paci5217 Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Hey everyone,The high school I am student teaching at is doing the show Urinetown and the director wants a belt system (like a crowd control system you see at an airport) that will retract from one post, wind through the other posts and snap into the last one (should look comedic). Any ideas on how to build the mechanism that will retract the belt? Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ike Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 How about butchering an old tape measure for the mechanism. If you take it apart carefully and note what goes where it should go back together easy enough and you can usually tweak them a bit to make it snap back with more force. You'll probably have to build your own support but assuming it can be off stage you could probably get away with a board and a couple of big nails. If you need something more powerful a self retracting cable drum off an old vacuum cleaner should do the trick. Just watch out when you're dismantling it that nothing flies out towards your face; some of the springs can be surprisingly strong. Finding an old vacuum could be a pain but with the price of new ones these days you could always offer to replace one that's getting a bit tired or borrow the mechanism out of one and just claim it broke. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GridGirl Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 An inertia reel seatbelt mechanism? Shouldn't be too difficult to adapt, I wouldn't have thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Rather than having to pass through the intermediate posts, could you not have a reel in each one with a latch mechanism? One reels back, once fully retracted, releases the next one. Less chance of jamming then and shorter belts (so seatbelts will work). Just make sure they're wel fastened to the floor or the inertia may knock them over. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w/robe Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Would it be easier to use a proper queue belt system if you can find one long enough. By the time you have bought components and made one you will probably save time and money if all you have to do is doctor the intermediate poles so that the belt does not catch. Depending where it is on the stage and how fast it pulls you may even be able to have the belt just running behind the extra poles. As Cedd said fastening/weighting to the stage over a long distance is likely to be your biggest problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 We've got half a dozen Tensabarriers and their belts only stretch about 6-7 feet before the tension pulls the base over. I know from experience that releasing a fully tensioned belt can cause injury because of the plastic block on the end of the belt. They fly back very quickly! I would avoid using a tape measure for similar reasons. A quickly retracting measure has edges sharp enough to easily cut skin. How about having a thin piece of fishing line along which your barrier can travel. If you are aiming for comic effect then you don't want the belt moving so fast that the audience can't see it. But if you pull the barrier too slowly then it will just drag across the floor unless it is supported somehow. Edit : Woohoo!! My hundedth post!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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