Going to tinker around in the garage this week end and try to come up with a static grass shaker, perhaps a Rube Goldburg afair. Have any of you made one.
I have not but love to see what you figuer out!
Cuda Ken
A piece of shag carpet and a balloon?[:D]
There was an MR article, years ago, IIRC, that showed how to make your own. Try the index and see if you can find it.
I tried Sassi’s magnate on a bottle. It worked about like the bottle without the magnate. I just tried the Static grass machine, and that did not do much better with the short grass than just shaking the bottle. Maybe some practice will improve it. The machine did do wonders with the long grass.
I am quite interested in this and hope people will share their experiences. There seems to be a steep learning curve with this one, at least for me.
Loather, Your comment got me to thinking, so I found a pack of 25 ballons with a plastic air pump, for $1.85, the long thin type baloons that clowns make dogs out of. Rub the inflated balloon with a plastic grocery sack and if the static grass isnt glued down, will jump up to the balloon. The neato thing is that it works, using the thin end of the balloon, it gets in small areas and to top it off they are cost effective at 7 1/2 cents each of which I shall call it my “Model 0.075 KISS Static Flocker Gizmo”. Comes in various colors, and can be shaped to your liking…LOL. Try it… it works…Above all its realllly another K.I.S.S…Keeping it simply simple…John
And you probably thought I was kinding around.[:D] I remember my grand parents had wool carpet. You could build up a serious charge with that stuff. I started thinking later about one of those Ionic Breeze air cleaners. They work the same way but probably cost as much as the Noch tool. Or what about one of those glowing static balls like they sell in head shops?
Got a cat? Put your cat on the layout, rub one of those balloons on it’s back with one hand while you shake the grass with the other hand.
A few months ago there was a discussion here involving the use of a Van de Graff static generator, one of those huge wheels that you see the mad scientist use to generate electricity in a Frankenstein movie.
My original intentions was making an electric static generator using and old hair blower and a few other items in my storage area. Then my wife sent me to the grocery store, as I was trying to find the open end of one of of those peskey clear plastic bags, You know the type, seemenly with no top to it. Anyhow as it clung to my arm from static, is when I thought about the bag as a genator,and a skinney baloon to get in tight areas. Went home sprayed some paper with hairspray, after it set a bit found it worked great and so dang simple compared to what I wanted to make… Only problem, is bad enought playing with trains, now I have this three foot long baloon in my hand doing a bit of scenery when My wife comes into the train room…“I asked you to get vegetables at the store and you bought baloooooonnnns”…ah…the vegies are in the car… Sometimes I think (personal openion here) any hobby can get a bit nutzz; spend if memory serves me, say about a hundred bucks on an electric static gun when it can be done for less then ten cents…I dont have that kind of disposable income…just my two cents, perhaps ten. anyhow if it helps someone so be it…John
So, how are you doing this? Do you put a layer of glue down on the layout, charge the balloon, stick the grass to the balloon and then dab the grass into the glue so it sticks standing up?
I applied the glue and let it tack up a bit, as when real wet nothing happens, apply static grass fairley heavy , then rub the inflated baloon very briskley with a plastic bag to build up the static charge. Then holding the narrow end of the baloon almost touch the scenery. The grass that is not glued will jump up to the baloon and the rest is upended. Do this on paper or cardboard first so that you can examine your effects at better angles…John
that article ran in 1981-I think september. The guy showed how to make one using power from something called “a wimhurst machine”.