What if your cemetery tombstone prop could rock and roll?
This home haunter rigged up a motion rocker using plywood, 2×4 blocks and a $4 dollar 3 RPM, 12-volt motor powered by a computer power supply.
Try to say that 3 times fast…
With it all hidden inside the tombstone let’s take a closer look at how he did it!
How To Make Halloween Tombstones Move In Random Ways
Images by heresjohnny / YouTube.
The motor draws very little power from a computer power supply.
A simple irregularly cut cam mixes large and small movements, instead of just up and down.
And the incredibly low profile of the power wire helps it easily stay out of your trick or treaters’ view!
Three motors were considered for the job: a deer motor (left), the 12-volt 3 RPM motor (middle) and a 12-volt 6 RPM motor (in hand).
They all share the same approximate radius (and can be interchanged!)
You can swap this entire setup into other tombstones by hallow-ing out the insides…(see what I did there?)
To prevent the tombstone from toppling over, two rods on each side help add extra lateral support.
This jig helps line up the rod holes inside the prop to make sure they line up perfectly with the motor mechanism.
Once the jig is in place, you can head an aluminum rod with a butane torch and push through the jig to create a nice long pilot hole.
Alas! Screw the base into a larger wood platform for extra stability.
What a slick little project to animate your cemetery!
Hey, check out this phot “before” the armature was added and painted…
…ok, and another “after!” (:
Thank you Johnny!
For more info about this DIY, check out Johnny Ghost’s blog.
Images by heresjohnny / YouTube.
Our big thanks to Johnny for sharing!
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