Club Obi Wan

I can't find it now, but a year or two ago someone mentioned making a target stand out of PVC. W/ the QM this wknd, and being local to it, I thought I'd give it a shot to have something for the folks traveling to try playing w/.

Here it is...

(Really, I need to turn it so the cross arms are cutting ACROSS the central base piece, in hopes that any stress on that bottom joint is on the same line as the base piece, not across it, which could tilt the entire rack. Hey, it was a quick photo.)

I put a crossbar at roughly shoulder and waist height (for me) I figured those were just about the most common heights/locations I'd use.

I'm holding the cards in w/ clothespins...I still need to find the other, older, 'duckbill' type of pins, rather than these clips. Should hold on better. Carrots should also fit in the recesses.


The parts should break down pretty small. The way I've designed it, the longest piece is 3'. If you wanted it to break down smaller, you could cut those in half and put slip connectors in the middle to put it together.

The pieces on the left are the base, those on the right the uprights. I plan to cement the base pieces you see still assembled on the left, in order to give it more stability. The uprights will all be unglued so it can just fly apart when I screw up, or worse, if something DOES break, I can make quick cuts to repair it.

Thoughts? (And who's idea did I steal?)

Thanks,
J

P.S. I forgot cost. Well, gee, I didn't really add it up. But I know all the connectors are about 30-50 cents each (maybe the cross pieces are $1), and 25 feet of PVC costs about $6. So worst case, I think I've got about $15-$20 total cost. (Oh, but I had a PVC cutter. Neat tool. Might cost you $8 itself, but it is FAR faster and easier than using a saw!)

Someone was up late! Busy as a beaver felt hat, eh?

Indiana Jerry wrote:(And who's idea did I steal?)

http://indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?p=196054#196054

It doesn't look a thing like Barranca, by the way.

Can'T wait to see it and take a crack at it. Gotta remember to pack the whip!

OK, you have 4 days, get to work on the Zorro board!

Yes, a busy, busy beaver...I'm not sleeping nights, I'm just waiting till my kids go to bed each night then launch into 6 hours of hobby insanity...got to remember to get at least 8 hours sleep before the QM!

Packed and ready to go:


The bag of my truck is looking interesting...I've started loading Santa's sled for the QM. I'm tempted to put the girls' red wagon in the bag so I don't have to carry stuff to the park...hmm...Indy pulling his little red wagon - how cuuute!

Thanks for finding that, VP - I've saved that page. And thank you, thefish, wherever you are! I'd completely forgotten what his looked like...his is definitely more elegant, and probably simpler to put together (certainly simpler to make!)...I wonder which is sturdier? Having no faith in plastic, I made the base a large square frame w/ the same diameter as the upper crossbar, to make it stable...but the upper part should still blow apart on a direct hit. This was fun...better living through PVC!

Steve, if I thought I could work in wood just as fast...okay, I can, but the holesaws I have are a bit small, and I've got no jig here (other than in my toes), so that might have to be next years'. Yeah, I figure you were kidding, but I'd love to whip up that as well. Too bad I rarely get out w/ my whip anymore, but I figure at least YOU guys can hit a target even if I can't, right?

You're quite welcome! Great job! And I wouldn't call what we cobbled together "elegant." I'm sure yours is sturdier. Just looking at it, I'm sure ;-)

But, it's PVC. It's slick, and it will just fly apart if the whip smacks it. It will absorb all that energy, rather than the fall or thong of your whip, (which can cause damage.)

VERY good to practice with, (the standard WWAC ones with the steel clips will chew up your poppers and falls if you're not careful!) Plus, card bits are a lot easier to clean up than little bits of styrofoam cup.

You're right about that joint that holds the main upright being the main weak point. I've replaced that piece on mine a couple times now, (but, hey...It's PVC...No big deal!)

I'm glad to see someone took our little 5 minute design and do something really cool with it.

Really nifty design there. Clothespins and elbow joints was what mine was based on as well.

Let me know how it holds up, and spread the word on the beauty of PVC at the QM summit!

Another trick I picked up recently from a whip-cracking buddy of mine to practice targeting and whip control, and it's about as cheap, and requires NO maintenance or resetting, (no putting cards back or sticking pieces back on.) It's not as exciting as cutting cards or snuffing candles, but it helps you focus on the skills you need to do the exciting stuff that much better.

Go to a local UPS store, and pick up two of the tall, narrow shipping boxes they carry, (they're between $8-10 each, so you spend about the same amount as the PVC target stand. I tried to find a link to the EXACT boxes I'm talking about, but the UPS Store online doesn't have them. They're tall, skinny, and a little lower than shoulder height on me.) Set them up with about 15-16" between them. Then step back with your favorite whip, and try to get the last couple inches of the fall and the popper to pass between them without touching the boxes. Keep going until you don't hit the box at all, (and the boxes make a nice loud "Thud" when a whip smacks them, so you know when you do it.) Then, move the boxes closer together, (10-12" apart,) repeat, move the boxes closer, repeat, etc. etc. etc.

You don't have to reset targets, you don't have to worry about blowing clips off the darn stand. Really gives you the time and concentration to focus ONLY on putting the tip of that whip EXACTLY where you want it, so that when you go to hit targets on your PVC stand, or on WWAC stands, or snuff candles on the Zorro board, or eventually to cut targets out of the mouths and hands of people, you can impress the @#$% out of people! (sometimes literally if you cut it too close. First you say it, then you do it!)

Anyway, all the best! Happy cracking!

-Dan

Dan, I'm truly honored you responded! Thanks for all the great advice! Okay, no time to get two boxes of that height, but Jeff and Rick will be there...I'm sure if I hit either one of them, I'll hear it, so I just need to get them to stand still...hmm...perhaps blindfolds and cheezwhiz will do it...

Thanks, sir! (I'm bringing a few spare lengths of PVC, extra joints, and my cutter just in case...will report back. )

J

Yeah, well carting around two 4' tall boxes is a pain in the butt anyway. Plus, having done it. It's not fun. It's practice, and you get better faster, but Summits and get-togethers are for fun. So, have fun! Just don't lose the proverbial eye ;-)

All the best at the Queen Mary! Cut a few cards for me ;-)

-Dan

Checking back - the stand performed ADMIRABLY. Even when a few of us tried to all wrapped it at the same time and play tug of war with it. Even on a full yank, the stand would topple over, but the base stayed together w/ the upright firmly planted in it. Sweet! And yes, we did knock pieces flying off it many, many times, and it just popped back together instead of breaking. Excellent!

Dalexs had some good ideas for how to get the cards to stay better, since the clothespins rattled about loose in the joints, but TOD Indy showed me a trick at the end he learned from a gaffer: double-clipping. He clipped on clothespin into one of the joints, then used a second clothespin to clip a card to the FIRST clothespin. I'll make a point of taking a picture at some point, it's not as easy to explain, but it's very simple, and that's what I was going for here - SIMPLE.

Kyle (the_edge) did an excellent job with the carrots...looked like he was cutting coins off of them! With a bit more time, I'm sure he could julienne them as well.... Nice to finally meet you, Kyle!

Thanks for the help, and the beta-test, folks! There's some pics in the Scrapbook forum if you want to see them: viewtopic.php?t=19777&highlight=

Well, it was good to have a back up plan in case you couldn't convince bink to hold the cards.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Well, it was good to have a back up plan in case you couldn't convince bink to hold the cards.

Regards! Michaelson

That chicken kept wincing...hey, and I even did YOGA while they were trying to snap at my butt! Of course, I think they completely blew the 'relax' part for me, but it was interesting learning to block out CERTAIN PAIN to focus...cool!

Jerry, thanks so much for constructing the stand. Really enjoyed it!

Finding a way to make something everybody could try to beat to death with high velocity hand weapons? Are you kidding? I haven't been able to do that since I was 12... 8-[ er... I grew up in the country, you understand.

Glad you enjoyed it, Holly! I especially loved watching Kyle skimming those carrots...which was even more impressive when you consider he actually asked me "what are the carrots for?" Guess he'd never used them for target cutting before. (Me neither, but that goes without saying...) But MAN he was good at that!

Now...if Dalexs wants to punt some easy plans for a Zorro board, maybe I can bring that and some candles for next year...

I'll see what I can do about the Zorro board.
Speaking of Kyle...
Notice that little thing in the upper right corner over Jerry's head...
Thats a hunk of the first carrot on the left.
He nailed that thing a few inches at a time.

I had a great time cracking, as always, on Saturday. I absolutely loved meeting everyone, FINALLY after all these years. Steve, Holly, Jerry, Mike, Bink, Shane...the time was much too short my friends.

Steve, you have got to email me that above shot in high-res! Very cool!

- Kyle

EXCELLENT PIC! (I'm smiling! Oh, I mean...look at the carrot! )

Kyle, we were just stunned watching you do that! Snip... snip... snip... julienne!

One of the first carrots you hit, you sent the ENTIRE CARROT way off by the water. I found it later while we were cleaning up...and it was yummy. (I was HUNGRY!)

It was a pleasure to meet 'the fob maker'...I've been showing off the mini bullwhip watchfob you made me for a while, now, and it's nice to say AND it's not just some guy I met on the internet... 8-[ er...it's also a guy I saw cracking a whip... hmm...maybe I better just call you 'Kyle' and leave it at that...

J

P.S. Thanks for the advice on my fall...I will look into it, as soon as I can move my shoulders again. Owie.

Jerry,

You're much too kind. Thank you.

I'm glad you like your fob. And once I get my braiding station set up, go ahead and send me your whip and I will put a new fall and popper on it for you. You've got a really nice whip but the energy transfer at the fall is all wrong. Once I fix that you'll see a huge difference in performance.

- Kyle