# Animated Ouija Board (Vent Motor) PART 1



## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

Animated Ouija Board: PART 1










Video Link: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v630/DaveNTracy/Ouija Board/?action=view&current=016.mp4

PARTS:

(1) 1" X 4" Wooden Board (About 6 to 7 ft. long)
(1) Vent Motor-- 12VDC, 5 RPM
(1) Ouija Board and Planchette
(1) Plexiglass Piece, 1/8" Thick (Approx. 11" X 16" in size.)
(1) 1/4" thick Flat Wood Board (Approx. 12" X 17" in size.)
(1) AC/DC Power Adapter (12 VDC, 100 to 500 milliamps.)
(2) Pieces of small gauge electrical wire (About 6 inches long each.)
(1 or 2) Small Springs (Optional)
Fishing Line (Optional)
(4) 90 degree Aluminum "L" Brackets (Lowe's)
Flat Aluminum Stock--1/8" X 1/2" (Approx. 9 inches)
Flat Aluminum Stock--1/16" X 1/2" (Approx. 5 inches)
(6) Magnets, small/round. (3/16" thick, 5/8" wide)
(1) 1/4"-20 X 3" Machine Screw
(1) 1/4"-20 X 1/2" Machine Screw
(3) 1/4" Nuts
(2) Flat Washers
(2) 1/4" Lock Washers
(2) #8 X 1- 1/2" Wood Screws
(2) 8-32 X 1- 1/4" Machine Screws
(4) 8-32 X 3/4" Machine Screws
(7) #8 Nuts
(4) #8 Flat Washers
(10) #8 X 3/4" Wood Screws
(4) #8 Lock Washers
(16) #6 X 1/2" Wood Screws
(1) Magic Slider (Small)
Hot Glue
Liquid Nails brand Construction Adhesive
(2) 8-32 X 3/4" Wood Screws
(2) 8-32 X 1-1/2" Machine Screws


Construction:

STEP 1 : BUILDING the BOX

A: These measurements I used are based on using a cardboard glow-in-the-dark Ouija bd. They are available on E-bay for around $10 or less. Use a miter box and saw to cut four sections from the 4" X 1" wood board. Make two of the sections measure 16 and 1/4 inches long. These will be the front and rear sections of the Ouija Bd. box. Cut the other two sections at 11 inches long each. These will become the left and right side of the Ouija bd. box. Use one of the 90 degree "L" brackets to join together the rear section piece and the left side piece. The two pieces will overlap on the end. (See pic for reference.) 










Check your angles periodically while constructing the box to avoid any later problems. Use another "L" bracket as before to add the front box board to the left side piece. Lastly, use two more "L" brackets to join the right side section to the complete the basic box. Check to make sure all angle are 90 degrees square. Take your Ouija board and check for a proper fit inside the box. 










B: Lay the box on top of the 1/4" flat wood board. Trace the shape of the box onto the flat board and use a saw to cut it out. This will be the bottom of your box. Attach it to the box using approximately 10 #8 X 3/4" wood screws.
This completes the box assembly.


STEP 2: Oscillating Magnet Bar Assembly

A: Measure along the top of the front box bd. and mark with a pencil at 8-1/2". This marks the middle (center) of the box. Cut a section of the 1 X 4 wood board about 5" long. Use two #8 X 3/4" screws on the underside of the box to mount it to the bottom of the box. It should be flush against the front box board and centered in the middle. (See Pic) Cut another section measure approx. 3-1/2". Saw off the top 1/3 of this piece to allow proper movement of the linkage screw on the magnet bar. Center this piece on top of the 5" piece and flush against the front bd. Secure it using two #8 X 1-1/2" wood screws.










B: Measure up 1-1/2" from the center mark on the front bd. Mark this spot and use a 7/32" drill bit to drill a hole all the way thru the two small pieces mounted in Step A. Keep your drill as straight as possible when drilling the hole. This is where the magnet oscillator bar hub bolt will be inserted. Hold the 1/4-20 X 3" screw over the hole and use a screwdriver to twist it into the hole (as straight as possible) thus "tapping" a threaded hole all the way down to the bottom. When finished, remove the 1/4" screw for now.

C: Using a hacksaw, cut a section of the 1/8 X 1/2" aluminum stock measuring 6-1/4 inches long. This will become the magnet oscillator bar. Drill a 1/4" hole near one end of the bar. Measure along the bar 2 inches from the center of the 1/4" hole. At that point, drill an 11/64" hole. Insert a 8-32 X 1-1/4" screw into the smaller hole and secure it from the bottom with a #8 lock washer and nut. This is where the Linkage Bar will attach later.










Slide a 1/4" flat washer onto the 1/4-20 X 3" screw. After that, add the oscillator bar and then another flat washer. Screw on a 1/4" nut as far as possible while still allowing the magnet bar to move freely. Lastly, add a 1/4" lock washer and nut--tightening the lower nut up against the upper nut (while holding the upper nut with pliers) to lock the oscillator bar in place.

Now the complete bar assembly can be screwed into the tapped hole made in Step B. Turn the 1/4" screw into the hole until the tip of the bar is at a height of approximately 2-1/2" from the bottom board.



















D: Make two separate stacks of two magnets each. These two stacks will be hot glued onto the end of the magnet bar. Glue one stack about 1/8" from the end of the bar. Then glue the second stack behind the first, leaving a 1/8" gap between them. Wrap some electrical tape around the magnets and bar to insure they don't come loose.

STEP 3: Linkage Bar Assembly

A: Cut a 5 inch long section of the 1/16 X 1/2" aluminum stock. Drill an 11/64" hole near one end of the piece. Measure 4-1/2 inches from the center of that hole towards the other end of the bar. Mark that spot and drill another 11/64" hole. This bar will connect the motor crank to the oscillating magnet bar.










STEP 4: MOTOR and CRANK Assembly

NOTE: This link to a detailed tutorial with pics will help explain the following steps on motor preparation:

http://www.halloweenforum.com/tutorials-step-step/105127-black-vent-motor-tutorial-part-1-a.html

A: MOTOR PREPARATION:

Take the 1/4-20 X 1/2" machine screw and hold it on top of the square hole in the motor shaft. You will see the screw is slightly bigger than the square hole in the shaft. What we want to do is use a screwdriver to force the screw into this square hole, basically “tapping” a threaded hole for this screw, which will later hold the crank to the motor. Use a pair of pliers tightly around the outside of the motor shaft to hold it while using your screwdriver and turn the screw clockwise and force it into the square hole. It might help to brace the motor against a wall or table top (while still holding the shaft with the pliers) to be able to use enough force to get the screw started. Be patient, sometimes it goes easy, sometimes it takes a while. Once the screw starts to rotate into the shaft hole, try to keep the screw as straight as possible as it goes further into the hole. Keep turning it until the head of the screw is about 1/8 inch above the top of the motor shaft. Take the screw back out for now.

B: Use a flat head screwdriver to pop open the five snaps holding the motor housing together.
NOTE: Hold the motor with the shaft facing DOWN before lifting off the rear half of the motor housing. This way all the gears inside the motor will not fall out. If this does happen, it's not really that difficult to figure out how the gears go back in.
Notice the small motor inside the motor housing and the two silver terminals at the bottom of the small motor. Use some needle nose pliers to easily pull out the two gold connector pins below the motor and discard them. Use a soldering iron to attach one of the six inch pieces of wire to each of the motor terminals. You can lift the motor out of the housing to do this with no problems. Replace the motor back in its proper position. 
Look at the underside of the rear plastic motor housing. Notice the part that fits directly on top of the silver motor terminals. It is necessary to trim away some of the plastic in this area in order to make room for the wire and solder we just added to the terminals. Use some wire snips or a dremel tool to do this. ( If not done, the front and rear plastic motor housings will not snap back together properly.)
Run the two motor wires down and around thru the area where we removed the two gold pins. There is sort of a small track where the wires can sit without interfering with the motor housings. If your wires are too thick, just dremel out some of the plastic or drill some holes in the motor housing to run the wires out of. The AC/DC Adapter will attach to these wires in a later step. Lastly, snap the two black motor housing halves back together. Make sure all snaps engage properly.

C: Cut a piece of the 1/8 X 1/2" aluminum stock approximately 2-1/4" inches long. This will be the CRANK for our motor. Drill a 1/4 inch hole near one end of the piece. Measure 1-1/2 inches from the center of this hole toward the opposite end of the crank and drill an 11/64 inch hole. Insert a 8-32 X 1-1/4" machine screw into this new hole from the bottomside of the crank and secure it with a #8 lock washer and nut. This is where the linkage bar will attach. Slip a ¼” lock washer onto the 1/4-20 X 1/2" screw. Insert the screw through the large crank hole and then screw the crank onto the motor shaft while holding the shaft with some pliers. Screw it in until it is tight. This completes the motor assembly. Your Motor Assembly should look something like this:











Link to PART 2 of this tutorial: Animated Ouija Board (Vent Motor) PART 2


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