I'm looking for a website or book or something that really documents how to fly speaker cabinets overhead safely, the types of hardware to use, safety measures and standards, etc.
Safety first!
There was an article in the 1990 April issue of Mix Magazine called Safe Rigging (adapted from JBL technical Notes, Vol. 1, Iss. 14). It is 20 pages long and to much to post here. PM me if you cant find it and I will copy/email you the info. E
There was an article in the 1990 April issue of Mix Magazine called Safe Rigging (adapted from JBL technical Notes, Vol. 1, Iss. 14). It is 20 pages long and to much to post here. PM me if you cant find it and I will copy/email you the info. E
Go here: McMaster-Carr and look at any item for overhead use. Wire rope (not cable), forged eyes and so on will all show if rated for overhead.
try here: RIGSTAR Rigging School or maybe here: JTS, Inc. - Abstract For Course Number 160
seriously though, when you hang speakers up in the air you are putting not only your own life but the lives of other people on the line. I don't really think rigging should be a DIY activity. if you have to hang speakers, please get a second opinion from a professional. Rigging is done not only with big sound systems and staging but anytime there is big stuff being moved around - think cranes and construction stuff.
Here's a page of links: Untitled Document
seriously though, when you hang speakers up in the air you are putting not only your own life but the lives of other people on the line. I don't really think rigging should be a DIY activity. if you have to hang speakers, please get a second opinion from a professional. Rigging is done not only with big sound systems and staging but anytime there is big stuff being moved around - think cranes and construction stuff.
Here's a page of links: Untitled Document
Yes, I had a friend who was a rigger; mostly moving huge machines like enormous lathes and milling machines, enormous presses and forges, via crane, onto trucks. He got injured pretty badly. It's a real science.
I'm looking for the common basics. I made some small heavy otherwise typical 15 degree trapezoidal wedges and was considering installing some "adjustable flying rails" with thru-bolts or threaded rods. The cabinets are definitely constucted to have strength in tension rather than just compression. I see Parts Express selling rails and movable eyes for flying speakers, but I'm really not sure where to mount them on the cabinets or which types are better. If I do mount rails, I may well run threaded rods all the way thru the entire cabinet and thru the rails on the other side (not just thru the cabinet wall but thru the entire speaker enclusure and out the other side). Such threaded rods actually make a good cabinet brace too, if you put washers, nut, and locknuts everywhere (perhaps then a pin or tack weld so it can never come apart?). But if the rails have to go where the weight is, the threaded rods would interfere with the drivers inside, so I'd have to use some bolts thru just one cabinet wall instead.
I'm thinking, but have insufficient real experience.
I'm looking for the common basics. I made some small heavy otherwise typical 15 degree trapezoidal wedges and was considering installing some "adjustable flying rails" with thru-bolts or threaded rods. The cabinets are definitely constucted to have strength in tension rather than just compression. I see Parts Express selling rails and movable eyes for flying speakers, but I'm really not sure where to mount them on the cabinets or which types are better. If I do mount rails, I may well run threaded rods all the way thru the entire cabinet and thru the rails on the other side (not just thru the cabinet wall but thru the entire speaker enclusure and out the other side). Such threaded rods actually make a good cabinet brace too, if you put washers, nut, and locknuts everywhere (perhaps then a pin or tack weld so it can never come apart?). But if the rails have to go where the weight is, the threaded rods would interfere with the drivers inside, so I'd have to use some bolts thru just one cabinet wall instead.
I'm thinking, but have insufficient real experience.
If you want to safely fly something overhead, the first thing you start with is the speaker enclosure. It needs to be designed by an engineer to be flyable. He will design an enclosure that should hold up to being flown. Then several will need to be made and taken to a company that does failure testing. They will certify that the box, as built, meets the design criteria and has a typical breaking point and a typical failure mode.
Once you want to fly it in a particular venue, you'll need another engineer to have certified the point where you want to attach to the structure can support the load that will be placed on it. In venues like large hotel ballrooms, concert halls, and arenas, that is usually part of the design process and the load ratings are part of the original design plans.
Next hire a rigging company to temporarily rig the speakers where you want them.
Now you ask, why go through all this trouble? B/C the law of gravity is absolute and doesn't like being made fun of. Should gravity win (and it will eventually) and should something land on someone and injure(kill) them, you are personally liable for that. Even if you have insurance, they will deny coverage if you don't have the certified building plans, enclosure plans and destructive testing to prove that you have a device that is safe to be flown overhead. This is why you should always buy speakers that come with rigging certifications. One slip up and you're going to prison for manslaughter.
There are several books written on entertainment rigging. Here are two I'd recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Rigging...7414/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1329717433&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/Entertainment...811X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329717433&sr=8-1
If you want to rig you will need to take some classes or get a job for a large production company or rigging house where they will teach you how to properly rig. If you don't want to take those classes, leave the rigging to the professionals.
Once you want to fly it in a particular venue, you'll need another engineer to have certified the point where you want to attach to the structure can support the load that will be placed on it. In venues like large hotel ballrooms, concert halls, and arenas, that is usually part of the design process and the load ratings are part of the original design plans.
Next hire a rigging company to temporarily rig the speakers where you want them.
Now you ask, why go through all this trouble? B/C the law of gravity is absolute and doesn't like being made fun of. Should gravity win (and it will eventually) and should something land on someone and injure(kill) them, you are personally liable for that. Even if you have insurance, they will deny coverage if you don't have the certified building plans, enclosure plans and destructive testing to prove that you have a device that is safe to be flown overhead. This is why you should always buy speakers that come with rigging certifications. One slip up and you're going to prison for manslaughter.
There are several books written on entertainment rigging. Here are two I'd recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Rigging...7414/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1329717433&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/Entertainment...811X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329717433&sr=8-1
If you want to rig you will need to take some classes or get a job for a large production company or rigging house where they will teach you how to properly rig. If you don't want to take those classes, leave the rigging to the professionals.
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