talkmagic.co.uk

I am in the middle of building a prop for a stage show and have run into a little problem that I hope someone has the solution to.

The main device is a prop that remotely pulls a coin from a table and into a cup situated on another table around six feet away. The mechanisms works fine until the IT breaks, which happens every 5 times or so. It then becomes a pain because it is quite complicated and time consuming to re-thread the equipment, not too mention the fear that it may break during the performance!

The effect will take place on stage at least ten feet from the nearest audience member. It would be great to find an IT that would work at this distance and be robust enough so that the device is easy to reset without the worries.

Anyone any ideas? At the moment I am using Kevlar IT.

whay type of surface is the coin sliding on???? The smoother the surface, teh less the resistance which means less likely to break your IT...try with various surfaces and you will see what I mean.

Logistically, what you want is possible.

Kevlar's the best choice IT, but for this application perhaps a trip to an angling shop and selecting some fine filament would do better.

Sorry.....I didn't catch all the post...I now see that the problem is likly with the coin having to go up and in the glass, not the sliding across the table......as I originally thought!

Is the coin borrowed? You could use a lighter coin shell rather than a full coin?.....or even go with plastic play coins for fun!

Thanks guys, I will investigate fishing line - I was bothered about reflections from a nylon line but if you think there is a fine enough grade that would be great and solve my problem

I hadn't even thought about plastic coins. That could be a good way to go too . I have control of all the props at all times, the audience doesn't get nearer than 10 feet so it could work well. There shouldn't be too much resistance as the coin is tossed in the air before the mechanism kicks in and pulls it into the cup.

In the good old days of Thunderbirds, Joe 90 and other puppet shows, the technicians used to spray the 'strings' with matt paint to match the background and minimise the show of the strings on camera. It ought to work on nylon monofilament used for fishing as well.

Also consider running a sharpie marker down the line, it not only colours it black, but also dulls the shine

you could try wrapping a couple of lengths of IT together, to strengthen it.