Box Monster Kit (Base and Lid)

Monster Guts

Pneumatic Prop Kit

KIT: MBLB

Thank you for purchasing this Monster Guts pneumatic kit. In this manual you will find a parts list, general prop construction tips and other helpful information.

WARNING: THE USE OF COMPRESSED AIR, POWER TOOLS AND ELECTRICITY CAN BE DANGEROUS. EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN OPERATING ALL MANNER OF PNEUMATICS, POWER TOOLS AND ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS.

PARTS LIST

ITEM	QUANTITY
1-1/2" Bore, 1-1/2" Stroke Air Cylinder	1
3/4" Bore, 1" Stroke Air Cylinder	1
1-1/2" Bore Rod Clevis Assembly (clevis, nut, washer, hinge pin, cotter pin)	1
3/4" Bore Rod Clevis Assembly (clevis, nut, washer, hinge pin, cotter pin)	1
Clevis Eye Bracket	2
1-1/2" Bore Clevis Bracket (including hinge pin and cotter pin)	1
3/4" Bore Clevis Bracket (including hinge pin and cotter pin)	1
1/4" NPT 5 Port/4Way Air Valve	2
1/4" Quick Push Fitting	6
1/8" Quick Push Fitting	4
1/8" Exhaust Muffler	4
Teflon Tape	1 Roll

1/4" Female Coupler	1
1/4" Polyethylene Tubing	15 Feet
Threaded “T”(1/4" to 2-1/4" Quick Push)	1

3/4" Bore air cylinder is rated to push a 15 lb. lid at 60 p.s.i. or a 10 lb. lid at 40 p.s.i..

1-1/2" Bore air cylinder is rated to push a 50 lb. box at 60 p.s.i. or a 40 lb. box at 40 p.s.i..

Other Supplies You May Need

Table Saw, Circular Saw or Hand Saw

Nails and/or Screws

Screwdriver

Hammer

Pencil

Ruler or Tape Measure

Hinges (4)

“L” Brackets

Drill

Wrench

Building the Box

You can build your box from any material you wish. Plywood is a common material available at almost any hardware store or lumber supplier. You can build a crate that measures two feet on all sides from one sheet of plywood. Tip: While purchasing plywood, consider buying 1"x3" boards to frame the outside edges of the crate.

Another popular option, and economical, is using old pallets. Pallets can be found at warehouses, factories and places that usually receive large quantities of stock. If you find a place with a surplus of pallets, ask if you can take some (the size of your crate and the size of the pallet will determine how many pallets you will need). Many business owners will gladly give them to you because it saves them from having to dispose of the pallets. If somebody offers to sell them to you, walk away. There’s plenty of places you can find that will give them away. Tip: Keep a watchful eye during your travels, many places leave excess pallets by the curb, free to whomever wants them.

Key Features to Your Box

For Kit MBLB, we recommend building your box in the following steps.

Step 1) Determine the size you want to make the box.

Step 2) Make your cuts. You will need to decide if you want the base of your box exposed (the edge of the bottom visible) or hidden. If you want the bottom exposed, the dimensions of the bottom will be identical to that of the top. If you want your base hidden you will need to cut the base to the size of the inside dimensions of the your box. In the illustration below, you will see the picture on the left has an exposed bottom, on the right is a hidden bottom.

The advantage to an exposed bottom is simpler fabrication (the bottom equals the top in dimension) and a slightly more rigid design. A drawback to this design is that when the cylinder extends, the base remains on the ground and is visible by any watching, making the illusion slightly less believable.

The advantage of a hidden bottom is that the bottom is out of sight, so the illusion is maintained because it will appear as if the whole box is moving (although the bottom is not). If you use the hidden base style, you will need to cut the bottom dimensions about 1/4" less than the inside of your box. For example, if the inside dimensions of your box are 24" x 24", the bottom will need to be 23-3/4" x 23-3/4". This will allow enough space for when the box is raising and lowering. Tip: To truly conceal a hidden bottom, paint the edges of the bottom black.

Step 3) After you’ve made your cuts, either drill a 1-1/4" hole or make a notch with a hand saw towards the bottom of your back piece. Offset this hole, do not drill it in the center. You will be mounting the cylinder in the center. This will give you a place to run your tubing and electrical line.

Step 4) Either using “L” brackets or another way to securely attach the pieces, assemble the front, one side, and rear pieces. Keep the other side off, because this is where you’ll be working from to install your cylinder. Next, place the lid on top and attach with hinges. You will install the bottom next. If you are using the exposed method, line up the outside box edges with the bottom. If you are using the hidden method, slip the box over the bottom. Make certain there is about a 1/8" gap between your hidden bottom and all four sides of the box. Install two hinges on the inside of the box, at the front, as shown in the example below.

Step 5) Next you will install the cylinders. Connect the Clevis Bracket to the cylinder, then the Rod Clevis to the cylinder and attach the Clevis Eye Bracket to the Rod Clevis. Now you should have the entire cylinder assembly together. Place the 3/4" bore cylinder, with the Clevis Eye Bracket pointing upward, against the inside of the front of the box. You want the cylinder to be parallel to the box, with a 90 degree angle to the clevis bracket, as shown in the example below. Once you know where the cylinder arrangement will go, mark where the holes will be, drill pilot holes and install each of the cylinder assembly components. Repeat these steps with the 1-1/2" bore cylinder at the back of the box, attaching the Clevis Eye Bracket to the bottom.

Step 6) Now you should ready the final side of the box. The side you have been working from to install the cylinder has remained open. You will want to install the final side so it will be easy to open so you can get to the inner workings of the box. To do this, measure inside the box between the front and back. Take this measurement and cut two pieces of scrap wood you may have laying around to this length and about two inches in width. Next, using “L” brackets, install these two cross members to the box, as shown in the picture below.

Please note: The cross members shown in the above illustration are recessed. This recess is necessary only if the design of your box has the vertical edges for the side pieces of your box concealed by the front and back pieces. The thickness of the sides will equal the depth at which you will need to recess these cross members. If you designed your box the opposite way, with the vertical side edges exposed (and the front and back vertical edges covered by the side pieces), you will not need to take the recess into consideration.

These two cross members will give you hard points to screw the final side piece into.

A few notes on installing your hardware: the Quick Push Fittings come with threads pre-sealed. Teflon tape need only be used on bare threads, such as those found on the exhaust mufflers. Inserting tubing into the Quick Push fittings is done simply by pushing the tubing into the fitting. Give a slight tug to the tubing to assure it is seated properly and will not slip out. To remove tubing, depress on the yellow tabs and pull the tubing away from the fitting. When cutting the tubing, do not use scissors. Using caution, carefully cut the tubing with an exacto or utility knife.

Step 6) Install fittings for the cylinder and air valve (if not done already) and mount the air valve to the inside of the box somewhere. Run the 1/4" tubing from the air valve ports (marked A and B) to the ports of the cylinder. The ports marked “EA” and “EB” on the air valve are for your exhaust mufflers. The port marked “P” is the port where your air line from the air compressor connects to.

You should have two 1/4" Push Quick Fittings remaining. Install one fitting into the “P” port of the air valve. Connect the other Push Quick Fitting to your female coupler, and connect the two Quick Push fittings” with a 6-12" long piece of 1/4" tubing.

All that remains is to make all of your connections; your pneumatic line, electrical connection for the air valve, any prop controllers you wish to have “on-board”. Run any lines through the hole you made in Step 3.

Step 7) Attach the final side piece.

Prior to attaching the final side piece, make a few test runs to make sure all of your components are working properly. If the cylinder is extending when it should be retracting, you will need to reverse the connections at Port A and Port B.

Listen for the sound of air hissing. This signals the escape of air at threaded connections, most likely at the cylinder or air valve. Prior to tightening any possibly loose connections, make sure to disconnect the air line from the compressor. Do not over tighten the fittings. Over tightening could damage the fitting and threaded connections. If air continues to escape, remove the fitting, clean the threads and wrap them with teflon tape. Sometimes, no matter how much you try, air still escapes. Sometimes a small amount of air seepage is unavoidable.

If your are operating two different air pressures for this prop, you will need to incorporate separate air regulators. Install the regulators between the air manifold and air valve.

Finish your box by wrapping chains across it, painting in red the words “Do Not Open”, or whatever else you choose.

By nature of this design, the box will move forward and back each time the cylinder extends and retracts. Take this into consideration when placing in your haunt. Tethering the box to a wall with chains is a surprisingly convincing effect.