[Muffy]

Please post any questions you have here in this section in regard to this project.

This project will start sometime in May or June

 

[[email protected]]

Oh I am so On board with this how to.

 

[13mummy]

You got to stop giving us excellent projects. I don't know how I can build all these this summer with a new born. Very fustrating. =)

 

[TheGothicPrincess]

I am also interested in this class and will be following along.

 

[halloween junkie]

Can't wait! My husband wants to build one of these. I have to let him build something.

 

[[email protected]]

any news yet?

 

[TheGothicPrincess]

Number 6 hearse on the instructor thread looks like it would be the easiest for cutting out the windows.

 

[Scatterbrains]

Just throwing out thoughts here...to make the wheels for my hearse, I'm pretty sure I'm going to cut them out of plywood. I'm debating on cutting a sheet of flooring plywood in half, then gluing the halves together to make thicker wheels.

Another timesaver I'm going to do...is to get the plywood cut when I buy it at Lowes, then go use one of their 48" diameter round "tabletops" they sell as a template to trace the circle on the plywood ....If I can find a 36" one, I can make two different sizes of wheels

I'm certain that cutting out the wheels will be the suckiest part of this project. I thought about the harbor freight wheels, but they're only 36" and cost twice as much.

 

[buckaneerbabe]

Scatterbrains, I think that's the way to go. I used 2 of the wheels from Harbor Freight 36" and 2- 30" wheels I picked up at big lots. It makes me more than I little nervous since the wheels are very poorly made. I put epoxy gel on the 30" wheels to strengthen them a little. If I was to do it over I would definitely use the plywood and cut my own wheels.

 

[Scatterbrains]

Scatterbrains, I think that's the way to go. I used 2 of the wheels from Harbor Freight 36" and 2- 30" wheels I picked up at big lots. It makes me more than I little nervous since the wheels are very poorly made. I put epoxy gel on the 30" wheels to strengthen them a little. If I was to do it over I would definitely use the plywood and cut my own wheels.

Did you use your wheels to support the weight of your hearse? I will probably use a 2x4 to hold up the weight of the "box" and attach the wheels to it. Similar to what Homestead Haunt did. I'm also thinking of using 4x4s and installing caster wheels into the bottom of the 4x4s so I can roll it around fairly easy.

 

[GDfreak]

See I'm still plotting out the wheels. Idk if it would be cheaper and easier to build them or buy them

 

[Scatterbrains]

See I'm still plotting out the wheels. Idk if it would be cheaper and easier to build them or buy them

Cheaper to make, as you'd be looking at $60 - $80 to buy at Harbor Freight or Biglots.

Easier, buying completed wheels would be easier, but if you have a decent jigsaw and some patience, I imagine you can knock them out in an afternoon.

A thought I have is to cut the plywood in half, then stack the pieces and cut out two wheels at once.. then I can determine whether to use them seperately or glue them together to make wider wheels.

Now, I'm brainstorming this one as I type.

Here's another nifty idea....go with 48" and 36" wheels... get two sheets of plywood and cut them in half and stack them...then cut out the rings and make them 3" - 4" wide. Mark the rings so that they can be realigned when you glue the two piece together. Get some 1/2" PVC or narrow conduit for spokes. Mark where you want the spokes on the rings...I think there's 16 on the 48" rings and 12 on the 36" rings. Get a piece of 2x10 lumber depending on how big you want your hubs to be and cut it into a circle...I'm thinking an 8" hub for the big wheels and a 6" inch hub for the smaller wheels. The hubs may need to be bigger so that you can do the next step.

Glue the rings together then stand them on end and drill an inch or two into the inner side of the ring and use 1/2" PVC for the spokes. Drill correpsonding holes into the hubs. If you use small enough diameter PVC you might be able to drill a hole all the way through at the 6 to 12 oclock position and another at the 3 to 9 oclock, just make sure you offset them so that you can slide the conduit all the way through.....hopefully you can visuallize what I'm typing. It's like putting together a Tinker Toy

Another idea would be to just drill all the way through the outter ring, slide in the spokes, then caulk/foam over the holes and run a band of duct tape around the wheel and paint it black. You might want to put in a few nails to hold the rings together when you're done.

Don't forget to glue the spokes in place AFTER you're sure everything fitst the way you want it two..

Please run with this idea if you can think of ways to simplify it.

 

[buckaneerbabe]

Did you use your wheels to support the weight of your hearse? I will probably use a 2x4 to hold up the weight of the "box" and attach the wheels to it. Similar to what Homestead Haunt did. I'm also thinking of using 4x4s and installing caster wheels into the bottom of the 4x4s so I can roll it around fairly easy.

Yes, surprisingly we did. It's supported underneath with 2 sawhorses but we've taken them out several times and it's still in one piece. And it's really heavy too!!!! The back wheels from Harbor freight are made out of a much stronger wood than the front wheels. I probably used a whole tube of epoxy on each wheel. The stuff said it holds up to 1500 lbs and it sure better cause that thing is gonna crash if not.

We also used a lazy susan for the front wheels so it turns easily and have rolled it around the garage quite a few time already so moving won't be a problem.

I like your idea for your wheels, I was just to darn anxious to start building mine to take the time to cut my own wheels. I bet yours turn out great!!!! I can't wait to see everyone hearses when they're done!!!!

 

[dalgar]

Well I am in the beginning stages of my hearse. My wife is SO on board with this project. The only issue is I haven't really seen any plans or instructions.

So, as I do my project I will list material and step by step photos. I will also try and post the plans once completed.

All open for ideas and suggestions.

 

[Scatterbrains]

I posted this on another thread, but think this is a good home for it:

I went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore today. I figured I'd have to pay about $90 for a sliding glass door. They have signs that say "Windows $45 and up" I was going to buy a full set...the slider and the stationary side so that I would have glass for the carriage windows. While browsing, it kicked in that the window/door is double paned. So I only needed to buy either the door or the stationary window side of the sliding glass door. As I wondered around, I saw a the window side and asked the guy who was working in the back how much. He said, he thought it would be $30 and it would be best to ask the folks up front to be sure. So I carried the window up front and asked how much? $10!!!!!

I think it's 32" to 34" wide by about 6 ft...

 

[halloween junkie]

Is this one going to happen. I really want to build one, but haven't a clue how to begin.

 

[Scatterbrains]

Is this one going to happen. I really want to build one, but haven't a clue how to begin.

Where to start....I'd say figuring out wheels is one place to start and scrounging up the glass or plexiglass for the windows....the rest is just building a plywood box.

Look at all the example for Hearses on this site to get an idea of what you want your's to look like. The size of wheels and where you're going to mount them is key.

Check out these links for ideas

http://www.halloweenforum.com/halloween-props/79203-hearse.html

2005horsedrawnhearsehow-to

http://www.halloweenforum.com/halloween-props/76580-funeral-coach-designs.html

and post 32 in this thread http://www.halloweenforum.com/general-halloween/79667-what-you-working.html

http://www.halloweenforum.com/halloween-props/76400-funeral-coach-update-picture.html

 

[Muffy]

I'm sorry I did not get things posted over here. GDFreak was unable to go ahead with this project as something had come up & he emailed that he was not going to be able to do this. I had been off the board for a few weeks as I had had surgery & was not even online because I could not get to my pc & sit.

SO I apologize that we did not get the news out sooner. I'm going to try & pursue this project & find some one else to take us through it, altho I believe it will most likely not be started till after the holidays. Do any of you have suggestions as to who we could ask to instruct this class. Who on the board has hearses that you all have seen & admire.

We had plans here at my house to do,........ well actually we had a pretty good list of things & then my health was acting up bad (still is actually) but all projects just stopped here. But the hearse was on the list. We had talked to GDFreak & told him that we would build along with him because he was a bit concerned because the project had a lot of instruction so we told him we'd help out and as always in this group as we build together everybody has great suggestions as we go along.

Our hearse was going to be different from the one on the table like HollyBerry's hubby built only because we need to be able to wheel ours from the back yard to the front & it would also be a prop that stayed outside all year even in storage. SO the underneath of ours was going to be built differently & we were going to add that here when the project started.

I would love to get Jerry started on this project but we are tied up tight for the next 4 months. We have to finish projects started earlier this year to get them done for halloween & then my family is coming for halloween & we are leaving for Florida on Nov. 2nd. Jerry will be gone all of Nov for vacation< & then its December. So theres no time to make one before the new year.


I'll start looking around for someone & you guys please shoot me any names of people with hearses from here that you like. Please post the suggestions here on this thread. Also will mention here I will be posting the materials list for the Mauseleum project next week so we can start buying what we need. That class starts in Feb.

Muffy

 

[Scatterbrains]

I'm still building my hearse...as a matter of fact, I finally figured out the wheels. I don't think I could be a good tutor though because I don't have a camera...but here's what I ended up doing for my wheels

I went to Lowes and bought a sheet of plywood (the tongue and groove used for floorboard) and had them cut it in half. They were about $12.00 I also bought a gallon of TitebondII Wood Glue for about $15

Next, I bought a kinda flexible yellow metal yardstick there for about $3.00 and a 3/8" wide screw. There is a hole in the yardstick and you want to get a screw with a snug fit to go in that hole.

When I got home I glued the halves of the floorboard together. I put the glue on the rough side and stacked them on top of each other then put a bunch of heavy crap in the garage on them to make sure they were glued tightly together.

Next comes the fun part and requires you to remember some math.

I made two size wheels (46" and 36") I didn't go 48" on the large one because I didn't want to deal with the edge of the board. I found the center of the plywood and drilled a starter hole for my 3/8" wide screw. Then I screwed the yardstick to the plywood using the hole that was already in the yardstick. That hole is about 3/4" into the yardsick, so remember to add 3/4" to all your measurements. So for the 46" wheel, I used a punch and put a hole in the yardstick at the 23 3/4" point. I then took an awl...something strong and pointy to sitck in the hole I punched) and just scratched the circle into the plywood....it came out perfect. I wanted the 46" wheel to come in 4" before I got to the spokes, so I marked the 19 3/4" spot on the yardstick, punched it and traced that circle on too. Then I used a jigsaw to cut out the outer circle...ONLY the outer circle.

For the next steps I used a long level I have that's 5ft long, a framing square to make 90 degree angles, a protractor and the yardstick I bought at Lowes since it's flexible.

Using the long level, draw a line across the wheel...as long as it goes over the screw hole, you're good. Now using the framing square, to get the 90 degree angle, butt the long level up against it and draw the line through the center so you have four of your spokes laid out. If you have a protractor, draw a 45 degree angle out from center, if not, wrap the flexible yardstick around the outer edge and measure the distance between where the two 90 points are..divide the distance in half and mark that point, then draw a line through center all the way across the wheel, then draw the line perpendicular to that one using the framing square. Now you have 8 spokes. Measure/mark the halfway point between the spokes on the outer rim and draw the lines through center... and viola, you have 16 spoked on your 46" wheel.

Screw the yardstick back on the wheel, then if you look at the edge of the wheel and lay the yardstick centered on the line you drew for each spoke, you can trace both sides of the yard stick out to the inner circle that was marked earlier....just go around the wheel until all your spokes are traced out. I used a big marker when laying out my lines so that I would be able to see it through the dust the jigsaw creates. After the spokes were traced out, I marked the innercircle on the cut line, between the spokes to ensure that I knew where not to cut so that I didn't accidentially chop off a spoke.

Next I looked at where the spokes all came together at the hub to figured out how big I wanted my hub to be based on the intersection points, then I punched a hole in the yardstick and traced that line. I think I had about a 7" diameter on my hub. Eyeball it and choose what looks best to you.

Then, the fun part, cutting out all those wedges... with a steady hand, you'll kick out and awesome wheel. I don't have a steady hand and the wheels not perfectly round, nor are the spokes straight, but the wheel look great

For the 36" wheels, I measured out on the yardstick to 18 3/4" for the outer rim, 15 3/4" for the inner circle and then only had 12 spokes. To get your 12 spoke, layout your two 90 degree lines like you started with the big wheel, then measure between the 90s on the outer rim and divide by 3. I think I measured 28" so it was roughly 9 3/8"s between the spokes, so I marked the wheel at 9 3/8" and 18 3/4" and drew the corresponding lines through center. Then it's the same procedure as above. I think I ended up with around a 5" hub on the 36" wheels.

I'm not a perfect jigsaw cutter, but I really like the way the wheels turned out. By doubling up the plywood, I have some pretty sturdy wheels. I'm not going to wheels for weight bearing, but I'm thinking they probably to stand up to a bit of weight. I'm debating on rounding over the spokes with a router, but I really dont think it matters.

bottom line, about $65-70 to make all the wheels, which is cheaper than Harbor Freight, plus I got the bigger 46" wheels in the process. And if you only go one deep on the plywood, you can cut our all four wheels for about $25 since you won't need the glue or 1/2 the plywood.

Glue the boards and let them sit overnight then count on dedicating a day to cutting out the wheels if you're going to try it.

 

[Muffy]

Wow Scatterbrains...that looks like some mighty detailed instructions to me...are you sure you can't get your hands on a camera?

By Halloween I'll see who has made & who has hearses & I'll start sending out the requests to see if they will help us.

Muf