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 First things first I would need to decide how far I wanted my girl to fly so
I turned to the cadd program I use called Visual Cadd. Since I have 10' ceilings
in my haunted garage, I figured that around 9 1/2' would be a good finished
height.
Using standard lengths of square aluminum tube of 48", I asked the computer
how to achieve this overall travel. As you can see in the pic above, using these
standard lengths I would only have to make a single cut to get the right
measurements. Using these placements would offer a flight pattern of over
40" higher than where she starts and over 53" outward. The more
distance covered the more impressive will be her attack. So now with the height
achieved with the amount of throw from a 24" bicycle pump as the air ram, I
lay out the rest of the mechanical dimensions.
All of the details are worked out on the computer screen even down to clearances
needed for the tricky attachment I will be using underneath the lowest arm of
the scissor mechanism. That will be accomplished with a gate hinge with one end
cut down to 3/4" long and the other end bent almost to a 90 degree angle to
allow space for the nut at the end of the air ram. Looking down in an aerial
view on the framework you can see the footprint of the base is really long, as
she will have a lot of fulcrum while fully extended. Storing my props inside my
haunted garage between seasons is tight, so I design the footprint to shorten
from 30" down to 16 1/4". Much more storable. You will need to print
out the two pictures above for reference while you are constructing your frame.
Now
that I have a working plan, I lay
out the items needed to complete
the first phase of the Exorcist. I
plan to use 3/4" (four quarter)
solid oak for the framework because
it is readily available to me being
an oak furniture manufacturer, but
you could also use any other hard
wood, even Fir. I don't recommend
using soft wood such as pine. The
3/4" plywood shown below in
the materials list can be replaced
with solid as well. I just so
happen to use 1 5/8" as a standard
stock size here, so I used ply for
the piece that will separate and
hold together the main body of both
halves of the frame. When
purchasing the bike pump be sure it
is steel and has a throw of 17
3/4".
 At the top of the photo above is shown a 1" forstner bit you will need
later as well. You will only need one strap or gate hinge for your project but I
show two here to let you see what the before and after looks like. On the right
are two 3/4" square aluminum
 tubes and one 3/4" aluminum angle piece. Here
to your right is another tool you will need (you can make this yourself with a piece
of wood if you will only be using it a couple of times such as with this
project) The one shown is a
Pock’it Jig Kit
you can order from a tool supply
like Woodcraft
. You will need this drill bit as well, so your center hole and counter sink are
correct. Also the long square drive screw driver bit is needed if you are using
the square drive pocket bore screws as shown.
MATERIALS LIST;
3/4" PLYWOOD;
1) 1 5 /8 53 1/2 BRACE
3/4" SOLID OAK;
2) 2 1/4 56 STILE
2) 2 1/4 13 1/4 RAIL
2) 2 1/4 15 1/2 RAIL
1) 5 5 /8 24 STABILIZER
1/8" X 3/4" ALUMINUM;
1) 48" SQUARE TUBE
1) 47" SQUARE TUBE
1) 48" ANGLE
HARDWARE;
1) 24" BICYCLE PUMP (17 3/4" THROW)
4) #8 X 1 1/2" POCKET BORE SCREWS
22) #8 X 1 1/4" DRYWALL SCREWS
3) #8 X 3/8" PAN HEAD SCREWS
1) 3" LT STRAP HINGE (GATE)
4) 5 /16" X 3 1/2" CARRIAGE BOLTS
2) 1/4" X 1 1/2" HEX BOLTS
8) 5 /16" FLAT WASHERS
2) 5 /16" LOCK WASHERS
2) 5 /16" LOCK NUTS
7) 5 /16 HEX NUTS
6) 1/4" FLAT WASHERS
2) 1/4" LOCK NUTS
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