# Jack in the box



## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

Would I need 2 cylinders to work this? One to open the top and the other to pop up the lifter? Or is there some kind of linkage from the lifter to the top?
Thanks


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Do you mean a "Monster In a Box" ??? AKA "MIB".

You can do it with just one cylinder, but the more common version has two cylinders and they are a lot more effective.

Monster guts has a great Kit for the  MIB and it's relatively inexpensive compared to some other pneumatic kits I've seen. 
You'll need to make or buy a prop controller and trigger and add some lights (usually red or green) on the inside. Lights and sound really up the creep factor. I like the Picaboo line of prop controllers for this if your going to buy one.

There are some other threads on how to make one like this without pneumatics which are Modestly effective compared to the pneumatic ones.


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## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

Sorry I didn't post the link.


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

That looks like a standard parallel type 4-bar lifter, with one cylinder providing the motion, similar to  this. In your video, the setup propbably has the cylinder mounted on the opposite side of the mechanism (underneath) compared to the one shown in the link I provided.

The builder added an extra bar to lift the lid at the same time. The hand crank could be driven with just a vent motor, or deer motor, or wiper motor.

Also, I saw that the builder used PVC pipe to create the lift armature. Although that does work fine, I'd recommend using square steel tubing instead.

Also, it appears that it was activated with just a hand held button or switch (manual activation). The lights seem to be activated on the same circuit which leads me to believe that they used a 120V A/C selinoid for the air cylinder.

The rocking motion of the entire box was created by the inertia of the lid opening, and Not an extra cylinder.

Hope that helps.


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## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

The question I want to know is, what is the extra bar that opens the lid mounted to on the four bar and how is it mounted. I am going to do a prop like this and would rather not have to use another cylinder to open the lid. Just trying to keep it simple.


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## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

What type of motor are you using for the handle?


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Cole&Jacksdad said:


> The question I want to know is, what is the extra bar that opens the lid mounted to on the four bar and how is it mounted. I am going to do a prop like this and would rather not have to use another cylinder to open the lid. Just trying to keep it simple.


If you look closely in full screen mode, you can (I think) actually see where the lid lifting bar is mounted. That bar seems to go from the lid to the middle of the top set of double horizontal bars. You can see a bolt (or something) located there. Note that the lid is somewhat re-enforced where the lifting bar is attached with a second layer of plywood.

Not to be confusing, there is (probably) another set of double horizontal bars down below (unseen). Ok that makes 6 bars, (2 vertical and 4 horizontal) but the horizontal bars are doubled up for stability, so that the thrust is balanced and doesn't produce any unwanted stress in the mechanism. Mechanically speaking it's still a 4 bar setup. That setup also allows the builder to make a mount between the top set of horizontal bars for the lid-lifting bar. It looks like he made that lifting bar longer than necessary with some adjustability built in to it. You can see some extra length of bar hanging downward through the center of the prop. He can probably just loosen a nut or bolt to adjust it, then tighten it back down again for operation.

Hope that helps


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## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

niblique71 said:


> If you look closely in full screen mode, you can (I think) actually see where the lid lifting bar is mounted. That bar seems to go from the lid to the middle of the top set of double horizontal bars. You can see a bolt (or something) located there. Note that the lid is somewhat re-enforced where the lifting bar is attached with a second layer of plywood.
> 
> Not to be confusing, there is (probably) another set of double horizontal bars down below (unseen). Ok that makes 6 bars, (2 vertical and 4 horizontal) but the horizontal bars are doubled up for stability, so that the thrust is balanced and doesn't produce any unwanted stress in the mechanism. Mechanically speaking it's still a 4 bar setup. That setup also allows the builder to make a mount between the top set of horizontal bars for the lid-lifting bar. It looks like he made that lifting bar longer than necessary with some adjustability built in to it. You can see some extra length of bar hanging downward through the center of the prop. He can probably just loosen a nut or bolt to adjust it, then tighten it back down again for operation.
> 
> Hope that helps


It looks like the bar from the lid to the four bar is mounted on some sort of swivel on the top bar. I think I got a pretty good idea how this is done now. 
Thanks everyone for your imput.


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## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

madmax said:


> I used a deer motor.
> 
> If you can find a 18 to 20 inch throw air cylinder I would by pass any linkage and do it the easy way and in my opinion the least likely to have trouble with way.
> 
> ...


I was thinking about doing it that way too, but I also like the idea that with a 4 bar, I can make it leap forward a bit towards the TOT. But we will see. I still have to build the JIB and a pnuematic drop panel. I am going to use a deer motor for the handle as well. Where did you get yours from? I was thinking of getting mine from Kindy's.


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## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

WOW! Great find on the deer motor. Thanks!


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## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

Wait! I just got a great idea (which would require a complete redesign). Everyone knows that something bad is going to jump out of the Jack-in-the-box so all they are doing is waiting to see what it is. But... what if rather than the head popping out of the top, you created a hidden front panel that flips down and the face pops straight out at the kids! That would be a surprise worth a scream or two.


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## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

GOT said:


> Wait! I just got a great idea (which would require a complete redesign). Everyone knows that something bad is going to jump out of the Jack-in-the-box so all they are doing is waiting to see what it is. But... what if rather than the head popping out of the top, you created a hidden front panel that flips down and the face pops straight out at the kids! That would be a surprise worth a scream or two.


That's a great idea, but in my garage haunt space is limited, so this might be a little dangerous for the TOT. But I think it would be great in a place where there is room to work with.


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