Thread: Building a large cage

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My wife had a great idea for our haunted house tonight. I was going to be in a corner with some other props and jump up to scare people on their way out of the room. While trying to figure out the setting my wife suggested making a cage. It's perfect since the room is a mad scientist's lab.

So... how to make a cage? I'm thinking of doing something very simple. Galvanized EMT conduit for the bars (which are cheap and useful for future projects) and 2x4's painted black for the base, middle and top. It'll be three sided and just slid in place around me (no floor or roof). The boards will be connected to each other to make a rigid structure and slipped over the conduit. I was going to use junction collars on some of the bars to hold up the middle and top wood sections.

Thoughts?

You could also include one or two rubber bars, that way it looks like you bending steel trying to get out.

It will be cheaper and easier to construct if you use PVC. If you use the thin stuff and space it far enough apart, you may find that you can spread the bars enough to "escape" and chase after the TOTers. Either that or just reach farther through than they thought you would be able to.

Actually, EMT is cheaper than PVC these days. For mine last year, we used PVC on the top and bottom, then drilled holes for the bars. By drilling the holes just a tad larger, we were able to make quite a racket rattling them around.

To escape, I just lifted a bar up out of the bottom hole. But, my escape is under the cover of darkness, so no worries about someone WATCHING the escape.

We've done cage bars using old bicycle tire tubes. Just stapled to the top and bottom of a wood frame. And they stretch really easy for a quick escape!

Yep, the EMT is cheaper than PVC and I don't have to paint it either. My haunted house is going to use a rather extensive pipe canopy setup so extra EMT will be handy for future reconfigurations. I like the idea of making the middle horizontal holes larger so they can rattle. I don't think I'm going to escape, just reach through and make a lot of noise.

Does anyone have any pictures of cages they've built?

I built this one out of PVC and 1x2's. It disassembles into flat panels for storage and transport. It was first built as a shark cage for our friend's neighborhood movie night, featuring "JAWS." I then rusted it a bit and used it for the twins at our Carn-evil Halloween party. Here are photos of it in both variations.



Eric