Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1980 - 20

tached to either side of the pallet. One person at either end of the test
track pulled hand over hand to move the pallet. The allowable weight
limit per experiment was reached when the pallet could no longer be
easily moved by the person pulling the ropes
The first test used 'I." x 31." mild steel flat bar as runners on the
bottom of the pallet with the fibre tracks on the floor. The second test
used vulcanized fibre runners on the bottom of the pallet. In the third
test Nylatron runners were applied to the pallet, still using fibre tracks
on the floor. The fourth test used Nylatron tracks in place of the fibre
tracks, thus testing a bearing surface of Nylatron to Nylatron.
The first test, using mild steel flat bar runners against the vulcanized fibre, moved the least weight, the limit being one hundred
pounds. The movement was rough and there was too much noise to
use during a quiet moment in a show. In Working, this system was
successfully used because the pallets were electric-winch driven, and
there was music to cover friction noise.
In the second test, using vulcanized fibre runners on vulcanized
fibre tracks, two hundred pounds could be moved before resistance
to hand pulling was prohibitive. The movement was somewhat
smoother than in the first experiment, and noise was somewhat less.
(It was noted that the more fibre used, the smoother the movement,
further reducing friction.) Dirt, grit, and small particles had little effect
on performance.
In the third test, using Nylatron against vulcanized fibre, three hundred pounds could be moved quite easily. The movement was much
smoother and noise was significantly less than in tests (,:.e or two.
When using the Nylatron, however, it is necessary that ail screws are
completely countersunk and that the stage is clean. Any rJil t or grit
will gouge the Nylatron and add to the friction. (Because of the gouging problem, and because the masonite-Nylatron combination used by
the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre did not reduce friction to an acceptable level, a change was made to lift jacks the next year when A
Christmas Carol was revived.)
In the fourth test, using Nylatron to Nylatron, four hundred pounds
were moved by the people pulling the ropes. Rotating the pallet ninety
degrees reduced the bearing surface to nine pads, each 1 'h" square.
The four hundred pounds moved quietly, smoothly, and with only 1" of
height for the pallet.
In conclusion, the vulcanized fibre is very tough and abrasion resistant, but would require power winches to move any significant load. In
combinations of fibre to steel, or fibre to fibre, there is a significant
noise problem which would prohibit its use during any quiet moment
onstage. Using both Nylatron tracks and runners produces the least
friction and noise, and the heaviest loads can be moved with the
greatest ease. However, it is necessary to keep the surfaces clean
and grit-free, or the Nylatron will be damaged. For this purpose,
brushes mounted below the pallets with felt "rubbers" could be used.
While these two types of low friction plastics will not replace casters as the standard method of moving wagons, they do have use in
specific instances where the kinds of movement they offer will fit with
the production.

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Notes
1. In Working, staged at the Forty-sixth Street Theatre in New York,
both actors and scenery appeared to glide across and up and down
stage. To the audience, there were no visible wagons. In fact, there
were 31." plywood pallets with v.." x 31." mild steel flat bar runners
screwed to the bottom of the pallets. The runners slid on 2" wide by
v.." thick vulcanized fibre strips inlaid in the deck, and the pallets were
moved by electric winch-driven cables. Information about the use of
vulcanized fibre in this production was obtained from the staff of Feiler Precision, Inc., N. Y., fabricators of the pallet system for Working.
A Christmas Carol was staged at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee.
Pallets VB" thick were used to move scenic units on and off the main
turntable. The pallets were made of 31." plywood with Ye" tempered
masonite glued to the bottom. The masonite provided a hard, dense
surface which slid on strips of Nylatron screwed down to the floor.
Stage hands simply pushed the units in place. Information was obtained from the technical staff of the M.R.T.
2. The Polymer Corporation, Reading, PA 19603
3. Information supplied by Franklin Fibre-Lamitex Corporation, 903
East 13th Street, Wilmington, DE 19899.
4.
Financing for the test materials was provided by Marquette University, College of Speech, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
5. One of the stage hands was a young woman weighing 120
pounds.o

Theatre Design & Technology

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USITI /Summer, 1980

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