OK so for this build i have a pretty good idea of what i need. the contact beam is about 3ft long and a foot tall. so... im thinking a 3ft x 1ft piece of wood 1 inch thick, for our center base draw out the design, cut out the excess then layer on wood pieces for design. now there's a circular part at the top of it about 1.5 ft long a PVC pipe would suit it just fine. 1 inch diameter would be OK but 3/4ths is preferred. the top of it is rounded off... so... it could be done with wood but PVC is preferred. if you do use PVC its easier because all you'll need is another slightly larger. that's all i got for now but i will keep the forum posted. and ill try to post pics.
can't really offer any advice because i'm a cardboard-cutout kinda guy 
