Scenic-Shop

Is this the littlest track dog ever?  Perhaps.  Either way, it’s sooo cute!  This prototype track dog measures in at 3/4″ x 15/32″ x 3.5″ and is milled from a solid chunk of UHMW.  (Ignore the oily grime, its fresh off the bridgeport.) The 1/8″ aircraft cable is secured with two set screws in the opposite face of the dog.  I’m thinking the mark 2 will feature a sandwich style construction with a fixed knife.  Stay tuned for later revisions to this project.

Just finished adding an article about bow rollers on the Stagecraft Wiki.  Click here to read more.

A few weeks ago the ladies of the costume shop found the latest and greatest leap in scissor technology ever.  At some point during the laughter, they bought it and are now planning to use it’s terrible powers for theatre-wide domination.  Just be careful, you could put an eye out with that thing.

Looking for a collection of the Dykes Lumber moulding profiles in CAD format? Here you go.

Download the Dykes Moulding file here. (381 kb)

The profiles have been compiled into a single file, each profile a separate block. (Design Center users rejoice!) This file is in v2000 format. Much thanks goes to Adam Godbout for providing the file.

Happy CADDing.

Edit: The following download contains the collection of Dykes profiles in individual dxf files. These profiles aren’t saved as blocks, just as raw geometry. Dykes Moulding – Individual Profiles Download (664kb)

Months ago I wrote a brief ditty about modifying commonly available computer power supplies to power low voltage DC effects.  You’ll find the original article here.  I wasn’t completely satisfied with the first one I modified.  You can see it in the picture below, it’s the ugly one to the left.  After perusing a Mouser catalogue this summer, I found what I was looking for – barrier strips with pass-thru terminals.  The ones seen below are made by Molex, specifically referred to as Solder Turret Style Terminal Blocks.  Catchy, isn’t it?  The Mouser part number for this specific model is 538-38720-3208.  They come in several different sizes, and I’m sure that other manufacturers make them as well.  Turns out the solder pins are just the right size to snugly fit female insulated spade connectors.  Super convenient, and pretty to boot!

You need small, ad hoc, weld-on bearings?  Check this out.  Use a plastic bushing, a shaft collar and a cone-point socket set screw.  Weld the shaft collar over a hole, and keep the plastic bushing in place with the set screw (the cone point is key).  Feel free to add a little threadlocker if you’re paranoid.  Works like a charm.

I like to take detailed pictures of the scene designer’s model for each set we build.  Inevitably the director and stage managers want the model in rehearsal, and it becomes difficult to share.  Things get really hairy when the scenic charge wants a piece of the action.

Obviously, the stiller the camera, the clearer the picture.  I set out to find a secondhand something I could use as a monopod.  Let this be a lesson: ask a prop person for a monopod, and you’ll get a showerhead.  Thanks Billy!  Its the best free showerhead I’ve ever received, I’m glad I didn’t waste money on a monopod.  After making a quick & dirty adapter to fit the camera, this baby can perform more wacky positioning and tilting maneuvers than the “actors” on those scrambled channels. (You know the ones I’m talkin’ about.)  For those curious folks, the adaptor is a 1/4″ flat head bolt epoxied into a pipe-to-hose adaptor.  Since the items were in stock, it was mighty cheap.

This one’s for the mech heads and purveyors of fine machinery.

Cornell University’s Reuleaux Collection is a collection of 220 machines.  The machines include various crank mechanisms, couplings, linkages, compound gearing… the list goes on.  The website itself is a catalogue of the 19th century machines – some with accompanying videos and technical documentation.  In my opinion, the machines themselves are functional, beautifully crafted works of art; they deserve some attention.

There are also three books that I highly recommend all mech heads have on a shelf somewhere.  Or in the powder room (your choice, no judgement here).

507 Mechanical Movements: Mechanisms and Devices by  Henry T. Brown

• This slim paperback from 1868 is as simple as it gets: 507 drawings of various mechanisms, and text that describes their operations and uses.

Machine Devices and Components Illustrated Sourcebook by Robert Parmley

• This bad boy is a compendium of 1,500 different mechanisms.  It’s broken down into assemblies, power transmission, and mechanical components.  A great way to kick start the brain when you need some inspiration.

Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook by Neil Sclater and Nicholas Chironis.

• This 500 page beast is a good companion to the Machine Devices and Components… title listed above.  I like to think of it as the sequel.

Of course there is Mechanical Design for the Stage by Alan Hendrickson, but I know you already own that one, right?

Note that the book links go to Amazon pages, I’m not saying you should buy from Amazon, in fact I recommend saving a few bucks and getting used copies.

Scratch provides a quick & simple way to utilize a temporary scratchpad layer in AutoCAD. Scratch allows you to quickly switch in & out of the scratchpad layer, and throw it away whenever you want, leaving the rest of your AutoCAD drawing untouched.

I’ve been using it for

• transferring geometry
• building complex shapes (I use the boundary command later to create objects)
• throwaway dimensions (when estimating & sketching ideas)

Download

UPDATE: Scratch v0.8 is now available.

Download Scratch v0.7 now!

Use

Scratch is super simple, there are only two commands (+1 bonus command).

1. cst – will toggle you between the magenta scratchpad layer and the original layer.
2. est – deletes the scratchpad layer and everything in it.
3. 1` – changes your current layer to your prior layer.

Crosshair Colors

Loading the second file scratchColor.lsp enables the crosshair color switcher.  Whenever you make the scratchpad layer current, the crosshair color will change to magenta.  This provides a constant, unobtrusive reminder when the scratchpad layer is current.

Notes

• Scratch runs on AutoCAD v2000 – 2010 (v2006 and earlier require the Express Tools.)
• Scratch stores your original crosshair colors; if you have them customized, it will not clobber your original settings.
• You can change the name, lineweight, color, and linetype of the scratchpad layer in the top of the scratch.lsp file.