# Axworthy Ghost sSpeed



## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

I've done quite a bit of online research on the best way to build my Axworthy. I thought I had a plan using a wiper motor, but it works out to a maximum speed of 1.2 mph at the higher speed setting for a 12V power supply. By comparison, average human walking speed is about 3.5 mph. Does anybody know what speed is typical/best for an Axworthy?


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

I suppose it is all up to personal taste. Do you want a ghost slowly creeping through the fog in the dead of night, or one which flies up from nowhere, zips past the TOT's, then just as quickly disappears? The few I have seen were running small ghosts at a fairly high rate of speed...seemingly faster than a person could walk...maybe 5 - 7 mph. Though I think a little bigger ghost moving slowly would be cool, too.

There is probably less chance of a derailment or snag if the system is running slower, though your wiper motor should have enough torque if you wanted to gear up a little.


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

The line speed will also be affected by the size of the pulley on the wiper motor. Those motors have kinda small shafts, so you may reach the size limit pretty quickly, though, due to axial deflection. You can also use a belt drive to go from a small pulley on the motor to a larger one that moves the line.


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## Thisaintmayberry (Aug 23, 2010)

1st post in this forum! At least a topic on which I have some experience...

I picked up a selection of cheap bicycle gear cogs on ebay a few years ago to get the right speed I wanted for my Axworthy. I use a smaller gear mounted on my wiper motor (as Otaku mentioned) and a larger gear mounted on a bike wheel, connected by bike chain. This gives me a slow "creeping" type ghost. I further control the motor speed with a DC motor controller mounted between the power supply and the motor. Reverse the physics for the opposite effect!


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## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

Thisaintmayberry said:


> This gives me a slow "creeping" type ghost.


Any idea what "creeping" equals in MPH?


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## spinman1949 (Jun 29, 2009)

*Axworthy*

Doc Doom,

Here is a link to my axworthy. I use a pittman motor. It uses a small pulley with a fat o'ring to drive a larger hard rubber dolly wheel. Hopefully you can see the way the drive works.


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## Thisaintmayberry (Aug 23, 2010)

> Any idea what "creeping" equals in MPH?


My long run across the yard is about 30 yds., and it takes the ghost about 30 seconds to make that pass, so let's see:
(30yds/1760) / (30s/3600)
.017 / .008 = 2.125 MPH
:googly:

To Ulcerative - Sorry, I'm a newbie and still under restriction, so I can't post any photos or (apparently) send PM's yet, although I did get yours in my email. I can provide you with pics via email, or wait a few days until I'm off restriction. I'm happy to oblige you any way I can.


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## Thisaintmayberry (Aug 23, 2010)

Hey Doc Doom, I just noticed that we're neighbors! I'm in Ripon.  Anyway, if interested here is the DC motor speed controller I use: http://store.qkits.com/moreinfo.cfm/MX033
It's quite small, in fact I mounted _inside_ my ATX power supply for convenience. It uses regular spade connectors and let's you use the full power (torque) of your motor at any speed, perfect for Axworthy's, FCG's etc. Hope this helps.


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## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

Thanks for the suggestions and help. I've wasted a bunch of time trying to find a speed control for a common Lowe's house fan but after buying three that were eash "guaranteed" to work, have just about given up. I think it would be way too fast anyway. I'm gona have to just hook it up full speed and see what happens. If not, I'll try a wiper motor and try to gear up th espeed if it is too slow. 

To Thisaintmayberry, HOWDY NEIGHBOR!.


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## PropBoy (Sep 4, 2008)

Mine has been running for about 10 years on a $20 sewing machine motor.















-PB


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## Aquayne (Sep 1, 2008)

Mine runs on an Ice cream bucket motor.


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## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

PropBoy said:


> Mine has been running for about 10 years on a $20 sewing machine motor.


I've looked at the video of your set up many times. I first bought a set of small bike rims and a sewing machine moter. Problem is the noise from the motor, even at a slowed speed. It emits a high pitched whine. How noisy is yours?


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## Dead Things (Apr 4, 2009)

Here's a video of mine which runs off a electric bed motor. Durable Medical Equipment suppliers are always tossing equipment that has motors that still work.


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## PropBoy (Sep 4, 2008)

Hey Doc, it can whine a bit yes. But with the music going, screams from kids, and tons of things to see and actors abound. No one really notices the noise. Plus I place the motor on the back most area to limit the sound anyway.

The speed controller was the most expensive part but is over 10yrs old so worth the money ($60) and I did loose a sewing machine motor. But at $20 it was a very easy fix and again super affordable. I have used 2 motors over this time for a total of $40

I had every intention of changing motors this year to a low rpm gear drive motor. I just didn't have the time to fabricate a new mounting bracket, so again, next year, I hope

I have some motors from a supplier of mine that came from dentist chairs.

-pb


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## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

I made one with a wiper motor and it did just fine. I used the charger plate idea that Aquayne came up with. 



You can use a 5 volt power supply or a 12 volt power supply for your wiper motor. Monster guts sells them. As you can see from the video, the noise the motor makes is very low. I have to get a stronger line to use as the sting I was using snapped Halloween night. I heard from another haunter he used crap pot line so I might try that or mini paracord.


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## Thisaintmayberry (Aug 23, 2010)

> Thanks for the suggestions and help. I've wasted a bunch of time trying to find a speed control for a common Lowe's house fan but after buying three that were eash "guaranteed" to work, have just about given up. I think it would be way too fast anyway. I'm gona have to just hook it up full speed and see what happens. If not, I'll try a wiper motor and try to gear up th espeed if it is too slow.


As soon as I'm allowed, I'll post some pics of my axworthy drive. I've also got a tut pic from another forum on wiring up wiper motor speed controls for things like Axworthy's and FCG's that I'll post. S**ks being a newbie!


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Here's the Axeworthy that I built 5 years ago. The flight speed is approx 8.5 feet per second. I wanted to get a speed controller for the motor to slow it down on windy nights, but it is an A/C motor that apparently is "locked in" at it's RPMs. I Love it's current speed but in very windy conditions the ghosts sometimes get caught in the pulleys. I am considering going DC with a sewing machine motor like Propboys just to have the speed control option. The one thing going for my current setup is that it is absolutely silent. No noise whatsoever. Pardon the lettering that is sometimes across the screen. I had to download an AVI converter to get this up.


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## PropBoy (Sep 4, 2008)

DUDE is that SNOW???????

I like the video nice job on this prop!!!!

Here is my drive incase anyone wanted to see it, this version is many years old but gives you a good idea of what I did:










-PB


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## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

Dionicia,
your setup is closest to what I am trying to do. I'm using a 7" diameter pulley made from back-to-back plates and plan on attaching it directly to a wiper motor. It appearas your ghosties fly much faster than I caled mine will. Do you know th eRPMs of your wiper motor?
Thanks


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## HomeyDaClown (Oct 3, 2009)

I used the opposing plates like Dionicia but I found a better way to keep the line from falling off (I use larger ghosts). I used 7 inch plates to form the pulleys then mounted single inverted 12 inch plates on the bottoms. I use short lengths of green fishing line to attach the ghosts to the main line (enough to clear the bottom plate). Black crab pot line works fine for the main but anything that is strong enough and does not stretch works also.


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