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Need a safe way to make sparks...

14795 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  pdcollins6092, 
C
I worked a few years in a haunted house, and the guy playing Freddy did an amazing job. For several years he had a setup that included a long strip of chicken wire, a large metal glove looking thing, and a car battery. I'm sure you can fill in the rest from here. The sparks flying combined with his voice and movements made this a constant favorite for the customers.

Last year I actually set the roots for my own haunted trail and I'm looking to recreate this Freddy scene. What I need is to know if there are any special details as far as how his worked, or even better, if there is a safer alternative to making the sparks fly.

I've read articles about using welders, grinding wheel, etc, but I'm really wanting the illusion of the sparks coming from the point of contact between his claws and the fence.

Any help would be much appreciated. You'd be a lifesaver, perhaps literally.
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C
update...

ah ok. I finally tracked down a site that I had found a couple of years ago that explains how to do it safely. I'm confident it will work, but I am still willing to take advice given.
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The Pod
Did this one year in a haunted house with a car battery charger. Hung a large metal screen 9(2'x3') along the back wall and attached the Neg clip of the battery charger for it. Then attached a large metal bolt to the Pos clip of the charger. To make sparks, I just have to swipe the bolt across the metal screen. :D Don't know how real safe it was, but it was really cool!!! No one got hurt as we kept the guest more than and arms reach from the screen.
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S
cmwright1981 what's the sit for this? may want to try this also.
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C
alright after some deliberation I've decided I can't really do Freddy, and no one that I know can probably do Freddy, so I'm gonna go a new direction. I'm considering having an area bordered in chain link fencing. Instead of a metal glove I'm going to go with a plain ol metal rod. The ghoul can run around making sparks and pretty much just go crazy. That way there is no pressure to make something like the original.
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MacEricG
cmwright1981: I rented a really cheesy how-to halloween DVD not too long ago. The one thing they showed that was cool was a chainsaw madman that made sparks.

I don't remember the entire setup, but basically it mimicked your Freddy idea. The chainsaw was outfitted with a replacement metal bar without a chain. There was one battery connection made to this fake bar, and the other battery connection was to a metal fence. Every time he revved up the chainsaw, he'd drag the bar across the fence and the sparks would fly. Pretty cool effect.
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Sychoclown
MacEricG said:
cmwright1981: I rented a really cheesy how-to halloween DVD not too long ago. The one thing they showed that was cool was a chainsaw madman that made sparks.

I don't remember the entire setup, but basically it mimicked your Freddy idea. The chainsaw was outfitted with a replacement metal bar without a chain. There was one battery connection made to this fake bar, and the other battery connection was to a metal fence. Every time he revved up the chainsaw, he'd drag the bar across the fence and the sparks would fly. Pretty cool effect.
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I think I rented that same video.
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pdcollins6092
The Pod said:
Did this one year in a haunted house with a car battery charger. Hung a large metal screen 9(2'x3') along the back wall and attached the Neg clip of the battery charger for it. Then attached a large metal bolt to the Pos clip of the charger. To make sparks, I just have to swipe the bolt across the metal screen. :D Don't know how real safe it was, but it was really cool!!! No one got hurt as we kept the guest more than and arms reach from the screen.
Click to expand...
That is the only way that I have seen it done and as long as a car battery charger is used and not the battery itself it is safe. You do still want some space between the sparks and the TOTs.
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