A Wheel-less Revolve

Jim Ryan

The Laguna Playhouse mounted a production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Communicating Doors which required a small rotating unit containing two walls, each including a door. This unit acted as a “time machine” transporting the actor to different time periods. Since the director and the designer did not want to build a false floor to accommodate a revolving platform, we needed to construct a revolving unit that was as thin as possible and level with the show floor. Since it was impossible to find a wheel small and strong enough to accomplish this, I created a design for a revolve that was only 1 ½″ tall, ran smoothly, was virtually noiseless, and had no wheels.

I have often used Ultra High Molecular Weight plastic (UHMW) ...

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