Thread: Door Slammer

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Hey everyone! I'm planning on having a certain prop for my Halloween 2010 party and I need some help on the logistics. There is a door which leads to a place in the house which is otherwise unsuitable for partying. So my plan for it is to have some sort of motor/mechanical device placed on the back side of the door which can open and close the door slightly throughout the night. (likely it would not need to open more than a door chain would allow) Then when I have this effect down I'm going to place a smoke machine and some eerie lighting behind the door. I consider myself mechanically inclined, but extremely complicated schematics may just evade me, so the simpler the better. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!

what about a rubber band attached to the top of the door and the door frame? Then an osilating fan in the room. The fan can have a string to it and the door. Very simple. the fan pulls the door an inch or so then the rubber band will pull it closed. I think this very simple solution will work since you only want it to open an inch or so, the fan will only pull the door in one direction and the rubber band will shut it. It can repeat as long as needed.

Wow! That is an incredibly simple solution to the problem and seems like it would work great. Thanks for the suggestion.

a wiper motor and a simple lever with a 55 timer circuit. attach the lever to the door frame and door, fix the latch so it doesn't latch

Motion sensor hack would be nice so that it only operates when someone approaches.

Thanks again for all the suggestions everyone. I found a professionally made product for sale on the frightprops website, but it would end up being quite costly. You can see it here if you'd like. FrightProps - Halloween Decorations, Halloween Props, Pneumatic Props, Animated Props, Halloween Accessories So, hopefully one of these ideas will work and I can do it on my own without having to drop a pretty penny.

Originally Posted by Zombor

Thanks again for all the suggestions everyone. I found a professionally made product for sale on the frightprops website, but it would end up being quite costly. You can see it here if you'd like. FrightProps - Halloween Decorations, Halloween Props, Pneumatic Props, Animated Props, Halloween Accessories So, hopefully one of these ideas will work and I can do it on my own without having to drop a pretty penny.

This one is O'k. I think you would have a better effect if the door opened and closed once. Have this activated with a sensor or floor mat. The door would open with an air cylinder. The other suggestion would be to have the door propped open and ready for the scare. The door would be set with the cylinder holding it open slightly, the mat or sensor gets triggered and the door slams closed. After the scare is done, the door opens again and is reset to close again.
This should scare your guests.

Keep us posted with your results.