Bobbing Target Plans

[Pat Miles]

I'm looking for plans for a bobbing target or a company that makes one. Ideas or suggestions? Don't have any problem doing fabbing, welding, etc..

Thanks,

Pat

[RePete]

Look here.

http://idpaforum.yuku.com/topic/11233/WTS-a-combination-bobberpeekaboo-target

[Pat Miles]

Thanks for the link. I checked out his site last night but missed this some how.

[ctay]

http://www.parmarng.org/freeidaho/AlSkDjFhG/index.html

This is the one I found.

Thanks Pat!

[Chills1994]

Uggghh... that thread... makes me want to do this:

Maybe this pic will help you with dimensions:

The width of it is, of course, going to be set by an IDPA/USPSA target's width of 18 inches.

Mine were designed from the get go fold down into a flat rate box meant for board games.

If you don't have to ship the target anywhere, then the construction becomes much easier and sturdier. You could just weld the two main arms to their respective shaft ends. The narrow-er secondary arms are what keep the face of the target in the vertical plane as it swings through...what...maybe a 90 degree arc.

If you do weld the main arms to the shaft ends, I would imagine trying to get them parallel to each other (no twist, or wind) would be the tricky part. You could probably weld the first main arm on, then let it go. It should swing and stop straight down, and hang plumb. Then make sure the second main arm, you could plumb also with a magnetic torpedo level, then tack it in place.

What I was using for a counterweight was a Campbell's Chunky Soup can filled with molten lead. It weighed 11 pounds.

If you go to the toy section at Walmart or to Sports Authority where they have the basketball rims, you'll see the same sort of parallel arm mechanism being used to keep the backboard in the vertical as you adjust its height.

Here is a video of mine:

One last piece of advice, the pillow blocks may have grease zerk fittings, but they really don't do anything. I got better results (read that as quicker motion with more ups and downs) by filling a syringe with gun oil and pumping the bearing by itself with just the gun oil. Sometimes I got luck and that would pump out some of the factory grease that was initially put in it, through the other "weep holes".

EDIT: here's another pic:

Edited June 7, 2015 by Chills1994