Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1996 - 64

The roller or drum must be strong, light and rigid. Traditionally
made of wool, the roller can still be constructed with circular disks
about 6 to 8 inches in diameter threaded onto a T-shaped batten wh.ich
helps stabilize them. The disks are fixed to the batten every couple of
feet and connected on the circumference \\~th th.in Ships of lath. Tailing
strips left from ripping lumber are most useful. The joints
are staggered on the disks. Care must be taken to build
the roller straight and free of any deviations in dianleter as
well as along its length. Once the lath has been attached
and the glue dried, the entire un.it should be sClimmed
with several layers of muslin glued onto the lath and to itself. When dl)', this roller is qu.ite strong andligid.
There are several tubular products available wh.ich
can substitute for the shop constructed roller. Sonotube is
PLYWOOO CIRCLES THREAO ONTO I X 3 ''T''. ATTACH LATH ANO WRAP wI CLOTH
the "K1eenex" of fiber tubes. The tubes are made from layers of a paper-like fiber, spirally wound andlarn.inated
with special adhesives. When not appearing on stage,
these tubes, often coated with a wax-like material, are
used as cement forms. Unfornll1ately, the wax coating also
I X STOCK OR PLYWOOD "X" (BLOCKED AS NEEDED) INSERrED INTO PAPER TUBE.
resists glue and paint, mak.ing it less than compatible for
some jobs. The fiber tubing can be cut easily \\~th saws
and drilled or nailed into. The most common length available is 12'-0" wh.ich can be joined \\~th shop-made wood insel1S. The
sL'\-inch diameter tube weighs 1.3 Ibs. per foot and the 8" weighs 1.7
lbs. Different brands of fiber forms will, of course, VaIy and individual
de;~ers will no doubt have several choices available. The adverse conditions of the release coating can be somewhat m.itigated by sClimming
the tube with muslin wruch \\ill glue to itself and give a workable surface. It is sometimes possible to order tubing without the release coating.
ADD IDLER PULLEYS IF NEEDED 7
BLOCK I BA TTEN
In agriculnn-;~ areas, a most useful tubing can be found-inigation
~"l-7A
pipe. Made of alum.inum and available in 30'-0" lengths, it is ocly
,. I
:r- ~I (U
~
SINGLE
slightly heavier than fiber tube but its length and lack of waxy fin.ish give
BLOCK I,
SOFT TEASER ADDED
OR
I: -TO SAME EN
I
/
it adVaIltage. While not designed to nail or staple into, the surface seems
PULL£Y~
designed for duct-tape. The sLx-inch tube is amazingly rigid. Four and
five inch diameter nlbing, because of its lesser weight and cost, is also
viable, but note that the smaller diameter requires more rotations to
I~illil
raise or lower the drop. There aI'e also light-weight steel tubings in
some areas. PVC nlbing is not without some good points, but the thin
walled pieces (those light enough to use) aI'e brittle and easily cracked.
Insulating spray foanls could alleviate th.is fragility, at an added cost. BeDROP
AS DROP ROLLS UP ON THE TUBE,
cause the drop itself SUppOl1s its own weight and much of the weigh of
ROPE WHICH IS UFTING TUBE,
/
ROPE
UNWINDS.
the roller, the roller does not need to be totally rigid.
To figure up and down travel, one rotation of the tube is pi (3.14
etc., etc., etc.) times the diameter-for chatting purposes, use 3. Thus
a 6-inch tube will travel 18 inches for each rotation.
Regardless of the tube selected for a roll drop, the length must be
longer thaIl the drop is wide by the space required on each end for the
END CAP
WITH
rope to coil and uncoil as the drop moves. Th.is acnlally requires little
FIGURE-8
space, but when figuring the length of your roller, be generous-it is
KNOT/
~
~
easier to cut shorter than to add-on. As a general rule of thumb, on
each end add one inch of e>.1ra tube length for each wrap of rope. The
_.__ROPE WRAPS FROM
GON\
BACK TO FRONT
height of travel divided by three will give you the number of wraps. Add
I TUBE
DROP WRAPS
TUBE
a couple of extra wraps for good luck and you'll be close. The tube \\~U
~,
FRONT TO BACK""--'
need caps 10 keep the rope from slipping off the roller. This could be a
BOTH ROPE AND DROP MUST WRAP WELL AND BE FIXED SECURELY
circle of plywood inserted into the end of the nlbe \vith a concentric
circle laminated to it wh.ich is as wide as the outside diameter of the
tube plus two thicknesses of the rope being used for the rigging. Th.is
I

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WINTER

TD&T

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1996