# Brainstorm on "jerking" tombstone...



## edwood saucer (Aug 21, 2006)

Hey all, 

I make tombstones for all the neighbor kids - and they are always a hit... when deciding who is due for the treatment this year we decided that 3 kids and their dog get them amongst 3 or 4 more. (We have 16 total with probably 12 more over the next couple years)...

The thing is - the dog is an overly obnoxious beagle that everyone in the neighbor gets a huge kick out of. He wont shut up and is constantly pulling and bitin on his leash.

So I got to thinking.... remember those invisible dog leashes?

What if I attached one to a tombstone and had the tombstone jerk back and forth with an mp3 of the dog growling? The neighborhood would think it's a riot.

The hitch is that I can't thinking of a way to get the tombstone to "jerk." I don't think I want to enter the hydraulics realm yet, but am fairly handy otherwise.

Any thoughts?


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## JohnnyL (Aug 17, 2006)

Sounds great! If someone can post that link to a site which shows spinning motors and how to get different motors (they use a rubber duck) this will help you out a bunch!


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## The Mortician (Sep 8, 2006)

How about an automotive door lock actuator connected to a picoBOO, Prop-1, etc.


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## Koumajutsu (Aug 9, 2006)

how about a wiper motor? with some kind of sliding arm so that there was only movement for part of the motor's rotation?


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

why not use a rotating motor with a weight on one end to throw it off balance? (Like a paging motor.) You could even hook it up to a motion detector so it would growel and shiver when someone comes close.


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## The_Caretaker (Mar 6, 2007)

a wiper motor with a cam and a 555 timer circuit set up for random cycles


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## pyro (Oct 7, 2006)

take a look here it may help http://www.flying-pig.co.uk/mechanisms/pages/irregular.html


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## edwood saucer (Aug 21, 2006)

I cant seem to get to the flying pig link... might be busy...

This year - I can't get too expensive. But will look at the motor options... I was sort of thinking about an oscillating floor fan (minus the blade) hooked up to a power cord with a flicker circuit - the flicker circuit randomizing the power to the ocsillating fan. It wouldn't be terribly jerky - but with the sound might give that illusion.

I don't really know. Course - I could burn everything up in the process! Or maybe conceal the blade which would definitely give the jerking motion - but then the flicker circuit might not provide a slow enough power supply - then it all flys apart!

This is why I'm asking! I appreciate all the suggestions so far. Just trying desperately to avoid a $40 motor/cord purchase.


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## pyro (Oct 7, 2006)

http://www.flying-pig.co.uk/mechanisms/index.html


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## jabberwocky (Apr 30, 2008)

Off-set cam + wipermotor.


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## slightlymad (May 25, 2006)

Fan could work mount it upside down and let that little pivot poit drive say a metal dow (think election sign mount)


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## trishaanne (Aug 20, 2005)

How about one of those shiatsu back massagers....they make a jerky movement when used for a prop. I have my zombie attached to one of them and it's a simple way to make movement.


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