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Animated Grave Digger

Mechanical: 
5K views 32 replies 16 participants last post by  Oak Lane Cemetery 
#1 ·
Gotta give credit to BIGANT for this idea. I wanted to do this last year after seeing his but just got around to it now. I wanted the Skelly to be self supporting though, I didn’t want to see a pole or rod holding him up. This is a Pose-N-Stay that required a bunch of modifications to pull this off. I installed a length of 3/8” threaded rod in the left leg that runs from the hip down thru the foot and into the base. The string from his lower back to the base is there to minimize the bounce, it will be replaced with clear fishing line. I had to reinforce the left hip and pelvis with additional screws, glue, and bolts to support the weight of the entire Skelly. The hands were taken off, the tabs that fit into the wrists were cut off and I installed eye screws into the hands to allow free movement at the wrists. This also allows turning the hands to any position needed. The spine was taken apart and a length of aluminum arrow shaft inserted to stiffen it up. The upper arms were twisted using a heat gun to get the elbows to the proper position. The shoulder joints were modified by removing the arms and cutting off the nubs on the part that rotates inside the shoulder. A bit of the shoulder sockets were shaved out to allow free movement. The elbow joints were also taken apart and shaved down a bit. The plastic rods in the elbows were removed and replaced with ¼ x ¾” hex bolts for free movement. The right hip was taken apart, the existing bolt and spring replaced with a ¼ x 3” carriage bolt and nut for free movement at the hip. I used a heat gun on the fingers one at a time to wrap them around the shovel handle. All in all, he underwent some major surgery, a lot more than I anticipated. I also welded everything to the back of the shovel, I didn’t wanna see any bolts in the face of the shovel. Still gotta make a housing for the wiper motor and then paint everything black. I’ll also use some salt water and vinegar to rust up the face of the shovel where the welds came thru. The finished prop won't have the wood blocks under the base, it will sit flat on the ground with some leaves on it. I think I’ll call him my Grave Robber instead of Digger.
 
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