One thing I love about making props is the problem solving involved. It's good to run into snags occasionally, because then you have to figure out a way around them. Of course, too many snags is bad for any project. Too many snags means that maybe there's something wrong with the conceptualization of the project.
I'm currently trying to get a motorized marionette ready for Halloween. The central working of it is based off of a small but powerful rotary motor which goes about 33 RPM. Imagine a record player, if you will. If you put a raised track on top of the turntable, and then had arms on pivots moving along the track, then you could attach a marionette to the ends of these arms and have a pretty cool automated prop (see diagram above).
My "turntable" is a styrofoam wheel from a craft store (I picked this because it's light weight). My problem is that the motor is powerful enough that it grinds a hole in the wheel, so the motor keeps on going, but the foam wheel stops.
I've tried a few solutions for this, including a cap on top of the motor shaft. Today, I tried making the part I needed out of baked Sculpey clay. Of course, the motor ground this out, too. So FINALLY, I figured it out. I'll buy a U bolt and just bolt that bastard to a block of wood (the inside of a wooden square, actually). Wheel is then attached to wood, and viola!
Perhaps this won't work, but at the moment, the challenge is keeping me going.
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