Lyle with eyebolt
Lyle watches preparation of the tubing the tower will be constructed
from while holding the eyebolt which will form the top of the tower.
Each tube had several holes drilled into it for the bolts which held
the tower together. The eyebolt was placed at the very top between
the three support tubes where they met.
Block and head
These are the two objects we dropped. In the lower left is a metal block
about 50 pounds, and on the right is a slightly lighter log with a head
carved into it. They eyebolt attached to the block proved to be too long
and acted as a lever arm when the weight was dropped, causing the block
to spin. It was later removed and the rebar embedded into the block was
bent into an eye.
Beginning assembly of top of tower
This triangle is one side of the top of the tower. Each of the vertical
tubes is eighteen feet long.
Completed assembly of top half
The top of the tower was constructed first. By itself it reaches all the
way from the basement floor to the second story balcony. Before making the
final assembly, the tops of the verticals were bolted together and an eyebolt
was inserted in the middle to hold the pulley.
Steve and John clowning
Steve and John clowning around. The tripod is propped on one corner to
allow easy access to the top to put in the eyebolt.
Assembled tripod
The assembled tripod was 36 feet high. First the top was hoisted up to
the second story balcony, then the bottom part was assembled under it.
One side of the bottom had been built beforehand, so all that was needed
was to insert the final upright and bolt on the cross pieces.
Top of the tripod
The top of the completed tripod stuck well above the roof line. The man
in the foreground setting the light had an HDTV camera with him and filmed
the entire proceedings. I'm looking forward to seeing the results.
Steve by grill
Steve did most of the cooking.
Hoisted block
Here is the first test hoist of the block. At the right is the winch used
to lift the weights. The rope running across the picture is connected to
the release mechanism; when it was pulled, the weights fell. They were
not slowed down by having to drag the lifting rope behind them. The pipe
joints placed on the lifting rope helped bring it back down.
John by the first victim
Here is John readying the first television for destruction. About half
the TVs were somewhat functional. This was one of the better ones.
First TV in position
Each TV had to be positioned with the weight near the ground, both for
safety and accuracy. You can also see the modification to the way the
block attaches to the rope to prevent it from spinning.
Attaching the head
For the big console TV the head was used.
Positioning the head
Aftermath of head collision
This resulted from the first collision of the head with this large console
TV. The screen of this monster was almost an inch think. The head was
undamaged.
Head impacting a TV
The second impact of the head with the console TV. My camera has about a
one second delay from pressing the shutter until the picture is taken, so
getting action shots was hard. I got lucky here. This is the best picture
of the night.
Debris Field
Block speeds toward a TV
That blur in the upper center of the frame is the falling metal block.
Smoking TV
This particular TV refused to die. Even after being hit, you could hear
the audio. After a few seconds, it began to smoke and we pulled the plug.
Grandma's TV
This TV used to be my grandmother's, and then was mine for 11 years until
its power supply died. I gave it to John in 1998 when I moved
to Seattle, thinking it would be used in 1999's festivities, but it waited
for me. Kind of had mixed feelings about seeing it destroyed.
Using the winch
Adjusting the block
In order for the release rope to work correctly, all the twists had to be
out of the rope.
Aftermath
A pile of destroyed televisions makes an impressive sight.