Making a Sliding Pole

[elite1trek]

For an upcoming show I am designing our set based on levels, but I want a way for actors to move from the high platforms to the deck quickly. The high platforms are about 8 feet high. I was thinking about putting a pole for the actors to slide down on. The actors are capable of doing it safely, I just down have any clue about how to do it.

Any suggestions would be great!

 

[ishboo]

Our next musical has a fireman's pole on set, I'll look at the plans when I'm there tomorrow and see if I can come up with any info for you.

 

[LightStud]

sounds like a field trip to a gentlemen's club is called for. For research. No, really.

 

[Traitor800]

We just did a show with firemans poles, and all we used was some 1-1/2" sch 40 pipe, we welded a plate onto the bottom to bolt into the floor and then braced it really well up top.

 

[Footer]

I would not go with schedule 40 steel pipe. Go to your local steel yard and get a piece on stainless pipe or aluminum pipe. Brass pipe would be the best. Steel pipe won't slide right. Also, you will want a long piece, you do not want any seams. After that, it needs to be anchored INTO the deck, drill into the deck if possible, if you can't I would go with a large plate, say 3x3, and lag it in to no end. For the top, that can get tricky. How far away is the grid of the space? Are you going to have a roofed set?

 

[Traitor800]

The steel slides just fine, you just cant put any paint on it or else it will come off on the performers hands, our poles were approx 14' long and we had 6"x6" base plates on the bottom, at the top we us a rigin pipe connector to tie the pole into a piece of pipe that was attached to the top frame of the wagon and then we just used 16g 1x1 box as bracing at the top