Thread: Help!! Problems with Haunted Bookshelf

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I am having soooo many problems with my haunted bookshelf.

Essentially, when the motor turns the rod, the adhesive holding the cams in place lets go and the cams freewheel.
I am using wooden cams and a metal rod. The wooden dowel snapped like a twig.
The books are fairly lightweight, cut out most of the pages.
The elastic I am trying to use is just lightweight seamstress tape elastic. But I haven't even been able to run that.

I have tried Liquid Nails, Weldbond and epoxy for glass and metal.
The join snaps on the first rotation.

Help!!!

It might be a little tough by hand, you could try drilling a small hole through the small side of the cam and through the metal rod using a drill bit the size of a small nail. Then you could use a cut off nail through the holes as a pin to keep the cams from spinning. The problem with gluing to metal is that it is so smooth. you could also try using a file to cut a flat spot in the rod and use epoxy to fill that flat space and the cam hole. i think the pin is the more permanent of the works. hope this helps

Thanks Matt...

I think I am going to rethink the whole mechanism. Nothing like working under a deadline!! lol

I have a good wiper motor. I think I am going to follow another poster's advice and use aluminum flatstock and a rigid push/pull arm.
The elastic pull-back is just sucking and the motor I am using now is making a heinous grinding noise anyway.
Better that it craps out today than on the weekend.

Off to Home Depot!!

Well, I use a threaded rod and wooden cams. I have lock nuts on each side of the came- and those suckers DO NOT SPIN. I've had ZERO problems with mine... I would do that.

Mine are the same as Specter. Also no problems here. Had the prop for 5 years now.

Here are a few pics of mine:

The gears from the motor to the rod were removed and the rod was screwed directly onto the motor. I don't have pics of it but you get the point.

Yup- that's essentially how mine works! Hey Clad- why did you remove the cover to the motor exposing the gears? Just curious..

Try using gorilla glue

Originally Posted by Specter

Yup- that's essentially how mine works! Hey Clad- why did you remove the cover to the motor exposing the gears? Just curious..

I didn't , Specter. One gear is mounted to the motor and the other to the rod. But I figured that would give me problems in the long run , I took the gears off and connected the threaded rod straight to the motor. Don't have any pics without the gears , that's why I posted these.
So , I didn't remove any cover whatsoever.