Thread: Axworthy preview

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I'm trying out this photobucket thing that I see some of you use. I want to see if I can do it and show off my Axworthy preview in the process. The setup is that it comes from the back of the garage then it will duck out from behind a wall (that isn't there yet) zoom up to get in the face of the spectators then turn and dart back behind the wall (which isn't there yet) My wife's idea. The scene where it will fly thru will be a Frankenstein Monster sitting, with oscillating fan head movement, He will be watching a tv playing the original 1931 Frankenstein movie and there will be various other props around. In the midst of this the ghost flys thru.

http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/f...=Axworthy3.flv

http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/f...=Axworthy2.flv

You know that looks great, I've been trying to get my ghost up an running, but am running into a lot of problems. From the cable not staying up to the motor not being strong enough. What are you using for a motor and do you use support pullies to keep the cable from peeling off the pullies?

I have most of what I do on my page at.
http://www.thecasualtraveler.com/Axworthy.htm
I'm set on using a 12 or 24 volt DC motor with a PWM speed control. Also I plan to use bow rollers for almost all my pulleys. By adjusting the angle there is no need for a support pulley, so long as you don't make the ghost too heavy.

Well, I've sort of gotten ahead of myself with this project, and started to set it up using bicycle rims for pullies and I think my biggest problem is the cable that I strung it up with, I'm using rubber coated steel cable (1/8") I think the weight of the cable may be my biggest problem. Plus a lot of the web sites I've checked out use a counter weight to keep tension on the line I don't have one, and am not sure if I need one. I may just put this project on the list for next year and spend some time in R&D!!

I tried for 3 years to get 1 goin, Mann .... I just gave up, now I'm workin on bigger fish...LOL

Compoast, I just took some time to check out your site, let me just say one thing....Brilliant, I'm going to tear down my whole set up and start testing some of the ideas you have going, along with some of the minor insites that I've come up with and maybe I'll still have a fighting chance at getting it up for this year!! Thanks

SLOW DOWN, it's not all that brilliant. The bow rollers do work real well but take some time to get balanced and spinning good. And it's very important to do the double angle so they can be tilted to compensate for the line pulling down. Also if you use the bow roller on less than 90 degrees or a long run they have a tendancy to let the line slip also. The bike hubs work fine also but have a BIG down side. There noisy ! It's ok if it's off where you won't hear it or if you get an especially quiet one but I can't use them in my garage, the cieling is like a sound board. Also small hubs mean your ghost will whip around corners fast and jerky. All these things can be overcome but you have to design the system around the quirks.

Well I appreciate the advice, but I HAVE decided that it won't be going up this year until I do redesign the system. I went down celar last night and tried the small hubs in a test and realized just what you were saying in the above post about the ghost whipping around the corners. My biggest hold back on the whole set up at this point is motor speed. I like the solution you have with the DC motor, it seems much more managable than the AC motor I'm trying to use, I have to think some more.

For what it's worth, I use small ~4" plastic pulleys, which you can buy at Home Depot (where they have the bungee cords etc) or WalMart, as helper pulleys. They are extremely quiet. For the line, I use 80lbs 'no stretch' fishing line (around $17 for 150yards).

I wonder if the line weight could be a part of my problem with this prop?