Open Forum

Help! I can't seem to find wagon brakes that don't fail. Any suggestions?

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Bernadette MacLeod
Charlotte NC
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These wagon brakes from Rose Brand are $35 each, but they are sturdy and infinitely reusable.

The height you attach them at is important. Too high and they don't work, too low and they raise the wagon too high, making it wobble some.

That said, my experience with wagons is that they are usually heavy enough to stay put even without the brakes. I still use them for extra peace of mind, but I don't know that they are always strictly necessary if your stuff is sturdily built and if the action on them isn't too wild.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:19
From: Bernadette MacLeod
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Help! I can't seem to find wagon brakes that don't fail. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
Bernadette MacLeod
Charlotte NC
------------------------------

Josh Those breaks look great but seem to be the wrong height for my wheels.  I guess my question is how do you wheel your platforms to make those breaks work?

------------------------------
Kevin Phelan
Theatre Director, Auditorium Manager
Vernon Hills High School
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:44
From: Josh Kauffman
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

These wagon brakes from Rose Brand are $35 each, but they are sturdy and infinitely reusable.

The height you attach them at is important. Too high and they don't work, too low and they raise the wagon too high, making it wobble some.

That said, my experience with wagons is that they are usually heavy enough to stay put even without the brakes. I still use them for extra peace of mind, but I don't know that they are always strictly necessary if your stuff is sturdily built and if the action on them isn't too wild.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:19
From: Bernadette MacLeod
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Help! I can't seem to find wagon brakes that don't fail. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
Bernadette MacLeod
Charlotte NC
------------------------------

Kevin, I think that would depend on a lot of factors, like the height of your platforms and whether they spin or not (i.e. how whether the audience ever sees the upstage side of it), also what they're used for. Because the brakes are kind of chunky, I've built housings for them, or even cut away some of the platform framing to incorporate the brake into the construction. I might not be making a whole lot of sense, and I wish I had pictures to show what I'm talking about. 

If the wheels are shallower than the brakes, you might block them up to the right depth using lauan or 1x4 shims.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-15-2019 10:40
From: Kevin Phelan
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Josh Those breaks look great but seem to be the wrong height for my wheels.  I guess my question is how do you wheel your platforms to make those breaks work?

------------------------------
Kevin Phelan
Theatre Director, Auditorium Manager
Vernon Hills High School

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:44
From: Josh Kauffman
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

These wagon brakes from Rose Brand are $35 each, but they are sturdy and infinitely reusable.

The height you attach them at is important. Too high and they don't work, too low and they raise the wagon too high, making it wobble some.

That said, my experience with wagons is that they are usually heavy enough to stay put even without the brakes. I still use them for extra peace of mind, but I don't know that they are always strictly necessary if your stuff is sturdily built and if the action on them isn't too wild.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:19
From: Bernadette MacLeod
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Help! I can't seem to find wagon brakes that don't fail. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
Bernadette MacLeod
Charlotte NC
------------------------------

Bernadette - what kind of brakes are you using now?

------------------------------
George F. Ledo
Set designer
www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
www.georgefledo.net
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-15-2019 12:08
From: Josh Kauffman
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Kevin, I think that would depend on a lot of factors, like the height of your platforms and whether they spin or not (i.e. how whether the audience ever sees the upstage side of it), also what they're used for. Because the brakes are kind of chunky, I've built housings for them, or even cut away some of the platform framing to incorporate the brake into the construction. I might not be making a whole lot of sense, and I wish I had pictures to show what I'm talking about.

If the wheels are shallower than the brakes, you might block them up to the right depth using lauan or 1x4 shims.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL

Original Message:
Sent: 01-15-2019 10:40
From: Kevin Phelan
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Josh Those breaks look great but seem to be the wrong height for my wheels.  I guess my question is how do you wheel your platforms to make those breaks work?

------------------------------
Kevin Phelan
Theatre Director, Auditorium Manager
Vernon Hills High School

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:44
From: Josh Kauffman
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

These wagon brakes from Rose Brand are $35 each, but they are sturdy and infinitely reusable.

The height you attach them at is important. Too high and they don't work, too low and they raise the wagon too high, making it wobble some.

That said, my experience with wagons is that they are usually heavy enough to stay put even without the brakes. I still use them for extra peace of mind, but I don't know that they are always strictly necessary if your stuff is sturdily built and if the action on them isn't too wild.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:19
From: Bernadette MacLeod
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Help! I can't seem to find wagon brakes that don't fail. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
Bernadette MacLeod
Charlotte NC
------------------------------

I came up with a solution that works but I like these. For this show, I'm using the other Rose Brand brakes, I just took off the stopper and screw on the bottom and drilled a shallow hole in the stage. The brake goes right into the hole. I'm  use 4 per 8x8 wagon and it's very sturdy. I'm going to keep these in my back pocket for next year though. Thanks!

------------------------------
Bernadette MacLeod
Charlotte NC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:44
From: Josh Kauffman
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

These wagon brakes from Rose Brand are $35 each, but they are sturdy and infinitely reusable.

The height you attach them at is important. Too high and they don't work, too low and they raise the wagon too high, making it wobble some.

That said, my experience with wagons is that they are usually heavy enough to stay put even without the brakes. I still use them for extra peace of mind, but I don't know that they are always strictly necessary if your stuff is sturdily built and if the action on them isn't too wild.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:19
From: Bernadette MacLeod
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Help! I can't seem to find wagon brakes that don't fail. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
Bernadette MacLeod
Charlotte NC
------------------------------

Hi Josh,

Do you maybe have a few pictures of how you mount these that you could share?  I took over directing a few years ago and we've always just used a wooden wedge under the wagons to "lock" them in place....which can make doing quick changes to move wagons on and off a bit clunky and slow.  I've also tried using the door stoppers that flip down....those work okay for wagons that don't get a ton of traffic or movement on them....but I'd like to give a wagon brake a try...I saw a few others on <g class="gr_ gr_1141 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="1141" data-gr-id="1141">Rosebrand's</g> site that side <g class="gr_ gr_1231 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="1231" data-gr-id="1231">mount</g> on the wagon...the one you linked to looks like it mounts under it so that the pedal sticks out?

Thanks!

------------------------------
Lynda Gibson
Director
Troupe 2829
Flushing High School
Junior Troupe 88305
Flushing Middle School
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:44
From: Josh Kauffman
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

These wagon brakes from Rose Brand are $35 each, but they are sturdy and infinitely reusable.

The height you attach them at is important. Too high and they don't work, too low and they raise the wagon too high, making it wobble some.

That said, my experience with wagons is that they are usually heavy enough to stay put even without the brakes. I still use them for extra peace of mind, but I don't know that they are always strictly necessary if your stuff is sturdily built and if the action on them isn't too wild.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:19
From: Bernadette MacLeod
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Help! I can't seem to find wagon brakes that don't fail. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
Bernadette MacLeod
Charlotte NC
------------------------------

Lynda, I'm sorry but I don't have any pictures to show you. But yes, you're right, that' show these brakes mount. For sturdiness and because of the weight of the wagon, you'll want to either cut some platform legs to a length that you can fasten the brakes to the bottom of them, or just brace them well. Make sure there's clearance for the pedal; I made that mistake once and got my toes pinched.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-17-2019 09:33
From: Lynda Gibson
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Hi Josh,

Do you maybe have a few pictures of how you mount these that you could share?  I took over directing a few years ago and we've always just used a wooden wedge under the wagons to "lock" them in place....which can make doing quick changes to move wagons on and off a bit clunky and slow.  I've also tried using the door stoppers that flip down....those work okay for wagons that don't get a ton of traffic or movement on them....but I'd like to give a wagon brake a try...I saw a few others on <g class="gr_ gr_1141 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="1141" data-gr-id="1141">Rosebrand's</g> site that side <g class="gr_ gr_1231 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="1231" data-gr-id="1231">mount</g> on the wagon...the one you linked to looks like it mounts under it so that the pedal sticks out?

Thanks!

------------------------------
Lynda Gibson
Director
Troupe 2829
Flushing High School
Junior Troupe 88305
Flushing Middle School

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:44
From: Josh Kauffman
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

These wagon brakes from Rose Brand are $35 each, but they are sturdy and infinitely reusable.

The height you attach them at is important. Too high and they don't work, too low and they raise the wagon too high, making it wobble some.

That said, my experience with wagons is that they are usually heavy enough to stay put even without the brakes. I still use them for extra peace of mind, but I don't know that they are always strictly necessary if your stuff is sturdily built and if the action on them isn't too wild.

------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL

Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2019 10:19
From: Bernadette MacLeod
Subject: Wagon brakes that actually work

Help! I can't seem to find wagon brakes that don't fail. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
Bernadette MacLeod
Charlotte NC
------------------------------