Thread: FGC crypt started!

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During hurricane IKE's aftermath, I worked on a few projects in my garage, and one was getting started on my FCG crypt.

I am not mechanically inclined, and Dh and I just bought our first set of real tools including a circular saw. I have not been allowed to use said saw due to DH's belief that I will chop off body parts.

(this is not helped by the fact that I had a Halloween emergency room visit about 10 years ago due to a pumpkin carving accident... I cut some tendons in my hand after my hand slipped up the knife blade. Much surgery and a nifty scar later, and for some reason Dh seems to think I'm not safe around spinny or sharp objects )

Anyway...

I came up with my own plans which I will eventually post if this isn't a huge catastrophe, and it's basic construction is 1 x 2s, foamcore, and lots of nails and screws. It's supposed to be very light, cheap and break down into flats for storage. The front, back and two sides are all stand-alone pieces, and the roof is going to be all one piece, and will snug into the wall assembly much like a foam cooler lid.

The FCG will be attached to a "T" frame that will be attached into the interior, with the motor extending up into the roof area.

I plan on drilling holes into the bottoms of all of the sides and hammering in rebar or the like to anchor the structure. It is going in a very shielded area of my yard, and we generally don't have bad weather during Halloween (maybe a bit of rain) with temps in the 70s.

It will not stand up to heavy winds (since the foamcore is pretty flimsy) but it's cheaper and easier to put together than most of the plans I've seen out there. I'm sure it could be adapted to use plywood, but that requires more precision than I'm willing to put forth - I'm a cut-corners kind of gal.

I'll post construction pics eventually also.

Fingers crossed that this isn't just a huge waste of time and materials!

..... can someone please tell me what FCG is?? Must be an English abreviation of some sort, but...

BTW Frankie's Girl, I'm not allowed near any tools either.... unless BF is standing right over my shoulder !!! (must be a guy-thing...)

Frankie'sGirl, that sounds like a great idea. I can't wait to see the construction pix.

BTW, yesterday I was dremeling out some dollar store skulls and I dremeled my finger--OUCH!

Couple years ago I was using a cement patio umbrella stand to hold up a dummy. The stand still had part of the aluminum umbrella post in it. I was carrying it and it was really heavy so I just dropped it down where I wanted it and the aluminum post part snapped back at the inside of my elbow. The bone still hurts on occasion. Should've had it x-rayed...oops!

yeah what does FGC mean?

it sounds really cool, cant wait to see some pictures

I want some pics. Sounds like a great idea. Don't feel bad about the saw. I'm that way with my other half. I'm the only one that can use the chainsaw and air compressor tools. I'm more mechanically inclined and just don't want him hurt.
On a side note, after mentioning to someone about using a stir stick to push down hot glue so they don't get burnt, I used my air compressor cut off saw to cut up an old plastic bucket. I was making the cheesey fangs for my spider. I wasn't thinking about it and wasn't wearing gloves. The saw was melting the plastic while it was cutting it and now I have HUGE blisters on both of my thumbs. OUCH

Cinders: you really should go and get it looked at. My other half tripped down the front step and hurt his ankle. This was about 12 years ago. Anyways, we went on a trip to New York about a week after the incident. We walked all over the place and his ankle really hurt. When we got back we found out that it was actually broken in a few places!

FCG is Flying Crank Ghost. It is a very popular prop for haunters. Here is a link to a tutorial from SpookyBlue's version of it he does a very nice job on his tutorials
Spookyblue's Flying Crank Ghost

Here are the first set of pics:


The front section is framed out and the foamcore applied. I nailed the foam onto the front, and then flipped them all over and applied a seam of liquid nails for foam to all of the inside edges and smoothed it out so there is a continuous seam of adhesive along all of the inside edges. This makes it both light tight and provides a little more strength and stability to the sides.



The sides and back are built exactly the same (the front having the door, needed to be different of course) and the measurements for the wall/doorfront sections are all the same: 5 feet wide by 6 feet tall. When the roof is added, it will add on another foot at the peak. The door opening measures 3 feet by 6 feet - the best possible viewing area for the FCG I could come up with. So the final crypt will be 5 feet by 5 feet square, with a height of 7 feet.


Close-up of one of the back/side sections. I ran duct tape on the interior where the foamcore had to be spliced due to the width (had to add a section 1 foot wide to cover) and adhesive will be applied to the outside join and smoothed over once the interior seams are dry. I could have run another 1 x 2, but I'm out, and right now I'm wanting to see how solid this will be without going crazy with the supports - this is supposed to be as light and cheap as I can make it without it falling apart, so I may still add some later, but so far it doesn't seem to need it.

Paint will come once I get all four sides assembled and glued.

So far, this construction seems pretty darn stable and even Dh thinks this will work well. As you can see, the sides will all be able to be stored flat or up against a wall.

I also have to add, I am not trying to miter edges or even freaking out if I don't score a straight line on my foamcore. If there is a little warped looking wall section here or there, I think it will add to the effect of a decaying crypt... I'm all about cutting corners, so this will be kind of a weird and frustrating project for anyone that is a stickler for detail.

I really like the idea of being able to take it apart. I made the mistake of making one that does not and although the frame stays on the side of the house all year and out of the way, I have to take the foam board off and reapply it every year. It would be easier with a breakaway. I may try one myself for next year and use this one for scrap lumber.

My Crypt for FCG

Updated pics in that thread. Meant to update that one and not this one... oops.