# Easy Stone Pillar Props



## hexicorn (Oct 9, 2017)

I made these this year for my cemetery entrance gate, but you could probably use them for anything you want! Storage is an issue, so I wanted something with a slimmer profile and a lightweight design that would hold up well!

I started with an 8' section of 8" builders tube, and cut it in half to create two 4' sections. Now, you can get this done at more hardware stores, or buy smaller sections, but I had a vision in mind for crooked Tim Burton-esque pillars, so cutting them in half myself was essential, I needed a crooked top cut!









Another big issue for me is budget, my Halloween budget is really small, so I ended up using a scrap of 2" energy shield insulation foam. It's a lot firmer than the pink or white styrofoam which is why I like it, but you could use whatever suits your needs!

I placed the tube on the foam, and measured roughly 1" from the tube on all sides for the first step of the top and bottom. Using this first square, I cut 4 rough pieces (wanting that crooked look). I then placed this square on the rest of the foam and expanded the shape about another 1 1/2" and cut four more of these larger squares out for the second step of the pillar.









Now I wanted these to be really stuck to the foam, with no risk of it peeling off, so I traced the tube onto each piece, and carved out a ring in the foam. I then wiggled and pressed the tube into this to make a nice dip to fill with glue and press the tube into.









I glued it all together with a tube of construction adhesive, a thin bead around the bottom of each tube, and then a few globs to glue the two steps together on each end. I used the "quick grab" stuff which grabs in about a minute, but takes a good 12 hours to dry. Trust me when I say this stuff is NOT coming apart anytime soon! Nice and sturdy!









Once they were glued together, they got two coats of monster mud, sponged on roughly to create a stone texture, and once that dried overnight I took them out on a nice day and gave them a coat of spray paint. I layered a darker grey over my light monster mud coating, and speckled them with silver, black and white spray paint, before dry brushing white, and adding the black weathering drips along the top using just a watered down brush run through fresh spray paint. I wanted them a bit more whimsical than ultra realistic, but you could easily add bricks, or paint them however you wanted to suit your project needs!















Since they are ultra lightweight and easy to move, I'll be staking them down this year with cut pieces of rebar, about a foot and a half section in each 4 corners on the bottom of the pillar. Yes, right through the foam! It hides easy, and I'll reuse the holes each year. I personally use rebar to stake down a lot of my props, it's dirt cheap to buy, and easy to cut into any length you need!

I'll be attaching these to my cemetery fence this year, and mounting my cemetery sign on the one pillar, along with lanterns and candle displays on the top. These pillars leave a lot of wiggle room for setup, anything from mounted busts to gargoyles or ravens, ect! You can dress them up as much as you want, and they are super easy to build, move and store!

(sorry the pics uploaded sideways, not sure why they did that!)


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## Kairayn (Mar 14, 2018)

This is great, Thanks for the tut! I just picked up about 20 feet each of 6" and 12" tubing like this from the recycle center for free, so I'll be putting together a few of these this year.


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