Ok... I'm trying to use what I have here, and that would be your run-of-the-mill hanging spinning motor, as seen below:
What I'm trying to do is make a prop head spin. I want to be able to invert the motor and somehow attach it to something inside the head. As a test, I ran a long plastic bag through the hole in the spinning mechanism and stuffed it into a thick piece of stryofoam that I placed inside the head. (please note: this is a prop head, not a mask...so hollow, but no slit in the back.) This is what the mechanism looks like:
While it certainly wanted to spin, it just didn't provide enough support for the prop. Can anyone give me any ideas? I'm not against taking the casing off the motor, if need be! I'm not electronically inclined in the least, but am good at following directions !Any help is greatly appreciated! I've gotta make this girl rotate!
At a glance, I think I'd try to find a piece of hollow steel tubing that would just fit over the spinning motor's shaft. Be sure to get enough over the shaft that it stands pretty solid without alot of wiggle room. Next up, drill a hole through the tube that would correspond with the hole in the shaft, reassemble the piece and run a small bolt through the hole. Tighten it down with a nut and it should be pretty wiggle free at this point. Leave enough of the tubing, say 4 to 6 inches so that you can hose clamp it to the neck shaft on your figure. Should work, all things considered. Just a thought, hope it helps!
It depends on how long the shaft is beyond the case. If you have a bit of room, you could widen the opening and attach L brackets to the shaft, then attach a support plate to the brackets and the head to the plate.
Here my thoughts, turn the motor upside down so the shaft is pointing up. Get a large hose clamp and clamp the motor to the wood stand shown in your picture. Also when you're at the hardware store get one of those drill bit extensions. Put the extension over the motor shaft and tighten the screws. You will have to come up with some way to fasten it to the head.
12" Self Feed Bit Extension
I don't know if the extension will work as you will have to check the diameter of the motor shaft. Better yet take the motor with you to the store.
I made the spinning head using that exact mask. What you need to do is buy a microwave motor or take apart an old microwave and use the turntable motor. I cut a piece of wood into a circle that fit the bottom of the mask, then put a dowel in the center to hold the head up, and i nailed/tacked the mask into the wood. I hollowed out the neck of an old mannequin, then mounted the microwave motor on that, and mounted the wooden base to the motor. to see how she came out, check out Haunted Dead End - Halloween in West Harrison, NY | Photos and click on 2007 photos. If you bought that mask on ebay, email the seller, he'll tell you the website where you can find the microwave motor he used.
What about using a small lazy susan bearing plate ? they are extremely durable and can be found at Home Depot and Lowes for under $10. the bearing will take care of supporting the load of the head then all your motor needs to do is spin it. There are a lot of ways you could couple that motor shaft up to turn it at that point.
I have the same head, and did just a static prop last year with her tied to our bed during our party. She looked great, but I also want the head to spin this year.
With any of these motors, aren't you going to deal then with a continous spinning head? I'd rather have it do a 360, then pause for a certain amount of time, then do it again.
Can either of the motors mentioned handle this with any alterations, or would you have to use something completely different?
Here is what I had last year, and will do the same this year, but with the spinning head.
Wow...thank you all so much for your suggestions and taking the time to respond! Noname, she is from that same ebay seller I'm sure! He does a great job! I hesitated to ask him about his method, because he was also selling the full-body model with rotating head at the same time. If I can't get this motor to operate as I'm hoping it will, I might have to check into the microwave motor.
I had considered the steel tubing, (the drill bit extension is a great idea, too!) so I think I'll give that a try first. If it's not happening, then onto the brackets and plates! Thank you again for your help --- You've all made the task seem a little less daunting!
The microwave motor works the best, i tried that other spinning motor, but that's not meant to carry a lot of weight. And, if you find the right microwave motor, it will reverse once it encounters some resistence. Search this forum for the haunted ouija board, you will see a video of how the microwave motor is used.
I bought same head. I can't do alot of the mechanical. So I make do with some that works close to what I want it to do. I bought a disco ball, set it on a small pvc platform, and carved styrofoam head to fit in head, and on piece from disco ball. It turns all the way around but I like the look.
Need help with spinning head prop! (Please? :))
I've gotta make this girl rotate! 
Linear Mode
