# My fence project is done!



## Darkwoode (Sep 26, 2007)

Hey all,

I just finished my fence and thought I would share it with you all. I am pleased with how it turned out and thought someone might like to add it to thier haunt. These are final shots of a finished sections as well as a small tutorial. I made 4 in total to line my walkway.These pictures dont really do much justice. I used hammerite to paint them and they have a nice rough metal finish. So lets get started!


















Im not going to get too much into how to construct the fence. There are quite a few of good tutorials on that around. I didnt like the look of 1/2" pvc it was too small. I used 1x2's and 3/4" pvc. Be careful when drilling the holes when you use 3/4 pvc as there is only 1/8" left on the sides. I drilled the holes 4" in from the edge of the board and then every 8" after that.










Here is the fence painted. Some specifics, The outer poles on the fence are 36". I cut each one 2" smaller then the last. 36,34,32,30,28,26 and back again. The bottom rail is 4" above the bottom of the pvc. The top rail is 20" above the bottom of the bottom rail.











Ok, now for the wiring. I found some small skulls at party city in a bag of 12, for 4.99. they will do just fine. You will need to drill holes in the eyes and cut the bottom out of the skull. I have some 5mm LED lights that I put into the eyes after i drilled the holes. I have them in backwards in this picture because they were easier to solder this way. The wiring its self depends on the LEDs you have and the power supply you use. I found one in a box I had laying around in the house to some old computer speakers I no longer have.
If you need help wiring the LEDs drop me a PM or use this link to help you.
LED series parallel array wizard









Here is a picture of the skull soldered and the eyes put in properly and the fence with the power wires pulled threw the PVC. I drilled 2 holes in each pipe just below the rails to feed the wires.
















Tuck everything in nicely and make sure the wires wont touch. Then fill the head aproximatly 1/4 full with hot glue and set it down so the wires are are on the bottom. This creates a nice seal and gives somethng you to attach your skull to the fence.










Take your 3/4" pvc slip caps and drill 2 holes one offset to feed the wires through the other in the center to screw the skull onto the cap.










Once the skulls are screwed to the cap connect and solder the wires. Plug it in and bask in the glory of your accomplishment. This really is a porject anyone can do if they have a few hours, a drill anytype of saw and a soldering iron. If you have any questions on the steps I took or just need a hand drop me a message. Construct time including paint drying was aprox. 4 hours. I hope this helps!


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## Bilbo (Mar 8, 2007)

Love the addition of the led eyes to the old fence standby! Way to take it to the next level.


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## mshelene (Sep 16, 2008)

looks great. Love the light up eyes. I'm making a similar type fence out of wood. Unfortunately I don't have any tools other than a hammer so maybe I'll instead try using glow in the dark paint for my skulls' eyes.


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## Push Eject (Oct 11, 2005)

Fantastic! >>>smacks head<<< Why didn't I think of the leds?!


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## rebelxwing (Oct 7, 2008)

Wow! What can I say? LEDs for the eyes? I love the spookyness! I also really liked the fact that your fencing had the brace stands at the bottom so it doesn't need to be driven into the ground... makes set up and take down really simple! Great project! Hats off to you....


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## The Pod (May 19, 2008)

Those LED eyes are just the tops!  Very nice addition to the fence!


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## Growler (Aug 12, 2008)

I've been building this same fence for about a couple weeks now. I couldn't find the really nice skulls you used but, I'm making due with some cheapo's. I picked up a 1" drill bit for the 3/4" pipe but, still need to sand the holes bigger. Did you use a dremel or sandpaper to do yours? Where do you hide the wires on the outside so they aren't hanging down after you run them through the caps? In the wiring picture, did you use a resister or what is that little blue thing attached to the wire in the skull? Do you use that on all the wires or just one in each skull? 

Thanks


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## Darkwoode (Sep 26, 2007)

If you just wobble the drill slightly the holes will come out the correct size. 

As far as hiding the wires. I ran as much as possible in the pvc. Then I used the black wire loom to hide them on the outside. It works out nicly and you really cant see it.

Yes I did use a resistor. The size depends on the voltage of your lights and the power supply used. The circut I made has one every other skull. its pretty easy and will give you a diagram. The link below will help you figure that out.

LED series parallel array wizard


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## Frankie's Girl (Aug 27, 2007)

LOVE the LED eyes... that is so creative and cool!


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## Rev. Noch (Sep 2, 2008)

Wow, I was really needing to find a fast and cool way to make some fence sections for my gates this year.

This is just fantastic, Thanks!


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## dionicia (Nov 5, 2006)

How did you manage to get them in the house without the significant other screaming at you? I like the stands you made. Great idea. Love the LEDs.


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## lowdwnrob (Jul 14, 2008)

Very nice. How long did it take to make?


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## Growler (Aug 12, 2008)

Thanks for the heads up on the inf. I'm still sanding out the holes. I would go back and use the drill bit but, I'm afraid that I would drill out the holes way too big. Besides it only takes about 20min. per hole x120. lol


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## Darkwoode (Sep 26, 2007)

sorry for not responding to some of the questions earlier. Each section took about 4 hours to make. I actually made some king posts between the sections to join them this year. 2" PVC with larger skulls. I will be taking the fence out of storage this weekend, touching up the paint and i will attach the posts and post some new pics.


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## jayb (Aug 18, 2009)

Awesome post, I've been kicking around a few different ideas on a fence project, and when I came across bunch of pvc at a yard sale, this post came right to mind . I'll put my own take on it of course, but the measurements and tutorial are perfect, thanks for sharing.


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## BackYardHaunter (Sep 27, 2009)

that would be really cool to get up a few sections.


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## Darkwoode (Sep 26, 2007)

bumped, o a few poeple asked me and couldnt find it.


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## GodOfThunder (Aug 26, 2011)

Oh, this is a very cool spn on the fence idea with the skulls....

More work than I'm up for at this point as my own conduit fencing has been more time intensive than I expected. But this is a well done project!


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## Darkwoode (Sep 26, 2007)

I built a few more sections this year for my brother. Will have mine out in the yard this week. Its really not that much work.


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## Samhain1031 (Oct 16, 2011)

I love the idea with the PVC pipe for the fencing. Gonna have to pick some up later this week.


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## mystic manor (Sep 28, 2009)

very cool!


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## Arlita (Aug 20, 2009)

Hey Darkwood very cool design. I remember in 2010 when I made 10 8' panels each had 18 holes times 3 firring strips equals 54 holes per panel I drilled. I must say it was my least favorite project I have ever done. During the tornado last year in Joplin Mo. a lot of my props went with the wind but the fence was leaning against my privacy fence. The privacy fence was gone but the fake rod iron fence was laying on the ground in the same spot I was very thankful. I thought it was very funny when the Insurance adjuster came to the house and asked me what was going on with the rod iron fence in the back yard. I asked him what rod iron fence... he pointed to the back of the yard and said "that iron fence" I told him it wasn't rod iron... he said sure it is I said no it is not real. Well he started walking to the fence to check it out I told him I made it out of firring strips and PVC pipe he couldn't believe it and said he was sure it was a real fence that was a great compliment.


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## Lord Homicide (May 19, 2012)

awesome idea with the skulls. is there a single power source and switch? i'd like to know how you wired all the leads to a battery compartment. i'm tackling a similar yet vastly different project.


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

WOW! Love it! Thank you for sharing.


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## lulunlove (Jul 9, 2012)

Great job looks great.


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## EveningKiss (Sep 18, 2012)

Im in the middle of doing something VERY simular but with the 1/2 inch pipe and mine arches instead of waves =) Dont know if i can do the LEDs or not.


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## LT Scare (May 21, 2008)

Great job Darkwoode! Very cleaver. I'm basically lazy so when I made mine about 4 or 5 years ago, I painted them with transparent blacklight paint so at night they glow ... but I like your LEDs better. Might just have to make the switch sometime in the future. BTW, I use a LOT of LED in my haunt. I buy them prewired for 12V on ebay for about $.16 each. I power them with a Malibu light transformer and have yet to find a limit to the number of LED it will power. I have about 900 on one transformer. Hope this helps some one.

Here's my lazy man's black light painted skulls fence. The flash, of course, ruins the blacklight glow on the skulls. I used some slightly larger skulls along the front on the taller fence.









Here's some of the LEDs - all you see here and many more are on one transformer. Notice that some are MR16 LED spotlights too.


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