Officially out of ideas

[meghanpotpie]

This has been the season of creative engineering for me but I am out of ideas for this particular problem. We have 5 rather large heavy doorways that the designer would like to move easily around the stage by actors. My first thought was that we would caster the units with low profile casters but the designer does not want the base to be more than 1" high. So, we inset casters inside the legs of the doorways and used furniture pads on around the perimeter of the base. They move great but the problem is that the plastic on the furniture sliders are scratching the mess out of the floor. Does anyone have any ideas on what kind of sliders we could use on these doors that won't scratch the floor but still provide ease of movement for these "dancing doors"?

Thanks,
Meghan

[MarshallPope]

How about industrial-strength felt?

[venuetech]

part of the problem is likely that the sliders will pickup small debris and then that turns your glider/slider into an slippery abrasive pad.
you could use the felt and change it often for the run of the show.

[meghanpotpie]

That was my next option. I'm just hoping they slide as nicely or nicer than the plastic furniture pads.

[Footer]

Very low profile ball transfer. McMaster-Carr

They do have some serious drawback if they get dirty. Keep your deck clean and they should work just fine. After that, tell the designer that physics wins and your going to make the outrigger bigger.

[Scarrgo]

I have used floor glides that I have found at our local HD. They are made of a gray neoprene material, I have had good luck with this style not making marks on wood or dance floor. One style has a base that attaches to the item you want to slide with a nail(I use screws) than the glide slips over that little base. They will move a lot of weight with ease.
You do have to watch out for edges like floor pockets, they can be ripped off while pushed over edges. And you may have better luck with the wider ones, 2" verses 3/4"

But try a set out to make sure you get the desired effect with no damages to the floor.

Good Luck
Sean...

[headcrab]

We use commercial-grade carpet scraps for this purpose on our sets.

[MPowers]

Probably way too late for this idea on this production, but for next time..... I have done this a number of times with casters. The catch is to actuate the casters with pneumatics. Very simple, but has to be done at the construction phase. There are several cylinder mount casters on the market, pancake cylinders and such. Norcostco has a very good line for sale. I prefer the Greg Bell design, shop built diaphragm lifts as the psi required at the caster is very low, as little as 10 to 15 psi, but my average use was 25psi. The average cylinder actuator needs between 60 and 100 psi, depending on the cylinder diameter and the number of cylinders used. Your director would be happy as the door units actually sit on the deck, no gap, when in playing position. Clearance height on smaller units can be minimal, as little as 1/4" in some cases, depending on how smooth your stage floor is.

Air supply can be with small pancake tanks, commercial CO2 cylinders (the 2" and 3" diameter size) of depending on your shop people's skills and equipment you can build perfectly safe and reliable tanks of pressure rated pipe. I won't tell you how to build them because if you don't know, you must be taught hands on, to build your first one, then you're good to go. The air tanks are simply built into the wall thickness and totally hidden. The ones I typically built were 3 1/2" o.d. and about 48" long, depending on how/where they had to fit. Tanks you fill from your shop compressor only need a fill valve exposed or behind a piece of mop board, but must be accessed each day to top off the tank. The CO2 cylinders are high pressure and require a regulator to step down the pressure to suit your actuators, but can last several days to a week on each cylinder, depending on the number of times you need to actuate them, the psi needed and the volume of your actuators. The down side is you have to build an access panel large enough to remove and replace the cylinder. The actuating valve can be the small toggle type, roughly the same size as a light switch, in fact it can be disguised as a light switch.

Commercial lift units and pancake cylinders usually (last time I checked) start at about $40 each, and go up from there. That does NOT include the caster or valves or tubing, but that is all the same, regardless of which actuator you choose. The Greg Bell shop built units run about $20-$25 each not counting your labor and again not including the caster and stuff. The construction is simple but does require reasonable skill and moderate precision. The tools needed are an accurate horizontal band saw capable of an 8" cut, a router (preferably table mounted), drill press, and various screw guns, screw drivers, scissors, etc. Any one interested in building some, PM me.

[derekleffew]

I have used floor glides that I have found at our local HD. They are made of a gray neoprene material, ...

Neoprene, really? I thought that was a type of rubber. Most furniture glides are made of PTFE (TeflonŽ), HDPE, or UHMW. If they are marking up the floor, perhaps there's too much point load. Try a larger glide.

[Scarrgo]

okay, teflon than, never said my memory was the best....and while trying to give up the morning caffeine soda...and agree, try a larger glide...lots of good ideas, keep trying till you find one that works best for your application...

Sean...