vibrating floor

[thehauntedhollows]

I am looking to create a vibrating or shaking floor. A friend who owns a haunt does that but when i asked him how he does it he said he had an old electric motor that he doesn't even know where it came from. Then he nails it under the floor and it vibrates like crazy. It's a great effect, especially if you incorporate into the scene well. Does anyone know how i can recreate this without scrounging all the town dumps for an old electric motor? any suggestions appreciated. thanks.

[William]

Digital Sound and Lighting has a variety of "scene shakers"that you might be interested in: http://www.digitalsl.com/products/so...ersystems.html

[Jim Warfield]

Damp shelled corn often gets hung up inside a metal bin and electric shakers vibrate it loose.
Wagner used to make a paint scraper that vibrated pretty good for smaller applications.
A coincentric flywheel mounted on the motor's shaft makes vibration but eventually the motor may vibrate itself all apart since most motors are designed to run smoothly.
When those pieces decide to come apart the whole contraption had better be built inside a pretty substantial containment box to eliminate the "Schrapnel".
Old paint can shakers from a hardware store would shake the whole two-story brick building when I was a kid, of course also be prepared to rehang any pictures on the wall and seeing things dance off a shelf and fall and break.
Everything has it's "price".

[PhantomSW]

Bass Shaker

E-bay : Bass Shaker or Buttkicker ....

[gadget-evilusions]

Pneumatic bin vibrator, or steel plate and a pneumatic air hammer. Both have worked for me in the past when budget is tight. If you can afford them, go for the bass shakers.

www.thebuttkicker.com

www.aurasound.com

[punkboysa18]

The bass shaker can be activated by direct ac current... how does that work and how would you do that? I need a vibrating floor bad.

[Ghost Ride]

vibrating floor option

While the basskickers work, it is quite an involved process and expense to get them going. Any application using straight voltage I have not seen work. I have heard of using a concrete vibrator:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42947

These are cheap enough and the main goal is to install the mechs correctly.

The vibrating mech needs to be firmly attached to the underside of the floor and the floor needs to be floating to isolate the movement. Best application is momentary and associate the scene with flashes and big audio.

[Phil Miller]

vibrator

I have used Harbor Freight's model 90304-VGA for 4 years now without having to replace either one. I have four of them bolted to a set of metal bleachers and the work great. the metal plate un bolts. if your making a floor try to use a metal frame, wood tends to absorb some of the vibrations. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90304
Good Luck, Phil Miller

[Jim Warfield]

Very good, Phil!
How often do you have to check the bolts? Did you use lock-tite or something to keep it together? Or locking washers?
Sometimes nothing seems to work.
I clamp a scrap of steel cable as a safety catcher if something breaks and they have saved me from further damage or physical injury.

[Phil Miller]

Vibrators

Yeah, I thought that might be a problem too, I was always checked them but they never got loose, I guess the lock washers did the trick.

[punkboysa18]

Great thanks for the info. I think we might try the concrete shakers. The floor is already in place... it's actually a slightly down sloping ramp I'm thinking about using. The scene has a spark fence on the right and electric scenery to your left (ie plasma ball, jacobs ladder, transformers etc.) followed by a distortions electric chair. Once again thanks!

[TheCareTaker]

i say look for one of those concrete vibraers oh man did i love my teen years as a laborer luging that thing around having to hold it JK but it has some real shake up to it but kinda of costly i saw one a few months ago for $900.00