Breaking Cane Prop Help For A Newbie?

[ittlebitty]

Hi everyone! I am brand-spanking new to this forum! I've been building random things for a while, I've always been rather crafty myself but I'm a theater major in college and I am the Props Master for the first time ever. I've been wanting this job for forever.

The production is The House of Bernarda Alba.

The prop I'm needing to make is a walking cane but the tricky part is that it has to be able to be snapped in half by an actor and then put back together after the show for the next night!

I've had a few ideas float through my head (including some that used legos can you tell I don't know what I'm doing?) but I'm not sure of the feasibility of any of them.

I have access to the scene shop and tools but I'm on a tight budget so I'm not sure I could get away with sculpting it myself or if that is even the way to go.

Any tips, help, ideas are very much appreciated.

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[Jeff C]

How many shows are you doing? If the budget allows, I would buy several identical (cheap) wooden canes. Keep one pristine for scenes where it isn't broken. When it needs to be broken, swap it out for a cane that has been cut most of the way though. If you need a more realistic break, you could try breaking the cane in half before hand and using a fairly weak glue to put it back together.

If you are short on budget, you can try breaking and re-gluing the same cane every night, but if the cane needs to be used in other scenes, you pretty much need to have a sturdy cane for the non-breaking scenes. Otherwise, Murphy's law will ensure the cane will break in the wrong scene.

 

[leviathanworksh]

ah my favourite one - this is one I have had to do quite a few times -

Take the original cane and chop it on your break line - centre up and drill a hole that is a snug fit of a beech furniture dowel. WOODEN DOWEL WOOD FURNITURE DOWELS PLUGS 8 X 30 70PK | eBay
Or similar- the two halves will fit snugly over the dowel and when you snap the cane over your knee or whatever it will break at the dowel.

To change the dowel insert a screw into it and pull it out with pliers
Re-insert and your ready for the next show.

you may find you need a duplicate but if you keep your joint snug it should hold together under most uses

Have fun

 

[Contec]

maybe a cane that is pre broken with rare earth magnets inside...

 

[ahoudini]

I second the dowel idea so that it makes a sound like it is actually breaking. The length of dowel may need to be longer and narrower than a real furniture dowel, however. Don't pre-cut the cane at 90° or it will be hard to break! I also agree that you will need one rigged to break and then an identical solid one for the other scenes. This necessitates a reliable system on the prop table to keep them separate so they don't get mixed up in the dark backstage!

 

[ittlebitty]

Thanks so much! I was trying to figure out some sort of joint system for the cane but I was waaaaaay over complicating it! Hopefully I will learn with experience and time.

The dowel system is perfect! I still have to talk to the director, the show is still in the early stages of production so we won't be building for a while but I'm sure this will work for my purposes!

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