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Ground Breaker Tree

1759 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  bringjoy, 
theedwin
Hello all,

I thought I would share this with you. I started out with a 4x8 piece of stryofoam that was also almost 1' 1/2 thick. I got this FREE because it was windy one day. Very Windy.

I finally decided what to do with it, as I had always wanted to make a tree. I cut up the styrofoam with various saws. (Long and short ones) and an electric knife came in handy too! Here is a pic of what I came up with. (with paint!)


Now, you may or may not notice that there is a square cut in the "Y" of the branches. That's where my "Ground breaker" (Shiatzu massager) is going to go.

I created this "branch mover" from the idea I got on THIS website for a ground breaker. Sure enough, it worked!




I hope that video worked.....

Anyway, I hooked up the "contraption" to the tree with just simple wire, and the thing ran great! Now keep in mind, that my "Shiatzu ground breaker" IS supporting alot more PVC than most. Also, I added a bunch of leaves and such at a 45 degree angle.



I ran this "waving branches tree" for over a week, 15 plus hours a day, every day.

It broke. Here is a picture.


Too much weight at too much of an angle I think. The metal rods from the Shiatzu finally wore, or BROKE through the PVC. I tried to fix it by placing metal conduit inside the broken PVC, but it bound up the motor for some reason. I decided at that point, rather than take the display down, I would leave it up, but leave it as a Static prop.

Here is what it originally looked like:



It was alot of fun! And I learned alot! :D
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theedwin

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Discussion Starter · #3 ·
Thanks berkisho.

This was my first attempt at a ground breaker, and I just knew it went "too easy". Thanks very much for all the advice, and when I re-do it for Halloween I will definitely keep your ideas in mind. The reason I "couldn't" fix it was because it is currently on a cat-walk 15 feet above the lobby at the theatre I work at, and I didn't have the time to take it all down and re-do it. I am currently using it for a "Harry Potter" display, but the real reason I made it was for Halloween! :D
 
theedwin

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Discussion Starter · #6 ·
Thanks Lester, 3 months, eh? That doesn't sound so bad!

I do think that keeping the weight down is THE key. I had to make it big enough to look decent, and small enough to work.

Thanks again for the pointers.

Edwin
 
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