Why do you want to do that?a grooved deck for moving scenery... i don't even know where to start...
Did you guys stockpile it?
The knife and track system is to keep moving scenery in the right place as it moves. Simple tracks are straight, but complicated moves can be done with curved tracks. This keeps movement consistent.
Now comes the part where I refer you back to my two previous posts. If you look at the drawing and read, your questions would have been answered. Is there a trip hazard? No, the track is totally flush with the floor and usually just over 1/4 wide. The knife is usually 1/4 plate steel or another piece of angle iron. You can also use UHMW Plastic.
Part of preshow checks are to check the tracks and the movement of all scenic elements.
YES! And not all casters have to be V-groove and tracks. I've often used these on only the center of a moving piece and standard Darnell (expensive, but worth it) fixed casters on the others: less tracks, less binding, and fewer trips. How is it that dancers can move beautifully onstage, and then trip over a painted line backstage?http://www.castercity.com/vgroovew.htm
These are the way I prefer to track scenery if I can not lay an entire deck and the tracking will not be in the way. It makes doing the tracking EXTREMLY easy. Also, the angle iron track tends to be a bit less of a tripping hazard then having the angle iron on edge.
these tips are wonderful help!!! the tracks i'd like to put down are limited to only two, one moving offstage-left to center, one moving off stage-right to center... the scenic pieces are tall & wide flats - framework only - no wrapping... (since they're pretty tall pieces, would i need to have them on wagons??? how would i compensate for the height and balance otherwise?)
the reason i'm hoping to use tracks is the fact that they're see-through, and i was hoping to figure a way to move them without the use of visible stage hands, automated in a way... i'm scared of motors (lol), so i'm also trying to figure out a system of cables to move them on and off... does anyone have information on particular systems i could look into purchasing...
i figured that any cables running L to R would be have to be run under the deck, so the first rendering would be what i'm looking for... i like the grooved casters very much, as this seems much easier than raising the entire deck... but that would mean that any sort of cable system would have to be above-deck and would then be a trip hazard... argh... or could the cables somehow be run under the grooved angle iron??? hmm...
this is just something i've been waiting to accomplish at some point, and one of the shows i'm working on now almost begs for it... perhaps it's out of my league... sigh...
anymore ideas would be wonderful!!! (i can't believe i couldn't find anything on this topic here until now)...
thanks!
Do you guys have a brand or specific carrier in particular that you think works well for that sort of rigging?
One thing I think I can say is that when using any kind of track to move scenery on and off stage, a rigid mounting system is a necessity. I found this out the hard way early on. I thought it would be an easy, great idea to slide some "Broadway" style flats on and off stage by suspending them from Aluminum "rigi-track". I was well within the weight specs for support, but what I forgot about was the flex inherent in the aluminum track. I used chain to rig the track to a batten, bad move. As the weight moves across the track, the down force of the weight is transferred to the first chain past the weight which flexes "up" towards the batten. this results in in sags, and scrapes on the ground and general unhappiness.
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