DaveintheGrave will follow with a materials list, tools needed list, & perhaps if he has a picture of what we're making so we can promote it on the "General Halloween" board for all members to see. A set of instructions would be nice so we can start getting familiar with what we are about to build.
Please NOTE: For students participating in this class please remember all your questions & conversation should get posted in the adjoining thread that goes with project 1, this way only building instructions will be in the teachers section, this was suggested by a few of you so the building instructions are easier to follow.
If for any reason the instructor cannot teach or something comes up please notify me as soon as you can & we will schedule who ever is in line next.....please be aware my friends if this takes place there will be some delays in the building schedule but Hey lets just see how it goe!!
Hey everybody,
This post will hopefully answer some of the questions that Muffy had come up with concerning the start of the project.
#1) I should be able to have a complete parts/materials list by next week or sooner. I'll try to write up a quick over view of the prop and how it works. It's really not too difficult to make.
#2) I don't think this particular motor is available locally. This is the motor I used from Electronic Goldmine: Super Power 12VDC Gear Motor-The Electronic Goldmine
This motor runs at 5 RPM and has really good torque. But probably any small gear motor of roughly the same RPM's would work. Right now that motor is $8.00, but it has been on sale for $6.00 in the past. I see a 500 milliamp AC/DC adapter for $3.00 from the same place. Heavy Duty 12VDC 500ma Adapter-The Electronic Goldmine
A soldering iron is needed to attach the wires from the Adapter to the Motor.
#3) Here is a video of the prop in action. I'll take some still pictures and post them ASAP.
Muffy--on your question about the size of the tombstone, the one I used was one of the large ones from Walgreen's. I think it's 36 inches (3 ft.) tall and about 16 inches wide.
I'll measure it to be sure.
I thought I would try to post some info. to give everyone a better idea of how this prop works. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask anytime or PM me.
Here's another video showing the prop in motion with the tombstone removed:
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Here's a few still pics of the motor setup:
The mechanism I used for this prop is called a "Crank Slider". Here is a couple of links that sort of show how it works: Cams and cam followers
The length of the crank on the motor determines how HIGH the head behind the tombstone will go. We can adjust the width of the side to side movement by either RAISING or LOWERING the Pivot Point (the eye-bolt that the rod holding the skull goes through).
{Dave could you do me a favor and give me a measurement of the main board you attached everything to. Also a measurement on your PVC tube and metal slide? }
The main board on the base of the prop is 13 inches wide, and 10 inches deep. The thickness of the board is about 1/2 inch.
The rod I used is actually a 5/8 inch poplar dowel rod. Mine's 30 inches long (I used a 3 ft. Tombstone).
The metal slide is actually called an "eye bolt". It has an inside diameter of just under one inch.
I hope to have the part list posted by Friday. There is some leeway on certain parts that can be used. For example you could use PVC (I think PVC would slide better), but would need an eye bolt with a larger inside diameter. Or you don't even have to use an eye bolt--just make the section of wood that holds the bolt a few inches longer and drill a hole for the rod (probably somewhere in the 3/4" to 1 " diameter).
I was thinking of another way to power some of these props. I believe that old computer power supplies would be a great way rather than having a bunch of wall warts. Several props could be powered from one supply without any problem at all. With the computer PS you can wire props to run off of 12V or 5V very easily. 12v is very common for motors and 5v is common for things like LED's.
Note: the diagram is for the connection with the female pins, which is normally on the power supply. The connector for the prop will have the male pins instead. The correct wiring should be reversed when looking at the pins.
__________________
Rev. Noch
2008, 2009 Official Denver Haunt Critic http://www.HauntedDenver.com
LaserQuest Colorado, Team Paragon (R.I.P.)
North America Challenge Champs '01 '02 '03
Just a quick note to everyone--most, if not all, of the parts I used in building this prop can be substituted with a similar type part. Pretty much any low RPM gear motor will work, as long as you yourself are able to attach the crank to the motor shaft and mount the motor to a wooden board. I know a lot of haunters use Windshield wiper motors for props, but I have built probably a dozen animated props and have never used a wiper motor. (I think a wiper motor would be overkill for this particular prop.)
I'm alway for using what I have "lying around" before going out and paying $$$ for parts, that's for sure.
I plan to list the parts I used for this prop and also add "or similar" where applicable (which will pretty much be almost ALL of the parts).
Rev. Noch--You're right about the computer power supplies. I myself have never used one for a prop. I just use the wall warts because they are cheap.
Just a quick note to everyone--most, if not all, of the parts I used in building this prop can be substituted with a similar type part. Pretty much any low RPM gear motor will work, as long as you yourself are able to attach the crank to the motor shaft and mount the motor to a wooden board. I know a lot of haunters use Windshield wiper motors for props, but I have built probably a dozen animated props and have never used a wiper motor. (I think a wiper motor would be overkill for this particular prop.)
I'm alway for using what I have "lying around" before going out and paying $$$ for parts, that's for sure.
I plan to list the parts I used for this prop and also add "or similar" where applicable (which will pretty much be almost ALL of the parts).
Rev. Noch--You're right about the computer power supplies. I myself have never used one for a prop. I just use the wall warts because they are cheap.
Perfect, sounds good. I just figured I'd throw that one out there for my fellow haunters that may have an old derelict PC that they could scavenge parts out of. It's especially useful if they will have more than one prop that they want to run.
__________________
Rev. Noch
2008, 2009 Official Denver Haunt Critic http://www.HauntedDenver.com
LaserQuest Colorado, Team Paragon (R.I.P.)
North America Challenge Champs '01 '02 '03
Just a reminder: The instructor thread is for the instructor's posts only. Please post questions to the instructor in the student's thread. That way, this thread will be an easy referral thread in the future and not grow to become a confusing hard-to-follow tutorial.
Project 1 - Instructor Thread
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