Floor Mounts
- Thread starterMNicolai
- Start date
Sometimes in, fancier installations, at places say like parties and the like, you want something a little nicer looking than a slab of black painted plywood. In these situations we used bases that had been "upholstered" with black " Trunk-liner" carpet. it's the same kinda stuff that hum-heads use to cover their speakers in.
' Course, in a pinch you can always steal a few Linens from Catering........
As for the t-nuts, I tried that trick once let me tell you how much fun it was setting up a bunch of Par cans for a Garden Party. Out in the middle of nowhere on the grounds of somebodies McMansion. I I had taken the can lose for some reason, went to re-install it, plop! the t-nut falls out I spent 15 minutes loking for a t-nut in a flower bed. I'd rather carry two wrenches.
Actually, I'm already working on that. We have some sheet metal from ventilation that is cut into small squares, and thanks to a kind fellow already as B-size circles in them. I can either drill holes into them for polka dots, or put real designs in them with my dremel.
Tee nuts while interesting would need to be captured and possibly epoxied into a cavity so as to ensure they can’t pop loose or strip. Otherwise all it takes is a loose screw and the T-Nut can pop or strip. Same with press nuts - despise them in metal plate.
A popular thing is floor base mic stand bases, but were it me I would do a step down insert to them to size down the hole better.
I last built for my own use 12" partical board bases - heavy weight and beveled edges. Rubber matting for the base and counter sunk hole for a USS washer size. Worked well if you needed to weight it further, just add a sand bag or weight and the rubber helps hold it in place.
At work in the past I set up a band saw jig for a plywood 12" round base that had another rectangular layer laminated to it. Two holes countersunk in it from the bottom round plate, one up front and one on center for bolting. The rounded over round edges pack and store well, though as plywood it’s a bit lighter than I like. Also with only being 1.1/2" off the floor you get a bit more stability.
With it is used fiber washers between yoke and washer against the plywood which allows you to tighten down some on the bolt sufficient to hold it in place, but not enough that you cannot move it by hand and not need tools. Wrench and socket wrench otherwise are needed for primary attachment, but once on show site, if screwed to scenery/deck or weighted, you don’t need tools to move it.
At work is also another type of base. It’s like a 9" square 1/4" steel plate with a 1/4" x 2" x 4" long bracket welded perpendicular to it. This than has a 1.1/2" coupler welded to it parallel to the plate. This coupler gets a regular C-Clamp mounted to it in not fooling with bolts. A bit less user friendly in handling but is universal. Believe the bottom plate is cut into a C’ shape so they stack.
A popular thing is floor base mic stand bases, but were it me I would do a step down insert to them to size down the hole better.
I last built for my own use 12" partical board bases - heavy weight and beveled edges. Rubber matting for the base and counter sunk hole for a USS washer size. Worked well if you needed to weight it further, just add a sand bag or weight and the rubber helps hold it in place.
At work in the past I set up a band saw jig for a plywood 12" round base that had another rectangular layer laminated to it. Two holes countersunk in it from the bottom round plate, one up front and one on center for bolting. The rounded over round edges pack and store well, though as plywood it’s a bit lighter than I like. Also with only being 1.1/2" off the floor you get a bit more stability.
With it is used fiber washers between yoke and washer against the plywood which allows you to tighten down some on the bolt sufficient to hold it in place, but not enough that you cannot move it by hand and not need tools. Wrench and socket wrench otherwise are needed for primary attachment, but once on show site, if screwed to scenery/deck or weighted, you don’t need tools to move it.
At work is also another type of base. It’s like a 9" square 1/4" steel plate with a 1/4" x 2" x 4" long bracket welded perpendicular to it. This than has a 1.1/2" coupler welded to it parallel to the plate. This coupler gets a regular C-Clamp mounted to it in not fooling with bolts. A bit less user friendly in handling but is universal. Believe the bottom plate is cut into a C’ shape so they stack.
BillESC
Well-Known Member
Ship,
All of the bases that you referred to while nice and will certainly work can't be had for as little as $ 6.50 which is what our product goes for.
There are lots of ways to floor mount fixtures, we needed to come up with a mass produceable product that the mobile entertainer market could afford.
Since here in Virginia we do so many tent events, we designed and make a tent pole clamp that works wonderfully.
As you can see, they can be outfitted either for a 1.5" steel pipe or as a single rigging point.
They work very well.
All of the bases that you referred to while nice and will certainly work can't be had for as little as $ 6.50 which is what our product goes for.
There are lots of ways to floor mount fixtures, we needed to come up with a mass produceable product that the mobile entertainer market could afford.
Since here in Virginia we do so many tent events, we designed and make a tent pole clamp that works wonderfully.
As you can see, they can be outfitted either for a 1.5" steel pipe or as a single rigging point.
They work very well.
I feel dwarved now. We're all talking about our homemade solutions, and then BillESC comes in and just says, "Yea, we decided we needed something easier, so we now sell _______"
Bill, you, as does ETC, make our lives as technicians way too easy. You should be downright ashamed of yourself. Now I can't fulfill my 94-hour work week because you feel the need to make the process of rigging up lights go so much faster than that. If I was 24, recently married, and had a sparklin' baby boy, then I'd have to be really irritated with you for not providing me more excuses to charge my employers for more and more hours of work. Without those extra hours, my hypothetical child could starve to death because I couldn't afford to put gross amounts of food on the table. Here's to you, Bill!
Bill, you, as does ETC, make our lives as technicians way too easy. You should be downright ashamed of yourself. Now I can't fulfill my 94-hour work week because you feel the need to make the process of rigging up lights go so much faster than that. If I was 24, recently married, and had a sparklin' baby boy, then I'd have to be really irritated with you for not providing me more excuses to charge my employers for more and more hours of work. Without those extra hours, my hypothetical child could starve to death because I couldn't afford to put gross amounts of food on the table. Here's to you, Bill!
Really low-down trick, but it works: you know those bricks that came with your counterweight system that you use (probably as a firecode violation) to hold open doors? Clamp the fixture directly to them. Set on floor. Enough of this taking-off/putting-on of C-clamps. Waste of labor.
It looks like from the picture that the stage weight is level to the table. How could this be with the c-clamp on one side?
BillESC
Well-Known Member
Well Mike,
I just became a Grand-father for the first time and there is formula to assist with. Sometimes simple IS the best answer.
As for the 94 hour work week, that will never change. I personally had hours both on Saturday and Sunday in the shop last week producing the above mentioned bases for orders that needed to be shipped for events.
I love the smell of sawdust in the morning...
As you can see, they can be outfitted either for a 1.5" steel pipe or as a single rigging point.
They work very well.
I can attest to that.
It only appears that way. In fact, the far side of the stage weight is about 3/8" higher than the near side. I cheated some by using an "improved" C-clamp, the Mega-Clamp. It has less thickness at the top than others, yet, unlike cast-iron clamps, is rated for 600 lbs. And no Jesus nut, (the lack of which I found is a liability when attaching to an Omega bracket).
Bill,
Nice enough tent pole clamps assuming a certain size or rail, but not floor bases, still think the center of gravity/weight of the floor bases shown earlier and its dispersion of the weight would be better with something more solid, larger and weighty.
This granted many views on the subject and ways to invent the wheel. All often good and personal choices as difference.
Used to work a few balcony rail museum installs where we would mount a fixture on a floor base in front of the pipe rail on the thick railing wall. While it was safety cabled to the pipe rail (hopefully), often it was just the weight of the floor base itself, and even front mounted fixture in a center and front mounting hole which would keep the fixture in place. Depended on center of gravity and weight of floor base to keep the down pointing fixture from tipping. Same in general with any floor base in my opinion, either smaller size but more weight in steel plate, or 12" round double layer plywood weight if not as I did for my use practical board weighting with rubber feet or material on the base for grip. Something that with the weight of the fixture is not as easy to get bumped as it were is my point.
Big fan of soft rubber on the bottom but not really a standard. Goes back to doing stage braces by way of double plywood stage screw plywood plate that got weighted down. Rubber base held it to the floor, weighted plywood replaced the need to directly stage screw the stage brace into the floor/deck.
Nice enough tent pole clamps assuming a certain size or rail, but not floor bases, still think the center of gravity/weight of the floor bases shown earlier and its dispersion of the weight would be better with something more solid, larger and weighty.
This granted many views on the subject and ways to invent the wheel. All often good and personal choices as difference.
Used to work a few balcony rail museum installs where we would mount a fixture on a floor base in front of the pipe rail on the thick railing wall. While it was safety cabled to the pipe rail (hopefully), often it was just the weight of the floor base itself, and even front mounted fixture in a center and front mounting hole which would keep the fixture in place. Depended on center of gravity and weight of floor base to keep the down pointing fixture from tipping. Same in general with any floor base in my opinion, either smaller size but more weight in steel plate, or 12" round double layer plywood weight if not as I did for my use practical board weighting with rubber feet or material on the base for grip. Something that with the weight of the fixture is not as easy to get bumped as it were is my point.
Big fan of soft rubber on the bottom but not really a standard. Goes back to doing stage braces by way of double plywood stage screw plywood plate that got weighted down. Rubber base held it to the floor, weighted plywood replaced the need to directly stage screw the stage brace into the floor/deck.
<gasp!> Ninety-five percent of the technicians in Las Vegas would have no idea what you're talking about. We use scenery jacks all the time, but in seventeen years, I've never even seen a stage brace in Las Vegas.
Yea, 95% of most people wouldn't know what one is even if handed one to pull gels with. Still even if old school, the concept of it and the weighted base works just as the weighted stage jack, though more simple the stage jack.
Curious, never made one with a rubber backing to its bottom have you - this even if in friction/grip might be good?
I own a 8' to 16' one and use it once in a while. Can't remember what I traded for it but it's oak and 1926 and just as useful now as ever was. Still use it once in a while in the shop. Origionally used as a tape wall - 14' high peg wall holding tape, tape getter. Got replaced by a banniser rail with rail support on its tip that was ground down some to help grab. Still the stage brace, cool thing, know of some places that have them ranging from 18" to much much longer, though I cannot imagine what the shorties were for other than perhaps below a window in something really old school.
Last time I used one for scenery was at least 20 years ago. Stage jacks... don't do much carpentry any more so say five years ago and definately designed to hang stage weights off the corner bracing.
I was across the street the other day, Directly across the street from us is a Scottish Rite Temple built in 1905, and sitting in the corner backstage was a bundle of at least 50 stage braces, ranging in size from 18" to 10'. It was beautiful.
Y'all would love the fly system in this place too, the arbors are all made of oak. Yes the weight arbors are wood, and there are no brakes on the line sets, everything in perfectly balanced. It's a real eye opener. I'm gonna go get some pictures and post them in a new thread, BTW the building is for sale if anybodies interested.
The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Standard Masonic Lodges called Blue Lodges are for members initiated into the first three degrees on Masonry, after that you move up to the Scottish Rite and then diversify into any of the 32 different "disciplines".
No the Weights are pig iron. They have to have them custom cut, however, since they are in no way close to a "standard" size. I'll see if I can't get them to run a copy of their drop inventory as well. I think it's 57 full and cut drops, all of which date back to 1907 - 22 Absolutely Beautiful.
