connecting set pieces

blalew

blalew

Active Member
Hi all. We're in a new awesome space (church) that seats 2200. We have an upstage wall with a 25'2" wide opening for a rear-projected screen with an opening below it that we need to fill with a movable set piece. The space we're filling is approx 8'6" by 25'2" to allow bringing gear/stuff in from backstage/warehouse.

I'm thinking of building 4x8 hollywood style flats (1x3 construction w/ luaun face), screwed into the deck (plyron) or using improved stage screws directly through the bottom rail of the flat. I'd like to connect the flats to each other with something like wingnuts/coffin locks but I'm not sure... I had planned on mounting 2x4s to the sides of the opening that would anchor the flats in the opening somewhat.

I wondered if I need a pipe rail or strong back along the back of the flats, but anything to make it easier to remove one or two flats would be good. I will be mounting typical church lighting elements to it :^) LED strips, coroplast, etc.

rear auditorium set.png
 
Need more info. Is this meant to look like a permanent wall? Do you care about seeing seams? Does the whole wall need to be removable or just the two you mentioned?
It sounds like you might want to build a stud wall skinned in sheetrock and put a double door in the middle?
 
Aaron, thanks for your reply. I think I'd like the whole wall to be removable in sections, and lighter than a stud wall (hence the Hollywood flat idea). Seams are OK. I would most likely use painted plywood because I'm going to attach other things to the face of it.
 
What about three panels, so middle 8' is easily removed, and side 8'7" panels are removed with more effort? A beam of some sort - or just something to stiffen that stays for middle.
 
Any reason why pipe and drape would not work for you?

As to your other question, yes you would need to support a wall of that type to keep it upright and straight. I would typically use jack braces .
 
Yeah a few jacks would be what I would do. At least 3, depending on your exact construction, likely more. Bolt/Screw the jacks (if you REALLY wanted im sure you can design with coffin locks in mind) strategically to the flats. Disconnect the flats you want to remove from the group and lift them out. I DO love coffin locks when you'll be removing or disconnecting things often. When screws are used, it works great until things are turned into Swiss Cheese. Bolts can be great as well but make sure to make everything consistent and precise or you'll have problems very quickly. Seen that enough times, and then things can get even more like swiss cheese.

You can do most of your fastening to the floor via the Jacks (ID still fasten the flats, especially the outside ones which Id expect to be the most static) to the deck.

Of course it all depends, and there are many ways to get the job done.
 
This is very helpful. A few questions -
If I make one 8' section easily removable, would I use the Sure Hinges across the stiles? How many per side would I use?
How do I attach the jacks to the stiles of the flats? I have the stagecraft handbook
 
blalew said:
This is very helpful. A few questions -
If I make one 8' section easily removable, would I use the Sure Hinges across the stiles? How many per side would I use?
How do I attach the jacks to the stiles of the flats? I have the stagecraft handbook
Click to expand...

Yes, the Sure hinges would go across the stiles. One half on one section, the other half on the other section. The Sure Hinge has a notch along the center that allows you to bend it to 90 degrees and screw the hinge in from the top of the hinge and the side. As to the number, there isn't a set standard, but I would say 3-4 is the minimum over 8'-ish of length.

As for the jacks, you can use hinges on them as well. I would put them in a little bit from the stiles on the toggles. Figure out where you want to put your jack then attach a small block of 2x4 to the toggles where the jack intersects (this is to beef up the toggle so the hinge has something to go into). Attach one half of the hinge to the beefed up toggle section and the other half to the jack. Bonus is that the jack will now fold down and out of the way for storage! You can also make the stage screw idea work for the jacks if you make the bottom of the jack an "L" shape instead of a single piece of 1x.
 
blalew said:
This is very helpful. A few questions -
If I make one 8' section easily removable, would I use the Sure Hinges across the stiles? How many per side would I use?
How do I attach the jacks to the stiles of the flats? I have the stagecraft handbook
Click to expand...
If I were doing it as I described above with three sections and a beam or member across the top, I'd probably just "pin" it into floor and beam. Maybe slide bolts. Just seems simpler not to have loose pieces but the hinges would work fine. OTOH, I might just use c-clamps.
 
I say no to the stage screws, even the new improved ones. They generally leave a large hole/mess to deal with. I tend to use multi purpose screws. Any reason why you will still not not consider pipe and drape? You can get any fabric and it is much easier to install and modify.
 
blalew said:
Does it make sense to use wing bolts and T nuts to connect the sides of the flats together? I am planning to use stage screws for the bottom rails into the stage
Click to expand...
That will work fine. Was used for rep when YRT was rep and we did changeovers almost every night. As far as stage screw, I much prefer knife edge threaded inserts and machine screws - "wing" headed if possible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

CHAUVET Professional
Full Circle
Replies
0
Views
2K
CHAUVET Professional
CHAUVET Professional
neergmas
Zero Latency Video of Conductor
2
Replies
37
Views
24K
MRW Lights
MRW Lights
derekleffew
Lighting Fixture Maintenance
Replies
0
Views
7K
derekleffew
derekleffew
derekleffew
Connectors, Stage Pin
Replies
17
Views
18K
DrPinto
D
S
Installation of a stage pin plug on a cable, plus history
Replies
15
Views
19K
ship
S

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back