# Oscillating FCG design



## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

im pretty proud of myself for making this design. like really really. im hoping you guys think it'll work.....

the black thing at the the bottom is a fan. cage still on. the red stuff is string attatched at the farthest point from the middle of the cage. that goes triaght up, probably through the cheesecloth of the ghost, to a pulley, down to the arms. ive looked, and my fan oscilates enough for the arms to move a foot or two. the black in the middle is pvc, then a pvc cross at the bottom. in the cross a hole is drilled and one in the peice thats there, a bolt is put through them and they become jointed. same where the other red dot along the PVC is.

well? whatcha think?
:jol: :xbones:


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## HibLaGrande (Sep 25, 2005)

I doubt the fan will have enough power to do what you are asking.


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## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

1/2" pvc doesnt really weigh anything so i figured i could get away with that


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

trial and error .... I see what you are trying to do nice concept! get it going and lets see it in action..


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## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

i just tested it and it hauled 2.5 lbs no problem. thats more than it will with the ghost im pretty sure

edit: hey thanks lilly you made my day


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## slightlymad (May 25, 2006)

Theory is sound be nice to see it done


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## Dreadnight (Jul 9, 2006)

Beepem, if the fan can't pull the PVC or it works, but the fan burns out after a while from the weight, try using straightened coat hangars for the arms. WAY lighter in weight. I like the way you used one fan to get all the motion.
If you go to my old site (www.idealcreation.com/dreadnight) and look at 2002, you'll find a video of my last FCG. I used three independent fans, in the same manner you are using one. One for the up/down, one for each arm. There is a Quicktime video you can watch & see how it worked. Good luck!


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## .id. (Jul 3, 2006)

Beepem said:


> i just tested it and it hauled 2.5 lbs no problem. thats more than it will with the ghost im pretty sure


It looks like there is a frame surrounding the ghost that the body and the two arm pulleys are hanging from....If that's the case then you could just put counter weights on the parts of the string that go down to the oscillating fan. It's a similar idea to counter weighting a really heavy FCG, but without the extra pully. That would be the equalivent of making a lighter ghost and lessen the load on the motor


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## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

yeaaah, id, i have no idea what you just said =p im 14 here the frame was just for like a crpyt idea, im not sure how ill be hanging it.....but ive never really understood counterweighting, which is why i designed my own and didnt go with one of the 20 dollar FCG rigs

dread, coat hangers sounds good, but how did you get them to pivot? and nice fcg!


and I just had an idea, take a yardstick, a light one, and put it on the front of the cage. Attach the fishing line to the ends of that, and it should move more shouldnt it? or bad idea from stress on the motor?


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Counterweights beepem, I'll give it a shot explaining. Imagine a pole with a pully at the top, a rope attached to a 50lb weight that goes up through the pully and back down to you. You need to lift the 50lb weight to the top of the pole, thats a lot of work! Now imagine if you could attach a 40lb weight to the rope at the top of the pole by the pully so it would be helping you pull the 50lb weight up. That would make it a lot easier to lift the 50lb weight to the top because the 40lb weight is helping you. That 40lb weight counters the 50lb weight, in other words it is a 40lb counter weight.


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## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

hey, I get it now! thanks hj and .id.


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## Dreadnight (Jul 9, 2006)

B, I'm going to send this in 2 or 3 posts, cause I tried twice to send it all and I got logged off!! guess it took too much time
The arms are real simple. The whole frame of my FCG is c.h. wire. Take the first straightened coat hangar and make an upside-down "T" out of it. This is the shoulders and the upright part is to fasten the head to


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## Dreadnight (Jul 9, 2006)

OK, now take a needle nosed pliers and make a loop at each shoulder. The hole inside the loop should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Now put a loop in each arm piece, but don't close up the loop yet. Thread the open loop into the closed loop at the shoulder, then go ahead and close the arm loops. The arms are now interlocked with the shoulders, with plenty of freedom for motion.


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## Dreadnight (Jul 9, 2006)

The head for my ghost is made of cheesecloth, soaked in a diluted solution of white glue. Use an appropriate sized balloon, and spread the cloth over the front half of it. You can cut holes for eyes, mouth, etc and shape the face while it is still damp. Let it dry completely, then spray or brush on RIT whitener to make it glow. Let it dry again, then peel it off of the balloon and attach it to the upright of the "T".


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## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

ahhh i like the loop idea! thanks much dread!

but im gonna use a skull, cuz the head wont need to move up and down so no weight issues


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## Dreadnight (Jul 9, 2006)

Yeah Beeps, the skull should be fine, although I recommend foam - again to avoid any complications from weight. By the way, one of the reasons I used multiple fans is that if you set them at different speeds (like on on HI and one on MED), the motion of the arms won't repeat. So, if one of your "customers" stands for a long time looking at it, they won't be able to spot a repeating pattern. Makes it more realistic, if you want to go with 2 fans.


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## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

yeah, it would be nice, but im going with one because I already have it....I'll be checking out the end of summer fan sales though...


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## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

ok Im going to HD hopefully tomorrow, my frame will be

irs 3/4" pvc, the bottom numders are ones.










ideas? the arms will sprout from the bottom of the 4' piece


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## Dreadnight (Jul 9, 2006)

Beepem, that is really close to the frame I made for my last FCG. One suggestion - for better stability, use one of the four-way "T" connectors for your base and you'll have three legs flat on the floor at the bottom, not just two.


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## Beepem (Jul 17, 2006)

alright ill use a cross. thanks


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