Remote Control Axe Throwing Target With Projected Images

In 2018, I visited my first axe throwing venue in Atlanta. I found it a challenging and worthwhile hobby that is both a stress reliever and a fun social activity. When my gym closed in 2020 due to COVID, axe throwing was my only outlet and kept me moving and active when the entire world was closed down. The only problem I found was that axes were pretty easy for me to master so I decided to make a more realistic challenge.

This entire project was constructed using found or salvaged parts with the exception of the RC winch controller relay and the battery. This was my labor of love during Covid and social distancing. In January 2021 I was then diagnosed with cancer (Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma) and having this project to focus on, really helped me through some tough times! I'm in remission now and I have another shot at life.

Cheers!

Chuck

While I was able to salvage all of these items, I've sourced them so you can purchase the materials listed here if you cannot find everything through salvage.

Materials:

• 6 Terminal ATV contactor - Amazon: $19.50 - Link

• 6 qty - 2"x6"x6' - Culled Lumber Boards - $18.00 Link
• 3 qty - 2"x4"x8' Culled Lumber Boards - $6.48 Link
• 2 qty - 1"x4"x24" Lumber from my scrap pile...
• Ammo Box - Amazon: 9.99 - Link
• Wireless Winch Control Kit - Amazon: $18.90 - Link
• 6 Terminal ATV contactor - Amazon: $19.50 - Link
• Electric Scooter Transaxle Motor - Ebay - $70.00 - Link
• I found mine behind the dumpster at a scooter dealership.
• PWM speed controller - Amazon - $13.59 - Link
• Molex Power connectors - Amazon - $7.99 - Link
• Solder seal Kit if you don't have one - $14.00 - Link
• 12vdc 8 amp Battery - $18.90 - Link
• Used 12VDC light projector - $21.50 - New Amazon Link
• Wire Conduit Sleeve - $12.99 - Link
• Tube steel or old wheel chair Brackets for mounting motor - Link
• 1 Steel Rear Support Bracket - made from salvaged wheel chair parts
• 2 Aluminum Side Metal Brackets - made from salvaged wheel chair parts
• Wood Screws 2 1/2', 3 1/2' and 1 3/4' - Link
• Zip Ties - Link

Tools:

• Circular Saw
• Wire Strippers
• Crimping Tool
• Drill
• Allen Key Set
• Basic Hand Tools
• Heat Gun

Wire all of your components up like the wiring diagram, just don't connect the battery to the circuit or power anything on until you sure it's correct. Watch the attached video for a visual of my setup where I tested the controls.

• a Wiring diagram is attached attached I pulled all my wire out of the used scooter but 16-18ga wire will work perfect.
• Your setup will vary depending on the size and type of transaxle motor you find. This setup works for up to a 400w motor and with 12 or 24vdc. my motor is 150w and 12vdc which was fast enough for me.

essentially you build a giant L with your 6 2" x 6" boards making a backstop, I had to play with the design while building so please excuse any inconsistencies.

1. Cut two 2"x4" timbers to the length of 6'. Those will serve as your base. Please ignore the wheels in the photo my original design did not pan out and I switch to the trans axle motor.
2. Cut two 30" boards and attach perpendicular to the base timbers. These are the width stabilizers. I used scrap 1"x4" boards.
3. Attach a 30" piece of 2"x6" to the front edge using the aluminum L brackets. In the pictures, there are two 24" additional 2x4's attached to the back of the target, please ignore those, they were to support a shelf and not needed.
4. Next add your qty of 5, 2"x6"x6' target boards, I used small wood screw and plywood straps on the back of the boards all tight, just may sure not to use any screw over 1/2" especially if your throwing heavy axes.
5. Add two 2"x4"s for supporting the target at a 45 degree angle.
6. you can technically throw axes at your target now even though the wheels are not yet attached, have fun, I used Culled lumber in mine which is why the gaps are so large, I should have ripped them down a little for a tight fit but I had to replace them after the first week of "testing" lmao!!!
7. you will notice in some of my shots the Base of the Target seems reverse, I did that to catch the axe's when you miss, the only difference is where you mount the Electronic box.

• Next is to attach your motor assembly to your axe target, I used several parts from an old electric wheel chair to do this. I used some salvaged tube steel and some stainless steel bolts to create a box around the squared off section of the axle. You could weld a better bracket I'm sure, just make sure you attach it to the squared off section of the axle next to the tires. (see attached photo's)
• For forward and rear support you will need to add an arm to the motor case, mine was taken off of that electric wheelchair but I'm sure you can find a creative solution of your own. if you have a chance to pick up an old broken e wheel chair I recommend it! even if for nothing more than the hardware, if you have to make one do not fret a piece of flat strait steel will work fine.
• Attach your flat steel or salvaged bracket to the motor case and replace the bolt you removed with a longer bolt of the same threat pattern. (see attached photo's)

The Projector and Basket attachment are very basic and will need to be custom, I used scrap aluminum to make this detachable on my axe target but you could use wood, aluminum or whatever you can find just make sure it's somewhat axe resistant, light weight and make it removable for storage. I've used a few setups the one I like the best is running the Target backwards so the base of the target catches and delivers your missed axes to you.

- You will need to power the projector according to what style you use. A 12v mini projector can be wired direct with just a fuse for protection. I revamped my target and when I did I went to a higher resolution projector. I modified the Keystone to allow me to run the projector on it's side. see attached YouTube Short for an overview.

- if you use a standard projector that uses 110-120v make sure to add a properly sized Inverted, be wary these can be a bit expensive so remember to check the power requirements on your projector power supply. I found a projector with a 1080 resolution and 600 lumen out put and could power it with this 300watt inverter, although it gets warm after 30min. Amazon Link : link

1. Find yourself a video image of what you want to show axes at with a green screen behind it. Download and have it ready, you will also need a background image to place behind your target, i'm using black to the target but a picture of an old tunnel for this demonstration..
2. I used Shotcut to edit out my green Screen. I won't cover the basics of that software here just the step by step, if you have questions Shotcut has some great tutorials, I learned it in a day with very little video editing experience.
   1. Open Shotcut
   2. Add 2 Video Tracks to your timeline - Image Step 2.2
   3. Copy your target Source to the V2 timeline and your background Image to V1 timeline. See Image 2.3
   4. Stretch the Background image so that it covers the length of your target video See Image 2.4
   5. Add a filter for Chroma key; Simple and adjust the slider until the green screen is gone. see Image 2.5
   6. Adjust the Distance Bar until all the Green is removed. This one Mummy started to turn incorporeal when I removed the Chroma Distance but it still looks like a ghost so I'm keeping the effect. See Image 2.6
   7. Adding a position filter; because my mummy is floating halfway up the screen, I added a postion filter to Bring it down somewhat. you can also adjust the size to make the target larger. see image 2.7
   8. Hit the Append to the current track until your Target is long enough for your needs, I also added some fun shots from Mortal Combat to give my target a more 80's video game theme.
   9. at this point you can add an audio Track I did this and used a BT speaker attached to the target but it's not necessary.
   10. Export your video and load it into your projector for testing :) on to the next step.
3. If you don't want to do this yourself I've uploaded the Mummy File. enjoy...

This is the part where you get to have fun, watch my build/test videos above, at this point I was a bit weak from the Chemotherapy so my buddy came over so I could get a complete test, I hope you have as much fun with your build as I did.!!! I've got a few YouTube videos up and I was so happy to receive a comment from James Hobson aka "The Hacksmith"

if you have any questions please feel free to message me and I will do my best to answer in a timely manner .