@mistyty How heavy will your set pieces be? Do you foresee rolling any pianos up or down??
Thank you, I am bringing this to my crew.Load on the ramp is your biggest consideration. at that size the easiest thing to do would be to rip a bunch (4?) plywood wedges from 0"-->15 1/4" over 7'. Add a deck and some blocking at the bottom. done and 4 wheels is better than 6 wheels on your scenery. You wont get the awkward see-saw action as it transitions over.
Thanks, I would love to see a drawing of this if you could.Ok, so everybody has addressed the, "Wow, That's really steep" factor. Depending on your loads your best bet to build 3 stud walls from 1x4. Cut each 'stud' with a square bottom and a beveled top. The bottom plate of the wall is going to be shorter than the total run of the ramp as you want the plywood top to hit the floor on the bottom end of the ramp. On the bottom of the ramp you can use another piece of 1x4 , cut it into a wedge shape to act as a transition between the floor and the ramp. on the underside of the plywood run some pieces of 1x4 across the plywood leaving a gap where the tops of the 1x4 stud walls are. Screw them in place from the front face of the ply wood and they will add some rigidity. That should do it. I could sketch something when I get home if this isn't clear.
Thank you, I was considering something like this.hard to beat the labor, be portable and easily stored, and be sure of engineering:PVI Folding Aluminum Utility Ramp 800-Lb. Capacity, 7ft.L x 30in.W | Northern Tool
Aluminum ramp is designed for use with vans and trailers. Full platform provides stability, antislip surface and visual aids for wheelchairs, scoot...www.northerntool.com
Yes - may need wider but concept is worth investigating IMHO.
The force to push a load is going to be roughly 20% of its weight - so a 500 pound piece on casters will take around 100 pounds of force to move or stop it.
No it remains in place alwaysIs this a moving ramp, or a playing ramp?
Will you be pulling it after things are pushed up/down?
So the ramp is a part of the set, correct? And its built and left in place foer the run of the production and then stored without a purpose or scrapped?
I'd probably do it with "joists" parallel with slope if the 16" high stage edge is strong enough to support the top end. Or do as bobgaggle suggested. With 2 x 4 joists the trick would be to build frame just right length - like around 5'-8" - so plywood top extends and sits on floor.
Load on the ramp is your biggest consideration. at that size the easiest thing to do would be to rip a bunch (4?) plywood wedges from 0"-->15 1/4" over 7'. Add a deck and some blocking at the bottom. done.
And 4 wheels is better than 6 wheels on your scenery. You wont get the awkward see-saw action as it transitions over.
Here's some jpgs of what I was thinking, and the whole thing in .skp.
Do you have Sketchup? it's free for gneral use highly discounted for Students and I think the pro version is still 500.00usd. Anyway, that skp is v8.Thank you so much for this. I have downloaded to share with my students. I know the carpenters are going to be thrilled to get this.
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