Home-made gobo holders

[gpq]

I apologize if I missed a post, but I need a gobo holder for an Altman ellipsoidal. My local lighting supply store didn't have one, and we tech this week, so I thought I'd try to make one myself. I've made gobos myself before, but never the holder. Has anyone tried to make one themselves? How'd you do it, and how well did it work?

Thanks.

 

[lightingguy1]

Hi There,

I have made gobos and gobo holders out of aluminum foil pans for my Strand SLs. - They have worked pretty well for me. - Now, I don't know how the aluminum will stand up againist the Altmans, but its worth a try.



Hope this helps!
-Lightingguy1

 

[Les]

You could use pie tins or aluminum cookie sheets also. Just cut them in to the shape you need and bend the edges to hold the gobo. Heat shouldn't be a problem since they aren't (or shouldn't be) directly in the optical path.


You may have to open the fixture and measure the gate, or just experiment with sizes of cardboard (fixture off) as to what's too large and what's too small.

Translate that to your pie tin and use scissors to cut a pattern such as this. Fold on the dotted line to create tabs which should hold your pattern. Cut the aperture hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the gobo.

Good luck!

 

[kiwitechgirl]

I've done this - well, not this precise thing, but I've cut pie trays to be both gobo and gobo holder in one, for an old Selecon ZS1200. I can't imagine that the Altman will be much hotter than the ZS1200, and I didn't have too many problems. It did smoke a little (which can be alarming!) but then, as the pie tray was the gobo as well as the holder it was directly in the path of the light and therefore the heat. I think you should be fine - but like I said, be prepared for it to smoke a little the first time you ramp the light up!

 

[church]

I make my own gobo holders out of 18 gauge aluminium sheet. You can get the hole dimensions of the internet. I then pop the lens barrel of a fixture so I can get to the gobo holder rails on the shutter plates. I then measure the width of the rails and the location of where the hole needs to be. I then make a dummy holder out of a piece of stiff card to check everything. You then use the card template to mark up two pieces of aluminium and cut them out - do not cut the hole at this point. Drill a 1/8 hole in each of the bottom corners and bolt the two pieces together. Check it fits and and clean up the edges. Cut the hole with a hole saw, seperate the two pieces, clean up the edges and enlarge the hole if needed. Rivet the two pieces together and flatten the rivet with a few taps from a hammer.

A bit more work than buying them but if you need one you can't buy then you do not have many options. They last as long as the manufactured ones. I also find they hold the gobo nice and tight.

 

[derekleffew]

In the olden days, when we weren't trimming wicks, adjusting gas jets, or refilling brine dimmers, we would use paper clips, bailing wire, chewing gum, and spit to secure gobos in the gate. Often they were held in place merely by force of willpower, jammed in between the shutters. Kids today will likely never know the joy that comes from discovering an errant gobo, from several shows prior, left in the ERS special.

 

[Les]

In the olden days ...we would use paper clips, bailing wire, [-]chewing gum[/-], and [-]spit[/-] to secure gobos in the gate. Often they were held in place merely by force of willpower, jammed in between the shutters.

Done that! I once worked in a community theatre who rarely used gobos in their Shakespeares (they said they "didn't work" in their space). When I asked about gobo holders, they said "drop it in and hope for the best". Haha.
I've made good use of paper clips (maybe even some binder clips) as well as opening the gate of a 360Q and wedging the gobo between the shutter planes. Gobo got a little bent, but it worked!

 

[icewolf08]

I apologize if I missed a post, but I need a gobo holder for an Altman ellipsoidal. My local lighting supply store didn't have one, and we tech this week, so I thought I'd try to make one myself. I've made gobos myself before, but never the holder. Has anyone tried to make one themselves? How'd you do it, and how well did it work?

Thanks.

I have a gazillion extra gobo holders for Altman fixtures, I would be happy to send some your way for a modest fee. I have no use for most of them as I have phased most of the fixtures they fit out of my inventory. If I could get ~$2.50 each plus shipping, I would be happy, they just take up space.

 

[church]

In the olden days, when we weren't trimming wicks, adjusting gas jets, or refilling brine dimmers, we would use paper clips, bailing wire, chewing gum, and spit to secure gobos in the gate. Often they were held in place merely by force of willpower, jammed in between the shutters. Kids today will likely never know the joy that comes from discovering an errant gobo, from several shows prior, left in the ERS special.

Derek

the sad part is I know what a brine dimmer looks like and how they were used. A friend had one he rescued from the Eden theatre in the town where I went to school - he used it as an umberella stand in his hallway. The Eden theatre was once managed by the father of a Stan Laurel - before they emigrated to the U.S.

 

[elliot47]

Could I Make a pie tin gobo an tape it in front of a follow spot on the booth for a quick 30 second gobo display?

 

[derekleffew]

Nope. The gobo must be placed in the gate of an ERS in order for it to be in focus. In front of the lens won't work.

 

[gpq]

Thanks all for help and suggestions. We made a nice holder out of aluminum pie pan, worked hard to get everything lined up and focused (and oh yes, paperclips were used.) Very happy, proud of our work.
You know what happened. The director changed her mind; gobo cut.

But thanks again for your help! And I am really curious about the "brine dimmers".

 

[derekleffew]

...And I am really curious about the "brine dimmers".

See the wiki entry Dimmer, Brine - ControlBooth .