# Drop Panel help



## waldiddy (Aug 4, 2008)

This weekend I built a drop panel, but it's not quite finished. The panel is an old picture frame backed by a sheet of 3/8" plywood. The dropping is accomplished by a pair of drawer sliders. 

It turns out that the plywood backing has made the panel really heavy, so that when it drops, it's hitting with such force, that I'm afraid it'll soon break my drawer sliders. 

I had a couple of ideas to slow it down:

1) use some bungee cords, but I don't want the panel popping back up, either 
2) use a series of counterweights that rest on the floor, but are pulled up once the panel drops; could easily get too complicated

Anyone else out there got a simple idea to slow this thing down? I could go back and put a lighter backing on the frame, like cardboard, I suppose. 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!


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## joker (Sep 25, 2007)

I ran into this last year with my first drop panel. 

I ended up using rope and pulley's and tying knots in the rope just short of the panel bottoming out. The rope/pulley system made it easier to reset as well.


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## Lotus (Nov 12, 2004)

try putting some stoppers down at the bottom, like the rubber knobs you find on metal chairs


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## waldiddy (Aug 4, 2008)

Hmm, so it sounds like velocity is a problem, even if I reduce weight by replacing the plywood backing with cardboard. 

Lotus, where would the rubber stoppers go? Inside the drawer slider tracks?


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## MotelSixx (Sep 27, 2008)

Try the coiled 'springs' found in newer vinyl double hung windows. they come in tensions from 'A' to 'F' , with 'A' being the lightest. Its what is used to help move the sash as well as keep it in place.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

Waldiddy,
Do you have some pics and any sort of build specs on yours. I'm planning one for this year as well and would really like to see what you did. Thanks!


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## HalloweenZombie (Jul 22, 2007)

Hi Waldiddy. I was using sliders that held a server in a rack, which are a little heavier than drawer sliders, and they still broke. I replaced them a few times, then got tired of it. After a lights on tour of Ghostly Manor I saw that their drop down portraits used no sliders at all, just wooden plywood rails to guide the picture down. They had a gate latch with plastic twine and a weight, which was pulled to release the picture. Too simple. A pulley mechanism was used to pull the picture back up. It was way simpler and affective than the sliders.

I chucked my sliders and went with the wooden rails. I solved the banging problem at the bottom with pipe insulation, y'know the black tubular stuff you put on you hot water pipes? I added the gate latch and the pulley, but kept the draw handle that I had originally installed. Turns out it was easier to lift the picture back up by the handle than by the pulley. I also added a thin particle board cover at the bottom to keep people's from getting whacked at the bottom.

My lesson was that the simpler it was the better it worked.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

HZ,
any close up pics of yours?
With regards to the banging when the panel drops, wouldn't this be considered a desireable effect? I think the loud noise would add to the scare. JMO


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## tonguesandwich (Oct 13, 2006)

You might try adding weight. Just the opposite of what you're thinking. We also use drawer sliders. On the drop panel you can 2X4s to the back sides that are vertical. At the bottom of the slide you would also add 2X4's from the stop point to the ground. So when the panel slides down the 2x4s hit the stop 2x4s. The energy is transferred from the drop 2x4s to the stop 2x4s into the ground. Don't know if it will work for you but thats how we do it.


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## joker (Sep 25, 2007)

HalloweenZombie said:


> .. used no sliders at all, just wooden plywood rails to guide the picture down...


What holds the picture and rails to the wall? Got any pics?


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## waldiddy (Aug 4, 2008)

jdubbya, if you visit the hauntprojects site, and view the Drop Panel link, you can get an idea of what I did, except mine's very amateurish. Look at the example that uses drawer sliders. Here's where I've gone wrong:

1) I cut the hole in my plywood wall a few inches too wide, so one of my sliders isn't resting completely on the wood.

2) I also cut the hole an inch or so too tall, so my frame doesn't completely hide the hole

3) my picture frame has a plywood backing, so it's probably 3X as heavy as it should be

4) my frame doesn't completely hide the sliders; you can just see the top sliver of one poking out from the top

So, this is definitely a learning experience for me. I'm considering 2 options:

1) have the person manning this scare lower it by hand, to control the velocity .. nice & simple, but probably not as scary
2) rig up a couple of pulleys with counterweights ... which makes me wonder how I can screw that up!


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## tonguesandwich (Oct 13, 2006)

This is another example how we do it... notice the metal edge.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

tonguesandwich, how do you keep the panel up?


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## tonguesandwich (Oct 13, 2006)

Its a simple gate latch mounted down. I will see if I can grab a photo tomorrow....

The secret is transferring energy from one item to the next with little damage to the item in motion. IMHO I think a panel should come down hard, fast and loud.


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## MotelSixx (Sep 27, 2008)

tonguesandwich said:


> Its a simple gate latch mounted down. I will see if I can grab a photo tomorrow....
> 
> The secret is transferring energy from one item to the next with little damage to the item in motion. IMHO I think a panel should come down hard, fast and loud.


That would work well for my guillotine; never even thought about using a gate latch


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## tonguesandwich (Oct 13, 2006)

Latch


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## tonguesandwich (Oct 13, 2006)

more


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## Garage-Of-Evil (Jul 24, 2007)

I built one last year. Don't know if any of this will help ya, but more ideas never hurt right?
http://garageofevil.ning.com/profiles/blogs/08-project-drop-panel-3-axis


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## Bone To Pick (Oct 23, 2007)

Great how-to, Garage!


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## waldiddy (Aug 4, 2008)

Drop panel update : I'm finally finally finished!! I ended up removing the plywood backing and replaced it w/ cardboard. I was also able to rehang the drawer sliders, so that they overlapped my plywood opening much better.

If you're curious, my finished results are online:

DSC01557 on Flickr - Photo [email protected]@[email protected]@http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@4a9f0e22f3

there's a few more uploaded to my acct w/ descriptions of what I did.


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## MotelSixx (Sep 27, 2008)

the 'chalkboard' with the 'vote' for the haunt is a great idea!!!!
well done!!


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## waldiddy (Aug 4, 2008)

It is a great idea which I blatantly ripped off from someone here. If I could remember who, I'd give that person credit. I'm definitely not that original!

For me, most projects are trial & error, but this one seemed like it was generating way too much error. It's nice to have finally finished it.


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