Chipstacking 101: Chip Bridges

PawNtheSandman · #1 (**permalink**) 10-17-2005, 10:18 AM

Title: Chipstacking 101 - How-To On Bridges
Author: pawnthe sandman

Bridges take much more time and patience than spirals but the time and effort is well worth it once you see your finished work.

To build a bridge you need your main support structures. Use 10 chips and stack them straight to create your support. Use 3 chips and place them next to each other to properly space your bridge. You can space your chips using any odd multiple (3,5,7) but the further apart they are, the more difficult and longer the bridge will become.

1. Build the base.

We start with our basic bridge base.

2. Add to the base.

On top of each base build your stack placing 2 chips on each half of the base and cover those 2 with another chip. Continue stacking on top of each other until it is high enough for your liking.

Repeat over each pillar.

3. Add chips to reach the middle.

Then using one hand to support the stack, begin to place chips in between. Try to keep the sides even with chips so you do not topple your bridge.

4. Fill in the middle.

Then fill in the middle to join your 2 stacks together.

If you did 5 or 7 chips between your pillars, then you would need to put more chips to fill in the gap on each side. Once you join 2 pillars, you can remove the chips on the bottom which kept the pillars properly spaced.

Fill in the other side where you haven't placed chips yet.

5. Advanced topics.

Now you can build several of these and put them together.

Then begin your next layer if you wish to go higher.

Just do the same thing you did with your first row.

Now by this time your chips might not be 100% straight. Take 2 books and press them up from the front and back of the bridge at the same time. This will evenly align your bridge and keep it from toppling.

And then you can go up another layer if you wish.

6. Final comments.

Now this bridge is straight, but if you curve your towers, you can make a full circle and build up. Eventually with the proper spacing you can also put a dome on the top of your tower of chips.

Bridges look complex but are very easy to build. Just take your time and use your imagination and you will have no problem building awesome structures.