Beauty and the Beast Set and Props

[danlb_2000]

I have been working in community theater for over 30 years now and my latest project is to do the set for Beauty and the Beast for our kids education program. Along with the set, which I won't start on for a few more weeks, I also agreed to build Maurice's wood chopping machine.

Here is what I have done so far. I started with a mechanism to drive the axe. This is mounted to a platform that will eventually have caster wheels on the bottom. I decided to do this so that it would move easily and I wouldn't have to worry about the decorative wheels being functional.

I initially though I would need to put a person inside to operate it, but I came up with the idea of using an old cordless drill to power it. I will eventually rig up the battery so that I can put a switch on the outside to turn it off and on.

 

[danlb_2000]

More of the framework complete.

 

[danlb_2000]

Starting to put the body panels on.

 

[danlb_2000]

Initial assembly to give it a test run.

 

[danlb_2000]

Just realized I never updated this thread.

Here is a video of it running..

 

[danlb_2000]

The finished product

 

[yaksplat]

Very cool! If you ever need more torque for a project like this, take a look at the motors from All Electronics. They're relative cheap. http://www.allelectronics.com/category/400400/motors/dc-gear-motors/1.html Car window and wiper motors work quite well.

 

[danlb_2000]

So, the story of my wood chopping machine continues. It was a big hit in our production and ended up getting loaned out to pretty much every local theater that did the show for the next couple years. Recently I was cleaning out our storage and saw that the machine had seen better days so I decided to finally scrap it. Within a few weeks of doing this I learned that we were doing the show again next year! So, this was motivation to build a better one. This time I decided to stay truer to the one in the movie. I also found this cool CG rendering of the machine that I used for inspiration.

Here is my current work in progress picture. I was able to incorporate a few parts from the original including the axe and front wheel.

 

[wweiland]

How did you end up rigging the drill with a new external switch?

 

[danlb_2000]

How did you end up rigging the drill with a new external switch?

On the original one I took an old battery pack for the drill, removed the batteries and hooked wires to the electrical contacts. I also took apart an extra charger and used that to hold the battery. Finally wired the two together with a switch in the middle.

The new one is similar but this time I needed the drill to take up less space so I actually cut off the handle and ran wires directly to the motor. I also used a 90 degree attachment on the drill so I could mount it vertically.

 

[danlb_2000]

Current progress, almost done.

 

[EdToo]

Thank you for your posts and the idea of using a drill to drive everything. Nearly finished my build for this year's show.

 

[EdToo]

 

[dogsbody]

@danlb_2000 i'm trying to build something similar to yours, but struggling a bit on the axe mechanism. it may be my egg shaped wheel is too low down and possibly the axe handle as well, also the beam between the two seems to go wherever it feels like.

any clues?

 

[danlb_2000]

Nice work! I love the fire light, I thought about doing that but never got to it.

 

[danlb_2000]

@danlb_2000 i'm trying to build something similar to yours, but struggling a bit on the axe mechanism. it may be my egg shaped wheel is too low down and possibly the axe handle as well, also the beam between the two seems to go wherever it feels like.

any clues?

I struggled with that to. I had to make adjustments in where the rod connected to the cam and to the axe and the length of the rod. You can even see in my final product an earlier hole on the cam. It's really just a matter of trial and error until you get it right.