Today I decided to build “The Monster” which is the frame for my helix. Because I wanted to prevent the helix from falling over or collapsing, I decided to overbuild it with 2X4’s. The rest of the benchwork will be 1X4’s so I’m not going totally nuts with the construction. So here’s what the frame for a helix with a 36″ radius looks like, all 7 feet by 7 feet of it:

The small section in the corner of the room is the start of the lower level benchwork. I wanted to frame it up so I can figure out exactly where to build the helix.

Next step is to do a little more framing for those wires you see hanging from the ceiling. I need to install a light switch box and wire up the lighting and layout power runs.