to try something different.

I picked up a gallon of paint and spent the evening testing it with my HVLP paint sprayer. Fortunately, the results were encouraging. The paint sprayed well, gave good coverage, and should be much more economical than using dozens of spray cans.

Of course, every test uncovers the next problem to solve.

My first attempt at hanging the parts from a single hook wasn't ideal. The pieces swung around too much while spraying, making it harder to get an even coat.

So before the parent workday, I'll be building some kind of paint rack that allows multiple parts to hang securely while keeping them from moving around too much. A little preparation now should make painting day go much smoother for everyone.

Just another example of how building the props isn't the only project. Sometimes you have to build the tools that help you build the props.

June 30, 2026 – Every Project Has a Mistake

Mistakes were made.

One thing I've learned over the years is that every project has at least one "well...that wasn't supposed to happen" moment. Today was that day.

Friday night I got into a good rhythm welding the lower step assemblies and finished all twelve of them. There was just one problem.

They weren't all supposed to be the same.

Because these props are built as six mirrored pairs, half of the stair assemblies need to be left-handed and the other half right-handed. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that and happily built all twelve identically.

The interesting part is that the original Fusion 360 design didn't have this problem.

Originally, the support in question was going to be welded directly to the base frame. That meant the only mirrored assemblies were the base frames themselves. But during the production planning, I called an audible and decided it would make final assembly easier if I welded that support onto the lower step first instead.

It was a good manufacturing decision.

Unfortunately, I forgot that changing the assembly sequence also changed which parts needed to be mirrored.

So the first task of today's shop session wasn't building props.

It was fixing yesterday's mistake.

Out came the cutoff wheel.

I removed the misplaced support from six of the lower step assemblies. Since cutting them off shortened the supports, I also had to fabricate six replacement pieces before welding everything back together in the correct orientation.

Thankfully, it was a mistake that cost me only time.

With those assemblies corrected, I was able to move on and weld the support onto the top step assemblies. This time, I made absolutely sure to keep the left-hand and right-hand versions separated throughout the entire process.

As frustrating as mistakes can be, they're part of building things.

I'd much rather discover an error like this now, while working on subassemblies in the shop, than after the props are fully assembled or, even worse, during rehearsals.

By the end of the evening, the mistake had been corrected, the project was back on track, and the production line was moving again.

Sometimes progress means building something new.

Sometimes progress means admitting you built something wrong and taking the time to make it right.

June 27, 2026 – Twelve Base Frames Complete

Today was a very productive Saturday in the Maker At Play props workshop and a major milestone in the project.

The goal for today was to complete all twelve base frames, the largest subassembly that will be built on the welding table. Every prop starts with this foundation, so getting all twelve completed represents a significant step toward full production.

After building the prototype, I realized my Fireball welding table needed a little help. A 4-by-7-foot base frame is much larger than the table itself, so I built an extension from 1-inch square tubing that bolts onto the back of the table. The extension reaches about four feet behind the table and includes a 4½-foot support that slides along the rails while staying perfectly flush with the tabletop. It turned out to be a simple addition that made handling these large assemblies much easier.

Each base frame is constructed from four pieces of 1½-inch square tubing along with two wheel plate subassemblies. Once welded together, they become the rolling foundation for the entire prop.

One interesting challenge is that not all twelve bases are identical.

The show design calls for mirrored pairs of staircase props. Six props have the stairs on the left side, while the other six have the stairs on the right. That means the wheel plate locations and mounting points have to be mirrored as well so the stair assemblies can be attached correctly later.

To ensure every frame stayed square, I used the fixtures on the welding table. Because of that setup, I could only weld one end of a frame at a time. Rather than completing one frame from start to finish, I worked in batches. First, I welded one end and one wheel plate assembly on all twelve frames. Then I went back through the entire stack to weld the opposite end.

Once a frame had both ends assembled, it was time to flip it...and flip it again...and then stand it on edge...and flip it once more so every joint could be fully welded for strength.

There was a lot of lifting today.

By the end of the day, though, all twelve base frames were complete.

Standing back and looking around the shop, it was rewarding to see how far the project has come in just two weeks since the steel was delivered. The pile of raw stock that covered the shop floor is steadily disappearing, replaced by organized subassemblies. Even better, those subassemblies are now beginning to come together into larger assemblies that actually resemble parts of the finished props.

Today felt like one of those milestones that reminds you the finish line is getting closer. There's still plenty of welding ahead, but for the first time it feels like we're building props instead of just cutting steel.

June 26, 2026 – A Fixture for the First Step

Tonight was a shorter shop session, but it was another opportunity to check an important subassembly off the list.

The focus for the evening was building all twelve lower step assemblies. While they aren't the largest components of the prop, they presented an interesting fixturing challenge.

Most of the subassemblies I've built so far have been relatively flat. The pieces simply lay on the Fireball welding table while the fixtures hold everything square during welding.

The lower step assembly was different.

Each assembly includes an 11-inch vertical support welded at a 90-degree angle beneath the first step. To fixture that correctly, I needed to stand the step on its edge so the support could lay flat on the welding table.

That may sound like a small detail, but it made a big difference.

By having the support resting on the table, I could use my fixtures to control all three critical dimensions at once. The fixture kept the support perfectly square to the step in both the X and Y directions, while a stop block established the exact length of the support. Even if there were tiny variations in the cut lengths, every finished assembly would end up identical.

That's one of the things I enjoy most about production work. Sometimes the real challenge isn't the welding itself, it's figuring out how to build a fixture that makes every part come out the same.

Once the fixture was dialed in, the rest of the evening went quickly. One after another, all twelve lower step assemblies were welded together with confidence that each one matched the last.

Another stack of completed subassemblies.

Another step toward twelve finished props.

June 25, 2026 – More Progress and Material Planning

Tonight was a shorter session in the Maker At Play workshop, but every evening in the shop moves the project one step closer to the finish line.

The welding task for the night was straightforward. I combined two smaller components into a single subassembly that will eventually become part of the staircase assembly. It wasn't a particularly flashy milestone, but building props like this is all about completing dozens of these smaller assemblies before they come together into something much larger.

While the welder was cooling down, I also finalized another important piece of the project: figuring out exactly how much plywood we'd need for all twelve props.

Each prop requires six plywood pieces:

• Four stair treads measuring 22" × 12"
• One top platform measuring 44" × 36"
• One slide measuring 68" × 23.5"

After laying everything out, I found an efficient cutting plan. Two platform tops can be cut from one sheet of plywood, while two slides can be cut from a second sheet. The remaining material from those two sheets provides enough space to cut all eight stair treads needed for those same two props.

That means every pair of props can be built from just two sheets of plywood.

With twelve props to build, we'll need a total of 12 sheets of plywood.

One of the things I enjoy about projects like this is that they require both fabrication and planning. Every efficient cut saves material, reduces waste, and makes construction go a little smoother. Spending time optimizing the layout now means less money spent and fewer surprises once the full production run is underway.

Not the biggest milestone of the project, but another productive evening and another item checked off the list.

June 24, 2026 – Wheel Plate Sub-Assemblies

Tonight's goal was to finish building the wheel plate subassemblies.

These assemblies are an important part of the prop because they tie together the wheel mounting structure with the first step of the staircase. By combining these into a single subassembly now, the final assembly of each prop will be much faster and more repeatable.

The first step was welding together the 11.5-inch and 12-inch pieces that form the side of the first step and the vertical support for the second step. Once all twelve of those assemblies were complete, I welded the 19.5-inch and 22.5-inch wheel plate bars to each side, completing the full wheel plate subassembly.

One detail that required extra attention is that these subassemblies are not all identical. Since the final props are built as mirrored pairs, six props have the staircase on the left side while the other six have it on the right. That meant the 19.5-inch and 22.5-inch wheel plate supports had to be swapped on half of the assemblies to create left-hand and right-hand versions. It was a small detail, but one that would become very important when these subassemblies were eventually welded to the base frames.

As the project progresses, the fixturing challenges continue to evolve.

Most of the early subassemblies were essentially flat, with every piece resting in the X-Y plane of the welding table. This assembly introduced another dimension. Part of the subassembly extends vertically above the table, so I needed a fixture that controlled not only its position on the table but also its height and angle.

This turned into another fun fixturing project using the Fireball Tool Tooth Block fixture, a 6-inch Extension Block, and a Stepped Fence Block to support the vertical member. Fence blocks at the three mounting points established positive reference surfaces that match where this subassembly will eventually attach to the base frame.

That was the real goal of the fixture.

Rather than simply holding the pieces while welding, it ensured every finished subassembly would be positioned identically. When it comes time to weld these onto the base frames, everything should line up exactly as intended without having to adjust or force parts into place.

The more I work through this production run, the more I appreciate the time spent designing good fixtures. The welding itself is often the easy part. The real challenge is creating a process that allows twelve identical assemblies to come off the table with the same dimensions every time.

Another twelve subassemblies completed.

One more step toward a full set of staircase props.

June 23, 2026 – Wheel Plates

Tonight was all about wheel plate production.

Before any welding could begin, there was one errand to take care of. During my lunch break at work, I made a quick trip to Airgas to swap out my shielding gas cylinder. Running out of gas in the middle of a production run is the last thing I wanted, so it was one less thing to worry about once I got home and headed into the shop.

While I was at work, Susie spent part of the day cleaning up the wheel plate pieces that had been cut earlier. Having another set of hands taking care of prep work makes a huge difference when you're building twelve of everything.

I began the evening by sorting the large pile of 12-inch tubing pieces that had been cut several days earlier. Multiple subassemblies use these parts, so I wanted to separate them into the correct groups before welding. It was a simple organizational task, but one that helps avoid mistakes later when dozens of nearly identical parts are spread across the workshop.

With everything organized, it was time to weld.

The focus for the night was attaching all 48 wheel plates to their square tube supports. These were divided into three different assemblies:

• The 43-inch wheel support, which receives two wheel plates
• The 19.5-inch support, which receives one wheel plate
• The 22.5-inch support, which also receives one wheel plate

Each assembly required its own dedicated fixture. Once the fixture was dialed in, I could repeatedly position each part in exactly the same location, making every assembly consistent while also speeding up production.

This is one of the benefits of spending time building fixtures. The first part always takes the longest. The next eleven come together much more quickly because the setup work has already been done.

By the end of the evening, all 48 wheel plates had been welded to their supports and were ready for the next phase of assembly.

Another stack of completed parts.

Another productive night in the Maker At Play workshop.

June 22, 2026 – Platform Legs

Another productive evening in the Maker At Play workshop.

While I was at work during the day, Susie tackled another batch of prep work by cleaning all of the platform legs and the long wheel plate bars. It's one of those jobs that isn't particularly glamorous, but it saves me valuable shop time in the evenings and keeps production moving.

Tonight's focus was welding the platform leg assemblies.

Each leg assembly consists of three pieces: a 24-inch cross member and two 58.5-inch vertical legs. Together, these assemblies will support the platform that sits at the top of each staircase.

One challenge with these parts is their size. The 58.5-inch legs are longer than my Fireball welding table, so I had to get a little creative with the fixturing. I used a set of support legs beyond the end of the table to establish a consistent reference point for the bottoms of the vertical members. Combined with the fixtures on the table itself, this allowed every assembly to be held square and at the correct dimensions despite extending well past the edge of the table.

Once the fixture was dialed in, the rest became a matter of repetition. One assembly after another came together, and by the end of the evening all 24 platform leg assemblies were welded.

It's another one of those production nights where the progress doesn't immediately look dramatic, but every completed subassembly brings the project one step closer to final assembly.

The stack of finished parts continues to grow, and the pile of raw steel continues to shrink. That's exactly the kind of progress I like to see.

June 20, 2026 – Steps and Platform Tops

Another full day dedicated to band props.

Production continued at a steady pace, with both Susie and me working on different parts of the build to keep the assembly line moving.

While I was in the workshop welding, Susie spent the day drilling mounting holes in the remaining 84-inch pieces and cleaning another batch of steel. Every hole drilled and every piece cleaned means less work later when the larger assemblies start coming together.

My focus for the day was finishing the stair subassemblies. I welded the remaining 18 steps, completing all 36 stair assemblies needed for the twelve props.

With the steps finished, I moved on to the platform tops, welding all twelve of those assemblies as well.

One thing I've learned building multiple props is that efficiency comes from batching similar work together. Instead of constantly changing tools, fixtures, and setups, I try to complete an entire type of assembly before moving on to the next. Once a fixture is dialed in and the welder settings are just right, it's much faster to build all twelve than it is to keep switching back and forth between different parts.

By the end of the day, two major groups of subassemblies were complete. The finished stacks of stair assemblies and platform tops were beginning to fill the workshop, replacing the piles of loose steel that had occupied the floor just a week earlier.

The transformation from raw material to finished parts was becoming more noticeable with every work session.

June 19, 2026 – Welding Begins

Today marked a major turning point in the project.

For the past week, the workshop has been filled with measuring, cutting, organizing, and drilling parts. While all of that work was necessary, today was the day those individual pieces finally started becoming props.

The morning was spent finishing more of the production prep. While Susie continued drilling mounting holes, I cut the remaining 84-inch tubing and worked through the last of the stock material. Once the cutting was complete, I switched to the grinder to clean the steel pieces, removing mill scale and preparing the joints for welding. It also has the added benefit of giving the paint a much better surface to adhere to later.

At this point, every piece of steel had been cut to its final dimensions except for the slide supports. I'm intentionally leaving those until the end so I can take final measurements directly from the completed stair assemblies before cutting them.

With the fabrication prep nearly complete, it was finally time to fire up the welder.

I started with the stair subassemblies, welding together the first 18 of the 36 stair steps that will be needed for all twelve props. Each prop has three welded stair assemblies, so by the end of the day I was halfway through one of the most repetitive welding tasks of the project.

There's something satisfying about reaching this stage. After days of cutting steel into hundreds of individual pieces, those parts finally begin disappearing into completed assemblies. The workshop starts looking less like a metal supply warehouse and more like a fabrication shop.

Production has officially shifted from preparing parts to building props.

There's still a long road ahead, but today felt like the beginning of the assembly line.

June 17, 2026 – Production Cutting Marathon

Another Wednesday night in the Maker At Play workshop.

The metal arrived last Friday, and tonight marked my fifth straight day of cutting material. At this stage of the project, it isn't the glamorous part of prop building. There aren't many visible results yet. Instead, it's about transforming long sticks of steel into a mountain of accurately sized parts that will eventually become twelve staircase props.

Tonight's cutting list included:

• 12 pieces of 24-inch angle iron for the slide supports, cut from four 73-inch stock pieces
• 12 pieces of 22-inch 1.5-inch flat bar, cut from three 89-inch stock pieces
• 12 pieces of 24-inch 1.5-inch flat bar, cut from three 97-inch stock pieces
• 40 wheel mounting plates measuring 4.5 inches each, cut from ten 47-inch lengths of 4-inch flat bar stock

Once those were complete, I moved on to a larger batch operation. Since the saw was already configured for 90-degree cuts, I cut 48 pieces to 24.5 inches long. Then I reconfigured the saw for 45-degree cuts and split those pieces in half, producing 96 parts that measured approximately 12 inches long with one square end and one mitered end.

When all was said and done, 172 pieces were cut during the evening.

One of the realities of building multiple props is that fabrication becomes a manufacturing exercise. The challenge shifts from figuring out how to build one prop to figuring out how to efficiently build twelve identical props. That means spending nights like this one standing at the saw, working through stock material, organizing parts, and preparing for the welding phase that comes next.

It's not the most exciting stage of the project, but every finished part is one less cut that has to be made later.

The growing stacks of labeled steel may not look like much yet, but they represent steady progress. Every piece cut tonight is one step closer to transforming a pile of raw metal into a field full of staircase props.

June 16, 2026 – Day 4 of Production

Day 4 of turning a pile of stock metal into the 600 individual pieces needed to build 12 rolling stair props.

At this stage, the workshop doesn't look much different than it did when the steel was delivered. Instead of finished props, there are stacks of cut tubing, flat bar, and angle iron slowly replacing stacks of full-length stock.

It's not the most exciting part of the project, but it's one of the most important.

Every piece has to be measured, cut, and organized before the first production weld can happen. A mistake now doesn't just affect one prop—it gets repeated twelve times.

The prototype taught me what needed to be built. Now it's time to manufacture the parts that will become the full set.

This phase reminds me a lot of manufacturing. The focus shifts from creativity to consistency. Every cut needs to be accurate. Every matching part needs to be identical. The goal isn't just to build one good prop; it's to build twelve props that all fit together exactly the same.

It's repetitive work, but I actually enjoy it. There's something satisfying about watching a pile of raw material slowly transform into organized stacks of parts, knowing that each one brings the project another step closer to taking the field.

Still a long way to go, but progress is being made one cut at a time.

June 15, 2026 – Cutting and Drilling

Continued cutting metal stock into final pieces and drilling holes.

June 14, 2026 – Cutting and Drilling

Continued cutting metal stock into final pieces and drilling holes.

June 13, 2026 – Cutting and Drilling

With the metal unloaded into the workshop, it was time to start turning full-length stock into actual prop components.

Today marked the beginning of what will probably be the longest phase of the project: cutting hundreds of pieces to their final dimensions and drilling the holes needed for assembly.

I started by setting up my chop saw with a fence for making repeatable 45-degree miter cuts. I knew there were hundreds of pieces ahead of me, so taking the time to properly set up the saw would pay dividends over the next several days. When you're making the same cut dozens of times, repeatability becomes just as important as accuracy.

Once the saw was dialed in, I started working my way through the cut lists one stock length at a time.

When building a single prototype, you can often cut a part when you need it. Building twelve identical props is a completely different process. Before any serious welding can begin, every matching part needs to be cut, drilled, and organized.

It's a bit like preparing ingredients before cooking a big meal. The more prep work that's done up front, the smoother the assembly process becomes later.

The goal over the next several days is to work through the pile of steel one stock length at a time, transforming it into hundreds of accurately sized parts. It's repetitive work, but it's also where consistency is established. If every part matches, the final assembly becomes much easier.

There's not a lot of glamour in standing at a saw or drill press for hours, but every finished piece is another step toward seeing twelve staircase props take shape.

The manufacturing phase has officially begun.

June 12, 2026 – Metal Has Arrived

The metal has arrived.

Now comes the easy part: turning a $3,300 pile of steel into 12 rolling stair props.

I've been purchasing metal from Metal Supermarkets in Lewisville since building my first metal props back in 2021. They delivered this year's order, consisting of 215 pieces of steel tubing, flat bar, and angle iron. Well, almost all of it. A few pieces weren't in stock and would be delivered the following Monday.

I'm certainly glad I opted for delivery. Looking at the stack of material that showed up, I'm not convinced my truck could have safely hauled all of it in a single trip.

Even with the material delivered to the house, getting it into the workshop was no small task. It took John, Susie, the delivery driver, and me about twenty minutes to unload everything.

Once the truck pulled away, I stood back and looked at what had arrived.

More than 200 pieces of steel.

Over $3,300 worth of material.

And not a single prop in sight.

At this stage, all I could see was raw material. But hidden inside that pile were twelve staircase props waiting to be built.

The next challenge would be transforming those 215 pieces into more than 600 individual parts through a seemingly endless process of measuring, cutting, drilling, and welding.

One of the interesting things about projects like this is how different the beginning and the end look. Right now, it's just a pile of steel sitting on the shop floor. A few months from now, that same steel will be rolling across a football field as part of a marching band show.

But first, there are hundreds of cuts to make.

Time to get to work.

June 11, 2026 – Metal Order Placed

Placed metal order for the 12 stair props.

June 10, 2026 – Design Updates and Decision

Discussed changing the dock stages. The band director was thinking we might be okay with half the size of what they are currently — so just one 4 × 8 section for each dock.

We are also going to 10 front screens.

June 6, 2026

Now that we have finalized the prop designs, I have completed the CAD drawings and begun planning for the build phase. Using those drawings, I have also mapped out the coroplast sheet layouts to optimize material usage and minimize costs.

Stair/Slide Props

The stair/slide props consist of six mirrored pairs (12 total). For each pair, we can produce all six side panels from three 5' × 10' sheets of 4 mm coroplast.

The artwork layout must follow the attached pattern so we can obtain the required panels while still printing on only one side of the coroplast. I have labeled each piece and take note on text orientation, as some pieces must be rotated to maximize material efficiency and ensure the artwork appears correctly once installed.

We will order these sheets uncut and perform the cutting ourselves. It would be helpful to include bleed along all cut lines to provide tolerance during cutting and to account for minor dimensional variations during assembly. I have also included measurements for all cut pieces.

One question: How many stair props need to accommodate a trombone? I plan to include flag troughs in all 12 props, but I assume not all of them require trombone holders.

Stages

I assume we want to cover three sides of each stage with coroplast. Based on that assumption, I have mocked up the stages using 4' × 8' sheets of 4 mm coroplast. The two stages would require a total of six sheets.

I have also included a design for a set of three-step stairs to provide access to the stages. These steps are 30 inches wide, with each step 12 inches tall. The final step onto the stage is 10.5 inches. The stair unit would sit on the ground during use and could be lifted and placed on the stage for transport on and off the field.

Back Media Frames

For the back media frames, I would like to limit the design to no more than three sheets of 4' × 8' 10 mm coroplast per frame. This results in a total requirement of 21 sheets. I have included a mockup showing how three sheets will fit on each media frame.

Current Field Layout

With the prop designs locked in, the current field setup is:

• 12 stair/slide props — six mirrored pairs staged throughout the center of the show
• 7 media frames
• 2 stages
• 6 front screens — exactly how many front screens would we like to have?

Coroplast Order Summary

• 18 sheets — 5' × 10', 4 mm (stair/slide props)
• 6 sheets — 4' × 8', 4 mm (stages)
• 21 sheets — 4' × 8', 10 mm (media frames)
• 6+ sheets — 4' × 8', 4 mm (front screens; final count TBD)

Please review the attached layouts and let me know if you see any issues before we move forward with artwork and material ordering. I plan to order the metal and start building these in a week.

And, for reference, here is how I am planning to load the 12 stair/slide props into the two 26-foot box trucks. The four stages and media frames will fit on our 20-foot trailer. I am still working on where we can fit a single cart of front screens.

May 26, 2026 – From Prototype to Production

With the prototype updated based on our first round of feedback, it was time to take it back for another evaluation.

I loaded the revised prototype into my truck and headed to the band's audition camp. This year's camp was being held at Griffin Middle School while renovations were underway at The Colony High School. It gave the band director an opportunity to see the updated prototype in person and evaluate whether the design changes addressed the concerns from our first test.

The changes we made after the first round of feedback immediately paid off.

Lowering the platform and increasing its size made a noticeable difference. While the prop itself wasn't dramatically different, it felt much more stable. Lowering the platform by about a foot reduced the center of gravity, making the entire structure feel more secure. At the same time, the sides of the prop still extended roughly ten inches above the platform, giving performers the feeling that they weren't standing right on the edge. Sometimes the perception of safety is just as important as the actual engineering.

Another major improvement was replacing the expanded metal platform with plywood. The plywood flexed much less underfoot, creating a more solid and confidence-inspiring surface.

Based on that success, we also decided to replace the expanded metal stair treads with plywood. Besides providing a more stable walking surface, plywood greatly reduces the chance of costumes snagging if performers sit on the steps during the show.

As an added bonus, switching to plywood simplified the build. Cutting and fitting plywood is significantly faster than cutting expanded metal and then grinding every edge smooth.

By the end of the review, we had what every prototype hopes to achieve: confidence that the design was ready.

The prototype had answered the questions it was built to answer, and we received the go-ahead to move forward with production.

With the design now finalized, my attention shifted back to Fusion 360. The next step was updating the model one final time, designing each of the subassemblies, and producing the drawings that would guide the construction of all twelve props.

The prototype had done its job.

Now it was time to build the real thing.

May 25, 2026

I completed the latest changes to the prop, and I do think these updates make a big difference in the stability and overall feeling of standing on the platform and getting onto the slide.

I can bring it to Griffin anytime tomorrow. Just let me know what works best with the schedule.

Here is a video and some photos of the changes.

May 24, 2026 – Prototype Slide Changes

Continued to work on changes to prototype slide.

May 23, 2026 – New Platform Welded

Welded together new platform for the prototype to apply feedback.

May 22, 2026 – Platform Redo

The feedback from our first round of testing was clear. The platform needed to be lower and larger.

Now came the part every fabricator dreads: cutting apart something you just finished building.

The first challenge was figuring out where to make the cuts. I wanted to preserve as much of the prototype as possible while removing only the pieces that needed to change. Every cut made now would save time rebuilding later.

Armed with a metal-cutting blade in my jigsaw and a cutoff wheel on the angle grinder, I started carefully removing the original platform.

I'll admit, I wasn't looking forward to this part of the project. I expected it to take most of the day just to free the platform from the rest of the structure.

Fortunately, it went much smoother than I expected.

It was still a fair amount of work, but once the first few cuts were made, the process became much more manageable. Before long, the original platform had been removed and the prototype was ready for its next evolution.

That was my goal for today's shop session.

I was also juggling a few personal shop projects, so rather than rushing into rebuilding the new platform, I focused on getting the old one removed cleanly and leaving the prototype ready for the next work session.

Sometimes progress doesn't mean adding new parts.

Sometimes the biggest step forward is having the confidence to cut apart something you already built because you know the next version will be better.

May 17, 2026

Here is a mockup of the changes we discussed Thursday morning. After drawing this out, though, I do not think it would work as expected, so I drew another version that combines more of the feedback.

The thought is that increasing the size of the top platform and lowering it by one step would make it more stable and easier for the students to stand on and transition onto the slide.

This newer version below has the top platform at 4 × 3 ft without increasing the overall length of the prop, so it will still fit in the box trucks. It still has the sides extending upward to act as handles, and keeps the same side profile for coroplast. The angle of the slide is the same. I have also modeled a flag trough in the bottom.

Unless there are any objections to this design, I will modify the current prop's top platform to match it and bring the prop to Audition Camp on Tuesday, 5/26, so the students can test it again. Hopefully, that will finalize the design so I can start building in June.

Here are some mockups with coroplast to give an idea of what the sides might look like. Once we settle on the final prop design, I will provide measurements and guidance for the coroplast layout.

May 14, 2026 – Putting Prototype to the Feedback Test

Today was an important milestone for the prototype. It was time to stop evaluating it in the workshop and see how it performed with the people who would actually be using it.

We loaded the prototype into my truck and took it to the high school for the band director to evaluate. During first period, he brought his class outside and invited students to climb the stairs and slide down so we could observe how the prop performed in a real-world setting.

This was exactly why I wanted to build a prototype before committing to twelve copies.

Almost immediately, one thing became obvious. While the students had no problem climbing the stairs or sliding down, many of them were noticeably uneasy standing on the top platform before making the transition to the slide.

Interestingly, the concern wasn't with the slide itself. Although it looks fairly steep, the students were comfortable once they committed to the slide. The slide angle worked just as we had hoped, which meant there was no need to redesign that portion of the prop.

The platform, however, was telling us a different story.

Our first thought was simply to make the platform larger, but increasing the overall footprint of the prop wasn't really an option. The dimensions had already been carefully planned so twelve props could fit into the school's two box trucks for transportation. Making every prop wider or deeper would create an entirely new logistics problem.

Instead, we decided the next prototype revision would focus on lowering the platform while increasing the amount of standing room available. The hope was that a lower center of gravity and additional space would make students feel more comfortable and confident when they reached the top.

This test reinforced exactly why prototypes are so valuable. CAD models can tell you whether something fits together. Structural calculations can tell you whether something is strong enough. But neither can tell you how a student will feel standing six feet in the air preparing to slide down.

Now that we had real feedback instead of assumptions, it was time to head back to the Maker At Play workshop and see if those platform changes would solve the problem before production began.

May 8, 2026 – Ready for the First User Test

The prototype has reached an important milestone.

After weeks of designing, welding, and making adjustments in the workshop, it's finally ready to leave the shop and be evaluated by the people it was built for.

In the next few days, I'll be taking the prototype to the high school so the band director and a group of students can put it through its first real-world test. Up until now, every decision has been based on engineering, experience, and educated guesses. It's time to replace those guesses with actual feedback.

There are several questions I'm hoping this testing session will answer:

• Does the slide angle feel comfortable, or is it too steep?
• Can students move naturally from the stairs onto the platform and then onto the slide?
• Should the slide extend slightly above the platform to make getting seated easier?
• Would a handle or grab bar help students transition onto the slide?
• Does the top platform feel stable and comfortable to stand on?
• Would removing a step and lowering the platform improve confidence?
• Are there any unexpected interactions with uniforms or costumes, such as students catching clothing while sitting on the steps?

These are the kinds of questions that are difficult, if not impossible, to answer in a CAD model or workshop. The whole purpose of building a prototype is to discover what works, what doesn't, and what needs to change before investing the time and materials to build eleven more.

I'm looking forward to seeing students interact with the prop for the first time. No amount of planning can replace watching real users use something you've built.

We'll soon find out how close we are.

April 13, 2026 – Show Reveal Parent/Student Meeting

Write-up coming soon.

April 12, 2026

I've built one prop based on the design we discussed and attached photos along with a video link for your review. I estimate the cost at approximately $700 per prop, which includes the metal, 5 × 10 4 mm coroplast, slide material, and wheels.

With the current budget, we could build 12 of these, along with the additional stage piece and coroplast for up to 10 front screens. This would not leave room in the budget for coroplast for the back screens. I also plan to reuse the wheels from the back screens on the stair props to help offset some costs.

A few observations:

• I'm still evaluating whether the current wheel placement provides enough stability. The wheels are set 6 in. in from each corner to prevent them from protruding when they swivel, to avoid interference when props are placed side by side.
• I'm still determining the best material to cover the plywood to create the slide.
• The current slide angle may be too steep.
• Still need to add the handles for moving the prop.
• Still need to add additional bracing.
• All four wheels will be locking; I just only had 2 locking pair today when I finished the prop.
• The final height from ground to top of platform is 69 inches.

April 11, 2026 – It Finally Looks Like a Staircase

This was one of those shop days where the project seemed to leap forward.

Up until now, I'd been building individual subassemblies: the base, platform, stair sides, and wheel assemblies. Today was the day many of those pieces finally came together into something that actually looked like the prop we'd been designing for the past two months.

I started by finishing the stair frames, completing the structural framework that would support the expanded metal treads.

Next came cutting the expanded metal for the platform and each stair tread. This is one of those jobs that always takes longer than expected. Not only does each piece have to be cut to size, but every edge needs to be cleaned up afterward. Freshly cut expanded metal is incredibly sharp, and the last thing I want is students or volunteers getting cut on an unfinished edge.

With those pieces prepared, it was time for the exciting part.

The platform was welded onto the base frame, and the completed stair assembly was welded between the base and platform. For the first time, the prototype stood upright as a single structure.

After weeks of cutting, fitting, grinding, and welding individual parts, I could finally climb the stairs and stand on top of the platform.

There's always something satisfying about reaching this stage of a prototype. The CAD model has become reality, and all of the dimensions, proportions, and design decisions that existed only on a computer screen can finally be experienced in full scale.

The prototype was still far from finished. The slide hadn't been installed yet, and there were still details to work through before it would be ready for testing. But for the first time, it actually felt like a staircase instead of a collection of metal parts.

Days like this make all the repetitive cutting and fabrication worthwhile.

April 9, 2026 – Making Progress One Evening at a Time

Another evening in the Maker At Play workshop.

Not every shop session is an all-day marathon. Sometimes it's just a couple of hours after work, but those shorter sessions still move the project forward.

Tonight's focus was on the wheel assemblies. I welded the wheel mounting plates to their support brackets and then welded those assemblies into the base frame. While they may not be the most noticeable parts of the finished prop, the wheels are one of its most important features. These props will be pushed all over the football field during rehearsals and performances, so the mounting points need to be strong enough to withstand constant movement and the occasional less-than-gentle handling.

One of the nice things about this stage of the project is that the individual subassemblies are finally starting to come together. Pieces that had been sitting separately on the welding table are now becoming part of the actual structure.

There wasn't a dramatic before-and-after transformation by the end of the night, but that's often how these weekday shop sessions go. A few more welds completed. A few more pieces checked off the list. A little less work left to do.

Slow, steady progress continues on the prototype.

April 8, 2026 – Seeing the Shape of the Prop

A Wednesday night in the Maker At Play workshop.

I decided to spend a few hours after work making more progress on the prototype. Sometimes the weekday shop sessions are short, but they can still move a project forward in meaningful ways.

I started by adding an additional brace to the top platform to improve its rigidity. With that complete, I turned my attention back to the stair assemblies. Before I could continue building them, I needed to grind down the welds on the stair sides to prepare them for the cross supports that would eventually tie everything together.

Once the weld cleanup was complete, I joined the two stair sides together with the first pair of cross pieces. This was the moment when the individual stair components began transforming into an actual staircase.

As usual, the Fireball welding table played an important role. I used it to fixture the stair assemblies and keep everything square while welding the cross supports into place.

This step also revealed one of the lessons that prototypes are supposed to teach.

My original approach had been to fully weld the stair sides first and then connect them together later. While that looked reasonable in CAD, reality had other plans. As the welds cooled, the stair sides moved just enough that not every angle remained perfectly square. The differences were small, but when it came time to connect the two sides together, those little deviations started to add up.

Nothing was dramatically wrong, but it became clear that this probably wasn't the manufacturing approach I would want to use for the full production run. Fortunately, with a little persuasion, clamps, and adjustment, everything came together.

Before wrapping up for the evening, I performed another dry fit of the base, platform, and stair assembly. This gave me my best look yet at how the major pieces would relate to one another.

I also laid out a piece of angle iron that will eventually form the side support for the slide. For the first time, I could start visualizing the actual slide angle and get a feel for how the descent might look and function.

Overall, it was a relatively short weekday session, but a productive one. The prototype continued doing exactly what it was supposed to do: revealing small issues, validating design decisions, and slowly turning a collection of metal parts into a prop.

April 4, 2026 – Wheels, Platforms, and Practical Problems

Another Saturday in the Maker At Play props workshop.

Band props provide me with one large maker project every year, and each season brings its own unique challenges. I am still focused on building and validating the prototype for what will become the show's primary prop.

Today's work centered on the platform that forms the top of the staircase. This platform sits approximately five feet above the ground and serves as the transition point between climbing the stairs and sliding back down.

I started by cutting the four vertical legs to length, prepping the ends for welding, and attaching them to the rectangular top frame that was built during the previous work session. With that assembly taking shape, my attention shifted to another important design challenge: wheel placement.

At first glance, mounting the wheels directly at the corners seems like the obvious solution. It would maximize stability and make the wheel locks easy to access. However, these props are expected to move frequently during the performance and will often be positioned close together on the field.

Because of that, I didn't want the wheels extending beyond the footprint of the prop where they could interfere with neighboring props. The same concern applies during transportation. These props will travel side-by-side in a box truck, and protruding wheels could make loading, unloading, and packing far more difficult.

In fact, this transportation requirement influenced the overall dimensions of the prop. Rather than making the base a full 48 inches wide, I reduced it to 46 inches. That small change provides a little extra clearance when placing two props side-by-side in an 8-foot-wide box truck while having virtually no impact on the usability of the prop itself.

Once I settled on a preliminary wheel layout, I moved over to the milling machine and fabricated four wheel mounting plates, complete with mounting holes. These plates will be ready to weld onto the frame during the next work session once the final wheel locations are confirmed.

To wrap up the day, I set one of the completed stair runners next to the platform assembly. For the first time, I could begin to see the actual proportions of the staircase taking shape outside of Fusion 360. It wasn't assembled yet, but it was enough to get a feel for how the finished prop might look and function.

Progress on a prototype can sometimes feel slow. There are lots of small decisions, measurements, and fabrication steps that don't immediately produce something recognizable. But each one helps reduce risk and improve the design before committing to the full production run later this summer.

Slow and steady progress.

March 29, 2026 – Building the Foundation

Another good day in the Maker At Play props workshop.

Today's focus was continuing work on the prototype. While the stairs tend to get most of the attention, every prop needs a solid foundation. I spent the day cutting and welding the 1.5-inch square tubing that would form the base frame. This structure will eventually support the entire prop and provide mounting points for the casters that allow it to move around the field.

For the base frame, I selected Steel Square Tube A500/A513 (Welded) 1.500" x 1.500" x 0.083". The larger tubing adds rigidity to the structure and was a material choice I felt confident about because it is the same tubing I used for last year's stages. Those stages spanned eight feet with very little noticeable flex, so I knew it would provide a solid foundation for these props.

The remainder of the prop uses Steel Square Tube A500/A513 (Welded) 1.000" x 1.000" x 0.083", which offers a good balance of strength and weight. For the slide supports, I chose Mild Steel Hot Rolled Angle 1.000" x 1.000" x 0.250", which should provide a sturdy attachment point for the slide surface while keeping the overall design relatively simple.

I also cut and welded the top platform, which measures 46 inches by 24 inches and is built from 1-inch square tubing. Like many of the assemblies so far, the Fireball welding table played a major role in keeping everything square and making assembly go much faster.

One fabrication detail I've become increasingly particular about over the years is how I finish the ends of tubing. Rather than leaving open tube ends, I cut 45-degree miters on the corners so the joints close cleanly. Structurally, leaving the ends open is perfectly acceptable for many applications, and that's how I built some of my earlier props.

Visually, however, open tube ends always bothered me.

As I've gained more fabrication experience, I've learned that the small details often make the biggest difference. Most people watching a marching band performance will never notice whether a piece of tubing has an open end or a mitered corner. But collectively, those little details contribute to the overall quality of the finished prop.

A prototype isn't just about testing dimensions and functionality. It's also an opportunity to refine construction techniques before committing to a dozen copies of the same structure.

By the end of the day, there wasn't much that looked like a staircase yet. Instead, there was a growing collection of accurately cut and welded components that would eventually become one.

While the visual progress was modest, the lessons learned were significant. Every cut and weld was helping answer an important question: could this design be built efficiently not just once, but a dozen times?

March 21, 2026 – Time to Build a Prototype

Up to this point, the staircase props had only existed as ideas, sketches, and Fusion 360 models. With the metal now acquired, it was time to build a physical prototype and find out how well those ideas translated into reality.

While Fusion 360 is an incredible tool, there are some questions that can only be answered by building something and putting hands on it. Before committing to a full set of props, I wanted to validate several assumptions:

• Are there any challenges cutting and welding the parts as designed?
• How strong is the structure, and does the frame flex under weight?
• How does the stair spacing feel when walking up and down?
• Is the slide angle comfortable, or is it too steep?
• How does it feel to stand on the top platform?
• How natural is the transition from standing to sitting and sliding?
• Is the wheel spacing wide enough to feel stable without the casters extending beyond the frame and interfering with adjacent props?

In many ways, this prototype wasn't about proving the design would work. It was about discovering everything I got wrong.

The first day's work focused on cutting and welding the pieces that would make up the stair structure. One of the best investments I've made in my workshop is my Fireball welding table. Within minutes I was able to set up fixtures that held the tubing square, making it easy to repeatedly weld the 90-degree joints needed for each step.

My initial plan was to build the two stair "runners" first and then weld the cross members between them later. On paper, that seemed like the fastest approach.

As I started assembling the pieces, however, I began to realize that what looked good in CAD wasn't necessarily the best way to manufacture twelve of these things.

That's one of the hidden benefits of a prototype. Sometimes you're testing the design. Sometimes you're testing the build process. And occasionally you discover that the real problem isn't the prop at all, it's how you planned to put it together.

By the end of the day, I had parts coming together and a much better understanding of what the fabrication process would look like. More importantly, I was already rethinking how I would approach building the full set.

The prototype was doing exactly what it was supposed to do.

February 24, 2026 – First Design Review

Just two days after sending the initial drawings, I received the first round of feedback from the band director and show designer.

The response was encouraging. The overall concept was on the right track, and the feedback focused on refining the design rather than rethinking it. That's always a good sign during the early stages of a project.

The biggest suggestion was to make the top platform larger so students would have more room to safely turn around before descending the stairs or slide. There was also discussion about adding handles to make the props easier to maneuver around the field during performances and rehearsals.

One of the things I enjoy most about designing in Fusion 360 is how quickly ideas can be tested and updated. Instead of trying to explain changes with sketches or descriptions, I was able to make the modifications directly in the model and generate updated renderings the same day.

The revisions included:

• Expanding the top platform to 2 feet deep
• Extending the overall base width from 6 feet to 7 feet
• Adding 12-inch handles on each side approximately 4 feet above the ground
• Confirming the platform height would remain below the 6-foot limit once the caster height was accounted for

Within a few hours of receiving the feedback, I had an updated model ready for review.

This is one of the reasons I like creating 3D models early in the process. A drawing turns abstract ideas into something concrete, and once everyone can see the same thing, improvements happen quickly. Each round of feedback builds on the last, gradually transforming an idea into a practical design.

At this point, the concept was beginning to feel real. We had moved beyond discussing "stair props" and were starting to define the actual structure that performers would eventually use on the field.

February 22, 2026 – First Staircase Mockup

I spent most of the weekend in Fusion 360 sketching out what the staircase/slide props might look like based on our kickoff meeting.

One of the biggest challenges with marching band props is translating an artistic vision into something that can actually be built, transported, moved around a football field, and safely used by students. This first design was my attempt at turning the "Escher-inspired staircase" concept into something tangible.

Based on my understanding from our initial discussions, I modeled a prop that was:

• 6 feet wide
• 4 feet deep
• 6 feet tall
• Six steps from the ground to the top platform
• A staircase on one side and a slide on the other
• Designed as matching mirrored pairs so multiple props could be positioned back-to-back across the field, creating continuous pathways for performers to march across the structures
• Mounted on casters so it could be moved during the show

The stairs were designed with 1-foot-deep treads and 1-foot rises. At this stage, I was still assuming full-height steps and a fairly traditional staircase layout.

The slide surface would eventually be covered with a material that would allow performers to slide safely during the performance.

Once the first renderings were complete, I sent them to the band director and show designer for feedback. One thing I've learned over the years is that a visual model is worth far more than a verbal description. Everyone can hear the same idea and imagine something completely different. A 3D model gives everyone a common starting point, making it much easier to discuss what is working, what isn't, and where the design should go next.

At this point, we still didn't know exactly how many props would be needed or what refinements might be required. The goal wasn't to have the final answer. The goal was to turn an idea into something people could see, react to, and build upon.

This was the first real glimpse of what would eventually become this season's signature prop.

February 17, 2026 – Props Kickoff

Today we had our first props kickoff meeting with the band director and show designer. What's unusual about that? It's only February, almost two full months before show reveal.

Every marching season people ask if I get an early look at the show and props before everyone else. Up until this year, the answer was always no. I found out about the show and the prop concepts at show reveal just like everyone else.

For some reason, in my final year as a band parent with a student in the program, I got invited into the conversation much earlier. My guess is that this year's props are much more integrated into the drill and visual design, which meant we needed a longer runway for planning and construction.

One important note for anyone reading this: while this post is dated February 17, it wasn't actually published until June, nearly two months after show reveal. No secrets were leaked in the making of this blog.

The inspiration for this year's show, and therefore the props, comes from M. C. Escher's famous lithograph Relativity (often referred to as the "crazy stairs" artwork). The early concept calls for 8 to 12 staircase props spread across the field, built as mirrored pairs.

The initial design ideas discussed included:

• Staircase structures approximately 4 feet wide and 6 feet tall
• A combination of stairs and slides
• Slides that performers can actually use during the show
• Custom-cut 4mm coroplast skins shaped to match the stair geometry
• Potential backfield props if the stair structures alone don't create enough visual impact
• A small number of sideline screens, though that was still undecided
• Two dock-themed stages flanking the front ensemble

The good news is that we'll be able to reuse the stages we built last season, which should save both time and budget.

At this point, nothing is finalized, but it looks like we'll be building somewhere between 8 and 12 staircase/slide props. Even in this early meeting, it was clear that this year's project would be larger and more integrated into the show design than anything we've tackled before.

Time to start sketching.