Chris Keen Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 If anybody read my last thread about Doors & Activating Movers ......... Then you all know my limitations of shooting at an indoor range. We cant shoot ANY steel unless we use frangible ammo ONLY ... which can get expensive! So I was kicking around the idea of making an indoor friendly "Paper Texas Star" Now while I explain how this thing might work ..... try and keep in mind that we are not yet USPSA sanctioned, so we sometimes use some unorthodox targets! such as a Newbold-Plate-Rack, balloons, and REAL soft cover (ie. we've been known to put thrift-store clothes over the targets ) I thought we could make the Paper-Star out of 1x2's ... 6 inch paper plates ... and a ceiling fan motor so it would rotate continuously while you attempt to shoot at it. I dont know how well the ceiling fan motor would work out, because you KNOW someone would shoot it eventually. I thought of using a remotely mounted motor, with a pulley & a drive belt, but eventually someone would shoot the belt or pulley as well. Any ideas out there in Prop-Builder Land ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 You could use a bungee cord to providfe some movement power, instead of a motor. Hook the bungee...say...between the base and the 3 o'clock arm of the star. Then, brace if with your activator stick that runs to your door. Opening the door yanks the stick, which allows the bungee to pull on the arm. (There are targets like this out there. The Texas windmill comes to mind.) Also, you could add a weight to one arm. Allow it to slip off when the arm rotates to the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted August 3, 2005 Author Share Posted August 3, 2005 Now see there ................. THAT is the kind of ingenuity I was hoping to find here in the Shade-Tree / Backyard / If-You-Build-It-They-Will-Shoot-It / Prop-Builders Forum! Thanks Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted August 3, 2005 Author Share Posted August 3, 2005 Oh boy .................. I can see all the other shooters at Sim-Trainer just glaring at me ALREADY and I havent even built the darn thing yet! I love surprises, so lets keep this on the down-low, K? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 The easiest way to make the Star rotate is with a simple pulley mounted to the shaft. Wrap a cord with a small weight attached to the end around the pulley. Prop one arm of the Star to hold it in place and then activate by pulling out the prop. You can also use the Newbold Plates instead of the paper plates so you have reactive targets. Clay pigeons would also work, but are pretty messy. Nolan Skilled, but otherwise unremarkable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 While on the topic of newbold...try a search from them, using my screename as a filter. Rayner's had some targets that that were similar, but better. We have talked about them here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted August 5, 2005 Author Share Posted August 5, 2005 OK ......... certainly I'm not finished because I started having my doubts ...... LOTS of 'em .............. & I decided to take a break, post some pics, and see what kind of ideas you all could give me. I didnt begin with an elaborate base, because I wanted to find out where the center of gravity woul be, and I wanted to get right to the shooting ... err, I mean the spinning! But I think I need to make a more solid "box" type base made from 2x4's with some way to easily replace the upright 2x4, because .......... say it with me now .......... IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL SHOOT IT! So ......... on to the spinner. I figure I needed some sort of bearing, but it was my girlfriends idea that I could skip the bearing, and if the Paper Star slowed down eventually ..... people might not hate me as much, but the darn thing looks like it will slow down after 1 or 2 revolutions! So if it did that why even TRY and make it spin at all. Like I said, I started getting pretty discouraged, so I stopped for the night. I also dont think the PVC stick holders will be all that beneficial in the end. It sure will be easier to change the sticks if someone shoots the sticks, however if they shoot the PVC stick holder itself, it could take 1/2 hr to make a new one and get it back into place .... which would hold up the whole match. On the other hand if I remove the PVC stick holders, keep a cordless drill handy during the match, and just drill 2 holes through a 1x2 target stick, bolt it into place and wa-la you're back in the game. What do you folks think of all this non-sense !@??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 I think you're on the right track with attaching the sticks directly to the hub. I would suggest making some channels on the hub for the sticks by attaching 5 pie slice pieces of 2x4 to the hub. The 2x4 pieces will keep the sticks from moving side to side. Pre-drill the mounting holes in the hub for the sticks and just attach the sticks with a couple of wood screws per stick. Then when a stick gets shot up just unscrew the broken stick and screw a new one back into the channel. Rather than a bearing, try using a long shanked bolt and a piece of steel tubing that just fits over the bolt shank. Drill the hole in the upright just large enough that you have to drive the steel tubing into the hole. Make up a couple of uprights and extra 'bearings' in case it gets shot up. Nolan Skilled, but otherwise unremarkable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcoliver Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 As for the base, you could also use a busted stand fan. But it takes away the fun and challenge of building one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted August 5, 2005 Author Share Posted August 5, 2005 Nolan, excellent ideas there. I did the sleeve thing with a piece of brass sleeving but I didnt run it throught the upright piece (yet) I hammered it into the hub instead so it rotates around the bolt shank. Can you elaborate about the pie shaped 2x4 pieces or somehow sketch something. You can email me or post it here for all of us to see. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 OK, here's a very rough sketch. I'm at work and only have MS Paint arrgghh! The sketch only has 4 sticks instead of 5, but you'll get the idea. Nolan semi-skilled, but otherwise unremarkable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted August 5, 2005 Author Share Posted August 5, 2005 OK, here's a very rough sketch. I'm at work and only have MS Paint arrgghh!The sketch only has 4 sticks instead of 5, but you'll get the idea. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> OK I see ........... not sure how it would work out if the screws poked out through the hub, and then jammed up the circular path of the hub. I was planning (already started) on using long 1/4-20 stove-bolts with low profile phillips heads, so they wouldnt interfere with the spin. Wouldnt really take that long to drill a couple of 1/4" holes in a 1x2 to replace a stick if needed. I the whole hub got shot THAT would be different. And by the way ............ I'll admit I didnt think about how hard evenly spacing a prime number of sticks would be when I started. If I redo this I might just do it with only 4 sticks / targets instead of 5. For reasons of maintaining a total balance it might work better that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 5 paper targets...@ 2 shots each = 10 shot from one position...too many anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted August 5, 2005 Author Share Posted August 5, 2005 PAPER PLATES = indoor substitute for STEEL plates so .............. 1 shot each However ................. while spinning I have seen some shooters use 1 whole MAG for each plate so maybe the less the better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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