One of the new projects for this year is a horse-drawn hearse. The idea is to park it in the graveyard with a talking skeleton driver. Out the back will be 4 skeleton pallbearers carrying a coffin to its final resting place.
First up was to draw out and get dimensions for the hearse.
After a few hours with Sketchup we have a design. The overall size of the hearse will be approximately 8.5 ft long, 6.5 ft tall, and 3 ft wide.
I'm cheap, so I am building this with very minimal expense. I didn't want to spend $50 per wheel for ones that could carry a load. So I opted to support the hearse on 2x4's instead. It isn't like I am going to take ToT's out for a midnight ride. I found 30in wheels at K-mart for $14 a piece.
A friend of mine bought a new house and took these outdoor wall sconces off. These will look perfect mounted to the side.
Today I started the build and was able to finish the base frame, wall frames, and the front and back walls.
Chuck, I just wanted to tell you again how great this is looking! I am sooo jealous of those light fixtures!!!! I can't wait to see this baby finished. When can I expect delivery?
Finished constructing the seat last night. I engineered it so that it will hold a grown persons weight. I climbed up on it last night had a seat, held me just fine, not even a wobble. Should make for some interesting pictures, i think.
I should mention that I also designed this so that it will all break down and store as flat as possible. The seat is one piece that disconnects from the carriage part. Each wall is a seperate piece, along with the roof and base. Just back out a few screws and everything folds down flat.
My wheels should be delivered today and this weekend I will install the crown moulding, wheels, and paint her up.
Once that is done, I will take more than a few pics and break it down to store until Oct. (If only my neighborhood would let me park it out front all year round )
did you check if you can get the hearse out of the garage before you attached them to the roof? I learned the hard way.
I have a similar setup with the 4x4s and I picked up some furniture dollies (the ones with the carpet on them) at Harbor Freight. I lay a 2x12 (I think) across two dollies and slide it under the front posts then do the same for the rear posts. This makes moving it around a lot easier on concrete. They also add to the height of the hearse too. (notice that I mentioned I learned the hard way above).
Keep up the good work. If you decide to add a Horse, search for a thread here by Homestead Haunt
did you check if you can get the hearse out of the garage before you attached them to the roof? I learned the hard way.
I have a similar setup with the 4x4s and I picked up some furniture dollies (the ones with the carpet on them) at Harbor Freight. I lay a 2x12 (I think) across two dollies and slide it under the front posts then do the same for the rear posts. This makes moving it around a lot easier on concrete. They also add to the height of the hearse too. (notice that I mentioned I learned the hard way above).
Keep up the good work. If you decide to add a Horse, search for a thread here by Homestead Haunt
No it will not fit out of the garage when it is completely built. When I was designing the hearse i took into account on how to store it. The entire piece breaks down and packs away as flat as it can. All four walls, roof, base and seat are separate pieces that screw into each other. The whole top frame is then screwed into the base with 8 screws. If I back those out, then I can lift the top portion out of the garage, then move the base out side and place the top portion back on it again. (just did it today to make sure)
Also, since the top is just 2x2, 1/4 plywood, and foam, it weighs about 50lbs.
Got her all painted up and ready to attach curtains, wheels, and seat.
I ended painting the frame and sconces with a bright gold and then dry brush some black on them. I also frosted the glass on the sconces and added flicker bulbs to them.
Played with some lighting last night. I had some blue LED strip lights left over from another project I was working on. I put those up along the inside of the carriage.
I also had a couple of red satin curtains in a storage bin that I hung on the inside to get a feel for how it would look.
As you can see also, I was able to mount the wheels as well.
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I found this photo and wondering how to create the trees and moon. You think the trees are made from thin plywood? What about moon?
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I’m working on a haunted candy factory for next Halloween and want to build a machine with a moving conveyor belt. I would like to have regular looking candy on one side, then it goes into a machine and comes out as distorted candy on the other side.
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