|
You can purchase four plastic
skeletons for this next step or buy
4 separate skulls and four 'Bag of
Bones' that has the necessary
number of bones you will need. You
will need 12 bones (split length
wise in half) four skulls, 4 hands
(split), & two feet (left and
right). I used a utility knife to
split the
bones down the seem and then flattened out the cut to level with the help of an
edge sander (owning a woodworking shop can have its benefits) you can set up a
belt sander in a vise to achieve the same effect however. The more level your
edges are on each bone, the better bond you will have to the chair.
Here is a look at the chair fully outfitted with all the gross things we
will want to paint black and highlight. Each skull had to be cut out carefully
to perfectly slip over the top of each leg. Then one small screw was used on
each side of the skulls' jaw to attach them to the chair. You would be wise to
purchase one extra head to establish the exact pattern of this cut, as it is
pretty confusing at first as to where to cut out the plastic so they will fit
without having lots of gaps or disfiguring the shape of them once attached.
On my chair are 24 half bones, 4
skulls, 2 feet, 8 half hands, 1
rubber bat, three rubber spiders
and 9 miniature rats. At the very
end of our project I will be gluing
on a plastic resin statuette to the
top of the back. Use your
imagination and I'm sure you can
come up with an even better
combination. I attached all of my
gross things with hot glue. At
first I fiddled with a two part
epoxy and that seemed to REALLY
hold WELL, but after using a $5
syringe within the first three
bones, I decided I could live with
the relatively weaker adhesion of
hot glue, but then wound up going
back later and attaching each one
with drywall screws because they
can get knocked off too easily
without it.
The resin statuette was sanded down almost half way through
on the back to
make it possible to glue to the top of the chair's back. I then placed it where
I will want it and took a careful outline of it so I would know where not spray
paint later, as I need to have a strong surface to glue it to so it will hold
securely.
All of the items I have glued to the chair that are made out of plastic need to
be primed with a vinyl paint so the finish won't flake off during use. After
this was dry, I sprayed the entire chair with two coats of black paint.
Next, I used a tiny can of silver paint (not aerosol) and a 1" wide
foam brush to drag across the strong edges of the entire chair, buttons and
bones to highlight and define. This takes so little paint that the can (maybe 4
ounces) didn't even look used when I was done, so you won't need much. Then I
painted in the eyes and dripped blood red paint from the mouth of each skull.
Once dry, the entire chair was coated in two coats of thick lacquer to protect
the finish. Finally I hot glued the statuette to the back of the chair.
Here is what the chair should look like when complete. The last detail now
was to hold the speaker cover inside the seat box with a couple of metal L
brackets that were bent to just fit over the frame on the inside and then
screwed to the face frame. As you can see, this construction is an advanced
woodworker's specialty, but with as clear directions as we have set out here,
even a novice should be able to achieve a really nice finished product. I wish
the photo above would have turned out better,
but at least it will make wonderful new seat for the Crypt Keeper! If you
take on this project, be sure to email me a photo of the finished product and I
will include it in a section of reader's versions!
Rest In Pieces,
Death Lord
|