Thread: My PVC Skeletons... The "How To"

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I'm going to do the best I can to explain how I create my PVC Skeletons. They are easy. They are fast and They are Cheap. In my opinion they look pretty OK! . WARNING PLEASE BE SAFE when working with PVC as what I'm going to explain is NOT safe if not done in an open atmosphere.

What I use:
Two 3/4 " pieces of PVC
Some scrap wood... (I Know I hate that too but it's what I can "Dig Up"
Hot glue ( LOTS)
Some Liquid Nails
Some "Great Stuff foam"
Some Scrap foam
3 PVC T's
Duct tape
The paint is by choice l use Drylock because I like the look and texture the rest I wont go into detail because everyone has their own style.
On This prop I used some "Model Magic" but any clay type stuff will do.
Lastly Your going to need some sort of Skull! ( I get mine every year from a place called the "Do It Center" for about $ 5) Yes I buy a LOT!

Now the fun begins... Get your PVC and start your build...(I Hope you have your Skelly Plans)


Tools
Dremel
Hot Glue gun
Jig Saw (for the base) Optional
And a propane torch... Cost about $17 at home depot and comes with the propane.


OK ... So what is a PVC skeleton? Well it's an Idea! Have a pose or position in mind ... This is important! I cant help you make a Skeleton I can only show you what I do! I start with a pose.

First I make a base... I sell mine once I use them so I create a multi purpose base one that can hold the prop while I build it and also look OK on display.

Cut a round base and at the back mount a piece of scrap wood drill a 3/4" in hole in it... You should get something like this.



Next I drop in the spine and use two "T"'s that I bore out with the dremel and you should get something similar. Obviously one is for the arms and the other is ... The one everyone seems to want to know know about the rib cage!



Once you get your "Idea" started and you have a good idea what your going for ... It's Rib cage time!

What your going to do is cut one 18" of PVC in 4'sections using your Dremel . So cut it and half and cut each half again. Don't be exact you want it it to look "Messy" And you should get...



So once you have that done you need a sternum! I spent way too long debating on what a sternum actually looks like when I ended up just making a a piece of scrap wood that looked good. Cut it small and thin... I measured mine and gave a half inch.

There is no easy way for me to tell you how I actually do this... Imagine a paint stir stick you get for free from any hardware / paint store and cut that with your dremel to mimic a sternum?
something like this...\


Next I take out the duct tape.... and make long 1/4" strips to secure the "Ribs"
Like this...

Next step is to heat them up with the torch... Be VERY careful here and do out doors... But once they start ti get that almost smores / golden brown look all they way around they are good to go... I form the entire first rib all the way around... Than I duct tape the next..



Repeat until you get the cage...should look something like this...(I'm leaving out a step on purpose that I add for detail, but I'll leave that up to you Imagination.)

Once you have the rib cage the rest is pretty easy stuff... It's all bend and shape the PVC until you get the desired look...


On a side note sometimes I run electrical wire through them to light the skulls..
I use what ever is handy to sculpt out the rest " Model magic" Sculpy Clay" Liquid nails" etc... Just what I have on hand at the time they are corpses... It doesn't really matter.

If you have questions feel free to ask..




I hope you enjoy!

Last House

how do you connect the ribs to the spine?

Great job and thanks. I might have to give this a try before Halloween.

That looks terrific. The ribs really make it look real. Thanks so much for posting this

I don't remember ever seeing anyone utilize PVC in such a manner for the ribs - very interesting, and eye opening as well!

Great job and thanks for the "How To". Where did you get the skull from?

Looks great! do you have any side views of the prop?

I'm going to show how I attach the ribs on the prop above .... In the second picture I posted you will see two PVC "T's" the mid one is the rib cage connection .... I'm making a full body skelly now so I painted it red in this picture to show you.


This is for connecting the rib cage... So what I do is hot glue a second "PVC T" to the inside of the rib cage. The inside of this image


What matters in this step is "how you design your corpse" I take a small section of PVC about 3" or so and if I need to heat up and bend it to fit I do.

In the corpse you will see in these next few pics you will see it is attached in 3 places the Spin to rib cage and the rib cage to the shoulders.

This is a side view someone also asked for... As you can see the Ribs on this corpse don't go all the way around... It's a "Ground Breaker" Type corpse and will only be seen from a few angles...So I don't stress on connecting each rib to the spin Unless it will be seen from 360... Like my full size skellies are.



the next few images are just like a walk around of the corpse...





Last pic is me trying to show how the rib cage is attached...


Another answer to several questions is... "Where do you get the skulls?" well a few years back the wife and I walked into a local hardware store called the "Do It Center" and we bought them out... they cost like $4.50 or so....

Also was asked how I do the hands.... here is the tut...

Cheap and easy Skeleton hands

Thanks for the additional info and photos.

No problem... I hope this helps you all.

Feel free to message me with any questions.


Lasthouse