Thread: Newbie: Need suggestion for super simple spider pully mechanism!

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Hey guys. I'm a newbie to animatronics and pretty much have never tried any on my own. I was thinking as a super simple first project, I'd make some kind of pulley system that would make my stuffed spider go up and down it's 'web'. Right now he's just tied through a ceiling hook with fishing line so it looks like he's hanging in mid air over his web. Is there an easy way to have him kind of go up and down? Please let me know what hardware I'd need to complete this too so I can get on it. Not much time left until Halloween. Thanks in advance!!!

Some of the Halloween stores have a dropping motor but I've never actually used one. I don't think that they would support the weight of a stuffed spider, and making something like you need on such short notice probably isn't going to be possible unless you have some great parts places nearby. And some money.

or try using an oscillating fan. tie the line to the fans cage

Tony's idea is a great one.

I just started with reindeer motors, but they seem like their getting hard to come by. If you have one of those animated christmas reindeer, and you hate it, you could pull the motor out of that.

When I was a kid, my mom just rigged up a pulley system to the front door. Whenever she opened it, a ghost at the end of the house would rise, and then it would fall when the door closed. Might be an option to get you started.

Originally Posted by GobbyGruesome

Tony's idea is a great one.

I just started with reindeer motors, but they seem like their getting hard to come by. If you have one of those animated christmas reindeer, and you hate it, you could pull the motor out of that.

When I was a kid, my mom just rigged up a pulley system to the front door. Whenever she opened it, a ghost at the end of the house would rise, and then it would fall when the door closed. Might be an option to get you started.

An oscillating fan is a great idea indeed..i'm going to see if i can find a small one. The one I have is huge, 4ft tall one. Thanks guys!!!

try this link and substitute spider for skeleton
http://www.freewebs.com/halloweentow...rankblucky.htm

Sorry for overthinking this. For some reason I assumed you were going to activate it or have a sensor hooked to it so it would only move when someone got near it. Continuous motion is much easier, and the oscillating fan is a great idea. Don't know how much room you have near the spider or how far you want it to move but a bigger fan might be better. Well, one with a greater range of motion anyway. If it doesn't move the spider up and down far enough, you can attach an arm made out of a coat hanger or something to the front of the cage. This essentially makes a longer lever.