Thread: Chainsaw Prop

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So I typed a whole post earlier and thought I posted it, but I didn't, because I never picked a prefix and didn't notice at the time, so here we go again.

I'm a rather large guy, I stand 6'4" and well over a small mans weight. I always felt like I would make a nice Leatherface.

Now, one of the most important features of Leatherface is his chain saw. I know a lot of people like to use a real chain saw with out the chain on. Which is safe, though it can get hot, and you do have the carbon monoxide.

There are also prop ones, though the gemmy one that everyone says is the best, no one has, maybe except for the occasional ebay buy.

So here is my idea, don't know how to make it but I have the idea. You guys are the prop masters so I figure we could put our heads together and make a plan.

What I was thinking it that you buy lets say a broken chainsaw, I see them a lot on craigslist, and gut the whole thing, I would also replace the plate that the chain moves on, just because of the sharp edges.

What I was thinking is putting a standard small mp3 player on the insde, have that attached to some kind of amplified speaker system that would be pointed out the carburetor. This would be controlled either volume wise or play wise through the "trigger" in the handle. I'm not sure if you could make it loud enough to be believable.

Now I was thinking two triggers, the second one would be for a small smoke machine or something to act as the exhaust, not sure but I found this, that might work. It's only 4 inches long and battery operated and can work by remote.



Now I don't know if this is possible or not, but I figured you guys are the ones who could tell me. If we could make this work, and on the cheap side I think we could have a really decent prop.

Course I looked at the price of that fogger and its over a grand, so scrap that, but it should help get the idea.

I did this last year. I had an old electric chainsaw and gutted it. then I put a set of ipod speakers in the chainsaw. The mp3 player was black and cheap and fit right where the trigger was. Worked great!

first off there is nothing like a real big loud chain saw to get the point (or blade) through!the little gemmy plastic chain saw is just plain lame.it looks stupid,and is very quite..you wouldnt be able to hear it over the laughter.I have been looking for a very small fogger for my show bike and did look at those, you would be better off running an exhaust tube to the outside off the haunt or putting a fan up to blow out the exhaust smoke rather then spending 1850 plus dollars on one of those....

Originally Posted by Jeffhawk

first off there is nothing like a real big loud chain saw to get the point (or blade) through!the little gemmy plastic chain saw is just plain lame.it looks stupid,and is very quite..you wouldnt be able to hear it over the laughter.I have been looking for a very small fogger for my show bike and did look at those, you would be better off running an exhaust tube to the outside off the haunt or putting a fan up to blow out the exhaust smoke rather then spending 1850 plus dollars on one of those....

Agreed. No substituting the real deal. Get a working one and simply remove the chain. Believe me NO ONE will notice it's gone as they are sreaming and running.

You do probably want to exhaust to the outside though. We had one inside albiet at the end of a drafty barn, and the fumes were a bit annoying. You wouldn't want to run it constantly anyway. The quiet and then hearing in the dark that start up is enough to make them pee themselves. LOL

we use several small chainsaws,all electric. occasionally we use a hedge trimmer... they all run , they all scream! its all good

I agree the real deal will always be the best, but still nice to come up with alternatives, not everyone would be comfortable using a real chain saw, and if you happen to bump someone and burn them, well thats a liability, I know everyone uses all the safety precautions they can, just throwing an idea out there

I talked about this earlier. I found a prop saw for professional haunts that sold for around $350.00. It had an mp3 player and whatever else. I couldn't see paying that much.

I started out last year with an electric saw. Well guess what, everyone just looked at it and chuckled. Needless to say, that lasted the one day.

The rest of the days we were open I had the guys use a real saw without the chain. When that baby fired up, everyone ran out to get away. The real deal all the way is the only way.

When the season is over, the chain is put back on and it can be used again.

I got the new full size gemmy saw a couple of years ago and it works great, just stay away from the old flat ones......they sound bad and look too fake. But the new gemmy saws are loud anuff and people have run from ours for two years now. The new gemmys are hard to find and they sell out quick at the stores like Party city. They sell out in sept. most the time.We got ours at GR and I did see the at HE.

I have the full size gemmy as well. Used it 2 years now and people run from it. You can get one at Buy Costumes right now or as Bozz says Party City around Sept. They are plenty loud enough. You can get one for around $40.00. Here is a pic.