Things No One Ever Mentions
Although there is plenty of knowledge and sites for creating the platform, and building a ghost, sometimes the littlest things get left out. I wish there had been a site that answered these questions I had. Since there wasn't, I had to wing it, and learned quite a bit in the process. Here are some of what I consider important.
Level it!
Maybe this seems obvious, but to many of us it isn't. When hanging the platform, use a level. I have a tendency to eyeball things, which is great for hanging pictures, but hanging your lovely ghost is a little more complicated. If hanging in a crypt, which may be on uneven ground, it's even more important.
How to Hang
Another question I had was how do you hang the head and arms for the best movement? Here's what I came up with, and it seemed to work out well. Stop the crank 180 degrees from the head's eyebolt (the one at the rear). With the line attached to the head, pull the head up so it's about 2 inches below the eyebolt, then thread the line through it and to the fender washer and tie it. Start your motor and stop it 180 degrees from the arm eyebolts at the front. Do the same thing with each of the arms as you did with the head.
The Washer Wobble
I can't say this often enough, but a main cause of many problems is that darn fender washer. If it's too tight, it won't spin, and if it's too loose it wobbles, causing tangles, breakage and more. If you make your platform like Phantasmechanic's, then you should have no problem. But if you use anything different, you'll just have to adjust and readjust until you get it right. No wobble. Period. I used several nuts of varying sizes to get it so it wouldn't wobble when the crank was going around. Take your crank arm to the hardware store to try out the various nuts if you must.
The Right Kind of Motor
A lot of sites advocate using a rotisserrie motor for you FCG. I don't, it just doesn't have enough torque. If you can, get the Dayton motor. The original is no longer being manufactures, but there is a better replacement for it, which has even more torque than the original. The motor I used was a pull out of some machinery, it could run CW or CCW, 5.76 RPM and had a rated torque of 50 lbs. per inch and was extremely. And it was only $20.00. So look around, you'll be able to find much better than a rotisserrie motor.
Troubleshooting Your FCG
Although an FCG is an ideal first animatronic to build, it does not come without problems. I encountered a number of them, so here is a troubleshooting guide for the most common of them.
- My FCG keeps tangling up in the mechanism.
- This is probably caused by using the little swivel pulleys. If your line is too thin, the tension may not be enough to prevent it from slipping down next to the swivel. Your best bet is to remove them, and just use eyebolts. So they will slide easier, spray the eyebolts with a silicone type lubricant. There is one other cause, and it's an important one. Make sure your fender washer is not wobbling. It must be able to spin freely, but it must not have any wobble to it.
- The FCG is moving too jerkily. How can I get smoother movement?
- First, make sure your motor has enough torque, and that your FCG isn't too heavy. The main reason for this, though, is that the weight is slightly unbalanced. When you think about it, the head is the heaviest, and the arms weigh virtually nothing. To solve it, add some weight to the arms. What I did was attach some fishing sinkers to the ends. The larger ones work well. It doesn't add appreciable weight to your rig, they won't be seen, but it does balance it out a little more. Watch her fly after doing that.
- The line keeps breaking. What should I do?
- I had that problem and thought I would never solve it. I tried monofilament fishing line, starting with 15 lb. test and working up to 50 lb. test. I was about ready to use welding wire. Then I asked a buddy at work if he had some of the braided nylon, heavy duty line for ice fishing, and he did. It comes in several brands, and I highly recommend it. The one I used was Polaris, 25 lb. test.
More to come as I get them done.