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Joan54
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bullet Topic: match box car carriers
    Posted: 7/12/06 at 9:46am
Several months ago I was asking for help in designing a backdrop support system and someone was telling me about a system of PVC pipe with a matchbox car inside it as the traveller.....I can't find the post....did I imagine it?  Anyone else remember it?
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Gaafa
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bullet Posted: 7/13/06 at 9:39am
 Aarh! Yes I remember it ?..Well?
I tried to search & can?t find it?
It was good idea using the toy cars, just a thought, I feel with the modern Matchbox cars & the way the axels bend with the least amount of downward pressure, this could be a problem.
I can?t remember it was a PVC pipe with a slot cut, which could be drama, depending on length & flexing or an extruded channel?
But it still sounds like a great idea, unless there is a prang & vehicle pile up in the pipe.

      Joe
Western Gondawandaland
turn right @ Perth.
Hear the light & see the sound.
Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"}
May you always play
to a full house}

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Joan54
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bullet Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:24pm
Actually I have found what I am looking for at Rose Brand theater supply here in New York.. they are carriers....two wheels with a small axle between and a swivel hook hanging below.  The carriers roll through a track that can be hung by chain or screwed to the ceiling.  I buying two tracks...20' long and 40 carriers...the tracks are about 75.00 each and the carriers 2.00 each.  We can afford this.  So, although I love making little jury-rigged devices out of PVC and cars and duct tape and glue I think I am going to opt for "real" curtain tracks.....now all I have to do is find some willing volunteer to drive into Manhattan and pick this stuff up ( we're only about 80 miles away but it's a tough 80 miles).  Thanks so much for remembering the toy cars...I thought I had imagined it....
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Gaafa
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bullet Posted: 7/13/06 at 9:33pm

With the Tab system it is a good idea to get the main train adjustable pull carriage which the sash cord attaches on to. Also check out the custom made pulley to suit the track, along with the support fixings.
This Hall stage system diagram may help you ;-
http://www.hallstage.com/t70_track_ass_sash.pdf
Also when you hang the track attach ties or cord as a daisy chain between the tab drop holders, this will reduce the strain on the fabric header of the curtain or cloth, when pulling on or off stage. You could just use one cord incremental knotted to either give the fabric hanging folds or at a full stretch.

      Joe
Western Gondawandaland
turn right @ Perth.
Hear the light & see the sound.
Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"}
May you always play
to a full house}

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Joan54
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bullet Posted: 7/14/06 at 8:09am
Thanks.....I was wondering about the best way to string it up.  For this show we are going to walk the curtains open and closed.  We really don't have the money for any more hardware right now but the salesman at Rose Brand assures me that the track and carrier system that I am buying can be upgraded with pulleys...even automated.  I am really stepping in new directions here.....can a seamtress become a rigger?  Only time will tell....
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Topper
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bullet Posted: 7/14/06 at 10:47am
Can a seamstress become a rigger?  Of course!  Just remember to use heavier thread.
"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone
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Shatcher
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bullet Posted: 7/14/06 at 11:04am
The carriers should work well, but I must say I love the toy car idea. That is some of the best "gaffe tape and popcile stick" consturtion I have read about!
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Joan54
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bullet Posted: 7/14/06 at 1:15pm
Yeah...I like the toy car idea too..although, as I repeat, it is not mine.  I read it here and the person who described it said they used it for years with no problems.  I was going to ask them how they drilled through the cars.  Did they add bolts or just wire? Of course I was having trouble finding cars that were cheaper than the proper carriers ( which are about 2.00 ea.)  If some one had an old box of them it would be a worthy project. 
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Gaafa
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bullet Posted: 7/15/06 at 12:43am
Joan some of the best Gaff Riggers that I have worked with were of the fairer gender & nearly always stitched the blokes up every time!
Historically in theatre, although the costumiers & stichies were all blokes, they were also the first lighting technicians & riggers as well!
As Topper suggested to just use heavier thread, that?s precisely what it?s about.
I?m sure you know all the basic knots used in stitching, so all you have to do is extrapolate to a larger medium & you will be quids in!
I found when I use to conduct the Stagecraft guild workshops, the women were more adept in the usage of the basic knots used in theatre. While the blokes would always tend to over engineer rigging & end up with a bunch of knitting.
The females always did more with less & invariably neater, however the fact it didn?t always work, is nighter or there, but it was always prettier!
Paging drapes was one of my first paid jobs in theatre at ripe old age of 9. Although I was the Grande Rag Page Boy I remember being made redundant, because I didn?t posses the 3 T?s, & being relegated to the position of Call Boy for the "Follies Begere? production. Being only nine it upset me greatly & I haven?t been the same since. I think it was all that running up & down stairs to the chorus girls dressing rooms, with the distractions  & palpitations that came over me, trying to remember the Calls & chorus cues?
Anyhow back on topic - Rig a sash cord to hang down on the up stage side of the 2nd or 3rd leading tab carriage, this will assist you when paging the curtain or cloth. Also the leading edge of the traveller will mask you & the sash, especially when paging them open. [Black sash cord is usually better]
Also you put less stress on the fabric & the traveller will flow easier being pulled from the tab track train carriages.
I have seen some use wooden poles & broom handles, instead of cord, but the poles have the tendency to keep swing into view after you use them -  also your likely to get crowned & end up wearing it in  the dark or during brown outs.

 
 
      Joe
Western Gondawandaland
turn right @ Perth.
Hear the light & see the sound.
Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"}
May you always play
to a full house}

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sabre92
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bullet Posted: 8/19/06 at 4:19am
Hello all. I just saw you talking about the pvc and matchbox car bit again. I was the one who suggested it originally. I haven't checked in with the Greenroom in a bit since it got hacked. Anyway, to answer your questions. In case anyone else is interested. :)
You were right on the money. I used 2" pvc pipe and cut a slot about 1/2" wide down the length of it with a cap on each end. Just remember to cut that same slot in any couplers connecting the pipes as well. I put screw eyes about every 4 or 5 feet with just enough inside to hold the nut and a nut on the outside to lock the eye in place.
On the cars, to drill the hole I just set them on a piece of wood that fit inbetween the wheels and drilled straight down through from the top then put a screw eye in it with a pair of nuts jammed against each other on the top. I find the axles don't bend that much and we have yet to lose a wheel. They handle the weight quite well and roll nicely. You just have to make sure the slot is wide enough and relatively smooth, especially at the joints where the pipes connect together. If you have the time I'd actually suggest filing down the ridge inside the coupler that connects the pipes so the ends butt right up against each other. A file would work or maybe a dremel tool with the right bit.
$2.00 does seem rather expensive for a matchbox car. I think I paid something like 92 cents at WalMart for the ones we have.
On the pipe flexing, we did have a bit of a problem with that when hanging it, but once hung it's really quite stable with it hung from a screw eye every 5 feet or so. I did end up reenforceing the joints where the pipes connect with pieces of angle iron because the screws I used to hold it together kept popping out when we hung them or took them down.
We've been using these for about 4 years now and haven't had any problems with them, after I smoothed out the slots and widened the tight spots.
I'm glad you found some tracks that'll work for you. I didn't think they'd be that inexpensive, relatively speaking. I might have to pass that name on. The owners of our theater are looking at making some upgrades to the curtain/drop system.
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