Thread: Ground breaker base?

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With only 198 days left till the big day, I've kicked my prop building into full gear >=)

Among other things, I'm drawing up plans to make my very first ground breaker. I plan on building him on a wooden base; something that can just be set on the front lawn and not something that I have to drive into the ground, since the ground is as hard as a rock.

My problem is, I haven't really seen any methods of attaching a ground breaker to a wooden base, explained. I've seen wooden bases used, but never the steps/materials used to do it.

Any advice would be awesome

Howdy Curlgoddess...
I'm curious, where do you live? I too live where the ground is hard as rock. (Tucson, AZ), and do all I can to not have to drive anything into it.
I think the best way to attach a G.B. corpse to a wooden base is to use a
1X2 or 2X2 or whatever scrap you may have as the backbone for the corpse. Once that has been screwed down to the base, you can just build off of that spine. Or is this for a corpse that is already built?

Originally Posted by MorbidMariah

Howdy Curlgoddess...
I'm curious, where do you live? I too live where the ground is hard as rock. (Tucson, AZ), and do all I can to not have to drive anything into it.
I think the best way to attach a G.B. corpse to a wooden base is to use a
1X2 or 2X2 or whatever scrap you may have as the backbone for the corpse. Once that has been screwed down to the base, you can just build off of that spine. Or is this for a corpse that is already built?

Believe it or not, I live in Louisiana... where the land is supposed to be soft and squishy... but apparently, where I'm at (about 30 miles outside of New Orleans) was built on clay. It most certainly makes an exercise routine out of putting my tombstones out =)

The corpse isn't built yet. Your suggestion is along the lines of what I was thinking I could do.

Thanks for the suggestion! =)

If you are using a PVC pipe or cardboard tube "spine", just fix a length of dowel or old broom handle to the wooden base and slip your prop over this.
This is a good method if you want to break your prop down for ease of storage.

Take a look at Spooky Blue's groundbreaker how to. Looks like he makes the spine out of wood, and just screws it to the base
Spooky Blue - Halloween Projects - Ground breaker corpses

Take a look at Spooky Blue's groundbreaker how to. Looks like he makes the spine out of wood, and just screws it to the base
Spooky Blue - Halloween Projects - Ground breaker corpses

EDIT: oops! must have double clicked the Post button!

If you make your prop out of PVC, you can take a couple of PVC caps and screw them down to a wooden base. Then you can place your PVC pipe into these caps. For added stability, just drill a hole through the side of the cap and through the pipe. Now insert a nut and bolt through the hole and your done.

i just screw a PVC TEE joint T upside down...Slip PVC spine over that. PVC cap is the same thing, but it spins too easily for my taste. If ou want the TEE better anchored, just use U shaped metal conduit clamps over the TEE ends to help hold it down. Solid as rock that way.

I build groundbreakers using the Pumpkinrot method. I use a 1 X 2 wood strip for the spine and the corpse body is mache'd to the 12 X 12 wooden base. I nail the spine strip onto the base from the bottom up. Squirt a little white glue around the interface for added security. Here's a link to Rot's store where you can get an idea of how the body is attached. The pics are dark (naturally) but you'll get the idea.

Handmade for Holidays on Etsy - Pumpkinrot Groundbreaker XXI by pumpkinhollow

knowing me i would just fill the prop with rocks