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How are you guys storing your zeppelins on your cart/support cart?


Planet3

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Hi Guys,

I'm trying to figure out a better solution for storing my zeppelins on my support cart.  I have 5 zeps - 1 long, 3 mediums and 1 small and I keep my indoor mounts and mics in the same case.  I've been keeping them all in a Pelican 1650 which has been great.  It's not too heavy and everything is very well protected.  But on my reconfigured support cart I don't have room for the 1650.  I would love to hear what's working for you guys... 

Thanks,

Tim Hays

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I use a BIG follow cart for all my gear with carpeted drawers for everything.  The top drawer is very large and holds all my mics, zeppelins, and do dads....  works great, keeps things safe and clean...

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I usually backpack em on the docs or commercial gigs I commute via bicycle to. To protect them, I've made "Helmets" for em out of Plexi tubing that I got in China Town (SF) but I think they got it in here in NYC too. There's a perfect size, if you go to a Plex shop in your local china town I think it's like 5"?? I took mine in back in the day and they hooked me up.  I Saws-alled a slot starting from one end so I can slide em in (you know the pistol grip part). On one end I put a cap and on the other end I leave a little overhang. I keep the polar-tech wind sock on em which takes a little wear but protects the zep.

Ebaume

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There's a perfect size, if you go to a Plex shop in your local china town I think it's like 5"?? I took mine in back in the day and they hooked me up.  I Saws-alled a slot starting from one end so I can slide em in (you know the pistol grip part).

A number of the follow carts around town have a very similar arrangement. Here's a photo - regrettably not very good - of that sort of arrangement on a set. It was taken on the set of Disturbia and I think the cart belongs to Tom Hartig, Mark Ulano's boom operator.

Chinhda is working on a small cart for more portable sound packages. It will also be configurable as a set cart and will offer a similar tube arrangement for Zeppelins. But, that's not available now and cutting your own PVC pipe will always be cheaper.

David Waelder

post-14-130815081524_thumb.jpg

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It is interesting to see Tom's cart with the slotted PVC ducts. However, the Rycote that I have is 4" in diameter (bought it last year - are older models narrower?).

Unfortunately, the largest pipe you can buy at Home Depot/Lowes is 4". I've just learned that only city work units use 5" piping.

I am interested in buying/making something that will protect the zep when I place it in a suitcase for check in when I fly. Like this weekend!

Can anyone suggest a possible solution? (Sorry if this is off topic - you can e-mail me at or.milano@gmail.com if you wish).

Regards,

OM

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It is interesting to see Tom's cart with the slotted PVC ducts. However, the Rycote that I have is 4" in diameter (bought it last year - are older models narrower?).

Unfortunately, the largest pipe you can buy at Home Depot/Lowes is 4". I've just learned that only city work units use 5" piping.

I am interested in buying/making something that will protect the zep when I place it in a suitcase for check in when I fly. Like this weekend!

Can anyone suggest a possible solution? (Sorry if this is off topic - you can e-mail me at or.milano@gmail.com if you wish).

Regards,

OM

How about 6" pipe lined with 3/4" or 1" foam?

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Unfortunately, the largest pipe you can buy at Home Depot/Lowes is 4". I've just learned that only city work units use 5" piping.

Well, you could work with aluminum tubing. That is, no doubt, what Chinhda will do for the set cart - when he can actually get caught up on other responsibilities and begin building it.

Here are some relevant examples:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=7528&step=4&showunits=inches&id=71&top_cat=0

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=4742&step=4&showunits=inches&id=71&top_cat=0

These are the result of a quick Google search. (And I know nothing about the metal supplier.) With a little time and effort you might be able to find some tubing in a suitable size that is already anodized.

Aluminum is a bit more difficult to cut than PVC but it shouldn't be that tough. The supplier will probably cut it to a suitable length and you'll only need to cut a slot for the handle and drill a few holes for mounting. The result will be both lighter and more attractive than the example I showed.

David Waelder

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Unfortunately, the largest pipe you can buy at Home Depot/Lowes is 4"

By the way, I don't want to get hung up on nomenclature here but I think you don't want "pipe," you want "tube."

Pipe is generally thicker and more rigid. Tubes will have thinner wall and be lighter. It may be relevant in that a search may produce different results from suppliers.

David Waelder

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By the way, I don't want to get hung up on nomenclature here but I think you don't want "pipe," you want "tube."

Pipe is generally thicker and more rigid. Tubes will have thinner wall and be lighter. It may be relevant in that a search may produce different results from suppliers.

David Waelder

In plumbing it's always called "pipe," no matter the material it's made from.  Structural material with stronger walls is referred to as "tubing" and is designed to carry loads that plumbing pipe is not designed for.  Structural tubing is used in construction (houses and buildings), cars (think roll cages and frames) and heavy machinery among other things AND, as odd as it sounds, tubing can be round or square.

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Actually, in plumbing it's always called "pipe."  Structural material with stronger walls is referred to as "tubing" and is designed to carry loads that plumbing pipe is not designed for.

Different fields and applications appear to have differing nomenclature. I took my cue from the OnLineMetals.com guidance:

A brief discussion of the difference between pipe and tube:

Pipe is generally more rigid than tube, and is usually produced in heavier wall thicknesses.

Pipe is specified by a nominal dimension which bears little or no resemblance to the actual dimensions of the pipe. 1" Schedule 40 pipe, for instance, has an actual OD of 1.32", a wall of 0.133", and an inner diameter of 1.049". Tube dimensions are actual dimensions.

Pipe fittings are sized to meet pipe sizes, but not tube sizes. A 1" schedule 40 nipple will fit correctly on a 1" schedule 40 pipe, but not on a 1" OD tube.

Click here for a tool specifically designed to search our pipe offerings, or scroll down to see the available items in this category.

That discussion appears on this page of their catalog:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=946&step=2&top_cat=60

But, in any event, searching under various names may yield more results.

David

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Thank you Dave...

I learnt a lot about the pipe/tube difference and various specs and the meaning of schedule Xx - the hard way, on my own. I wish i had known Dave would be the go-to guy for all this. However, I survived and managed to make my cart eventually. It was a tough gig, but i loved it all though and wish to learn a lot more... I wish I lived in LA just because Chinhda is there, and nothing else really... :)

-vin

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