# cheap $10 motorized hangman "easy to do"



## sleekmr2 (Sep 7, 2005)

do this at your own risk

built my second hangman this year. My first one was [email protected] 

I am not really mechanically incline so I had a hard time wiring and finding a power source for my first hangman which i used a wiper motor i got from a junk yard. so when I got it to work it was too slow and didn't seem to make a noticable movement. 

these instructions are for those who want a hang man but don't know how to do anything other than drill holes and screw bolts.

I built this in about 1hr at home yesterday. So here goes.

in total so far this Hangman cost me $10.

Items needed.

zip ties(free had it at home)
wood ( free had it at home)
fan ($10)
clothes(free at home)
fishing weight (free had at home)


I bought a used fan from my local savers store (same thing as a goodwill but cheaper)

exactly like this one for $10 bucks









1) I took off the stand from the fan. and opened up the fan case to get access to the fan paddles or whatever their called. 

2) i took a hacksaw and cut off two paddles. was pretty easy.

3)I then drilled two holes into the corners of the fan paddle at the tip end farthest away from motor.









4) i then attached a 3oz fishing weight to it using the two holes with zip-ties. choose your weight. too heavy fan won't have enoguh power to rotate. i originally attached a 1 1/2 lb weight. that didn't go well









5) note do make sure that with your weight attached that it clears everything when it rotates. I rotated with my hand to make sure it clears everything.

6) put case back together and plug in to test to make sure it works properly. 

7) now cut your wood however you want to build your legs and arms. I had 2x4 at home and used my own body for reference and measured my body parts roughly. I split the 2x4 into two down the middle longwise and cut two thighs, two shins, two forearms, two biceps and shoulder/collar section. 


8) the lines in the previous picture represent the zip-ties and the points of where I connected the limbs. I drilled holes in the wood to attach them. (you can use whatever material you want and whatever way you please to build the body your imagination is the limit) this is what i did you don't have to follow me exactly. on some parts i looped 2-3 zip-ties to make the joints connect.

9) now it's time to attach the limbs to the fan. just drill holes where ever and zip-tie them together. do keep in my to make sure everything cleared the propellar (that's the word i was looking for)

10) now dress him however you like and bam you have a hang man.

11) for the head I have not attached it but i'm pretty sure you can figure something out. I have not decided what I am doing yet but might get a styrofoam head or maybe make a head form out of tape and wadded up newpaper. cover it with a mask or a burlag sack. like i said the possibilities are endless.

12) now how to mount the guy. I would use to pieces of rope. one that connects to the shoulder/collar piece directly and once for the noose just for decoration. see pic (i suck at drawing but pic is profile view of the prop)


now your done. I hope I didn't leave anything out but hope this help all you haunters. if you have any questions just ask i will answer as best i can.

a couple of side notes.

the fan i bought had 3 speeds. with the weight i used i had to put it to power level 3 to work with the weight. level 1 & 2 wouldn't work unless i helped the propellar start by spinning it. once it got momentum it was fine.

also I have only tested my hangman without clothes and shoes but so far it shakes to my liking. 

I know there are better designs out that have an awesome realistic motion. so this might not compare to those. 

but over all all you had to do was cut, drill, and bolt. easy. The plug and power source is all included to no splicing need. 

have fun


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## Aaron636r (Sep 17, 2007)

Interesting...

I like the idea


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## Chinook203 (Sep 9, 2008)

You need to take a video of it shaking. I am thinking this is something I can do pretty easily. Your instructions are excellent!


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## lancekik (Sep 29, 2006)

a vid wouuld be great .. mayby showing both versions sid by side so wh could see the improvment,, you might want to cut some small holes in the backof the shirt to give the fan air so it wont overheat


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## sleekmr2 (Sep 7, 2005)

good idea on the hole for the fan. i haven't tested the hangman w/ clothes yet. I will try to take a short video for you guys as soon as i can. I think I will work on him tomorrow.


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## bringjoy (Aug 28, 2005)

LOL, finally an animated project i could maybe build -- thx so much for posting and looking forward to vid.

PS: Fans at my local (Idaho) Target were all on clearance at 50% if anyone is thinking of doing this


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## Isabella_Price (Sep 6, 2008)

Yay! Something easy! 

Looks good.


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## halloweenbarb (Jun 9, 2008)

nice how to! another idea may be to use pool noodles to cut down on weight for the limbs.


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## sleekmr2 (Sep 7, 2005)

sorry guys. was out of town at knott's scary farm and disneyland also busy working. Will try to get a vid up soon


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## groovyhally (Oct 9, 2008)

can anyone tell me what the purpose of the fishing weight is?


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## redrom (Aug 25, 2008)

groovyhally said:


> can anyone tell me what the purpose of the fishing weight is?


Slinging the weight around causes the fan to wobble and that shakes the prop.


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## omalley (Oct 10, 2008)

*fishing weight*

The weight makes the fan blades "off" balance so the hanging dude flops around.


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## SouthernBelle (Aug 30, 2004)

Video of this is a most excellent idea!


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## Dous (Aug 18, 2007)

Well I tried it with PVC since I didnt have wood on hand, and that didnt turn out because PVC was just too flimsy so here I am with a few 2x4's I will let you know what happens!


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## soni (Jul 30, 2008)

Wow great prop. I'm thinking I need to fit this in before the party. I really need to stay off of here I am finding way too many ideas.


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## dna1990 (Aug 26, 2007)

The weight throws the fan off balance and causes the whole unit to 'shake'.


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## Pennywise (Oct 21, 2004)

Great idea! I just finished cutting up wood for a hangman prop last weekend. This wopuls be easier to shake it than the wiper motor. Thanks


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## Dous (Aug 18, 2007)

I couldn't do it, but I'm too retarded so you guys give it a go!


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## Custom Coffin Works (Sep 5, 2008)

Well I built mine today using the same fan. I found them new at Target for $11.99. I think I might have put too much weight as it smoked the fan motor after about an hour. Good thing Target has a good return/exchange policy!:
Otherwise it works perfectly. I went to my local Spirit store and splurged on a pair of four arms. It makes it look all the better. I have it hanging in my front entryway with a red flood light pointed at it. I will get a picture or video of it this weekend. Thanks for the how too!


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## Custom Coffin Works (Sep 5, 2008)

Here is the prop. Notice the two spooky looking cats in the doorway.








Sorry for the poor quality on the night picture...but you get the picture....


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## Custom Coffin Works (Sep 5, 2008)

I think I will look for a different head too.....


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## WindyCityCouple (Oct 13, 2008)

Any video of the shake yet?


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## JustWhisper (Nov 16, 2008)

Does anyone have video of this prop yet? I would love to see how well it works, and how well the fan holds up. Sounded like a good idea, if it works.


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## Fangoria (Oct 26, 2008)

I'm guessing the fishing weight is to help throw off the weight distribution causing a better shaking motion. I isnt no ejumacation magor so if its wrong, don't sue me.


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## Dr Morbius (Jan 12, 2006)

groovyhally said:


> can anyone tell me what the purpose of the fishing weight is?


3)I then drilled two holes into the corners of the fan paddle at the tip end farthest away from motor.


4) i then attached a 3oz fishing weight to it using the two holes with zip-ties. choose your weight. too heavy fan won't have enoguh power to rotate. i originally attached a 1 1/2 lb weight. that didn't go well
It goes on one of the fan blades to give it an offset weight that makes the assembly wiggle.


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## draik41895 (Mar 8, 2009)

this looks easy,i might have to make one


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## SilentRequiem (Dec 19, 2008)

yay something i can do!


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## Handy_Haunter (Oct 14, 2007)

Bring on the video!  Can't wait to see how this works.


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## bwolcott (Apr 7, 2009)

Great directions but I’m not sure if it will have the power to really get the thing kicking after clothing is added. I built one from a five gallon bucket, a wiper motor and a 4 lb fishing weight last year, kicked great until I got it clothed. It worked but just didn’t get the realistic feel I was shooting for. This year I’m trying it again but will be making the limbs out of PVC pipe and I will be remounting the motor in the bucket to point from front to back. I’ll take photos of the entire process and post it.

Did you ever get that vid done?


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## rebelxwing (Oct 7, 2008)

Yes, please post a vid, I want to see this thing in action... sounds like a great cheap prop with a nice scare factor for the kiddies!


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## darkpenguincowboy (Sep 28, 2008)

Oh wow! That is all I can say! What a creative idea, and finally a hangman design that doesn't require a college degree in pneumatics to assemble! All I can say about the weight concerns is maybe experiment with different body materials and lightweight clothes.


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## lowdwnrob (Jul 14, 2008)

Did anyone get a video?


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## creepy crawler (Jul 31, 2008)

Seriously can some please get a video of this up I want to see it 4 pages of posts and no video yet!!!!.....Don't make me build on just to get the video up!
BTW it looks good!


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

i think since you had a skeleton head, it's to bad you don't have skeletal hands. the prop is awesome though. did you post the video and i miss it. i can't wait to see this guy in action. good job there


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## magicmatt (Aug 17, 2005)

Will the motor burn out since there is no air being pulled around it?


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## GatorBlood (Jun 16, 2007)

The one I made ran good for a few days! Then I noticed that is wasn't moving and the fan motor had burned out! IT was an really old small fan motor anyhow. So wasn't too concerned! I'll have to replace the motor this year if I can find another cheap fan!


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## j2gibson (Aug 25, 2009)

Any ideas on how to tie a noose for the hangman?


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## SpookyMuFu (Sep 14, 2009)

j2gibson said:


> Any ideas on how to tie a noose for the hangman?


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## alucard (Dec 1, 2008)

Very nice tutorial! Please let us know if the fan is able to handle the additional weight of the clothes.


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## j2gibson (Aug 25, 2009)

Wow, looks alot easier than I had expected. I'm a firefighter as well, and this is one knot we weren't taught!


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## atnas1 (Sep 19, 2008)

also, the noose needs wrapped 13 times


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## brombones (Sep 16, 2009)

Dang it looks awesome. But i want to know how it looks in action! Video please! If this works the way i want, it'll definitely go on my to do list for the year.


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## _Katie_Lee_ (Sep 7, 2009)

I really like this tutorial. I'm not experienced in prop building, so I've been looking for easy-to-do-things. This looks definitely do-able for me. Great job!


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## scaremall (Sep 22, 2009)

groovyhally said:


> can anyone tell me what the purpose of the fishing weight is?


The weight provides an unballanced mechanism to "shake" the body. The 3 oz. weight spinning at several hundred RPM should make for a nice shake. It's like having an unballanced tire on your car.


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## byteme (Sep 4, 2008)

groovyhally said:


> can anyone tell me what the purpose of the fishing weight is?


I would think for shake effect ? but im guessing waiting in the video...


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## white24z97 (Oct 31, 2010)

So im guessing after 5 pages of posts and over a year later that this prop didn't work since there was never a video of it?


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## Atwes (Nov 4, 2008)

*To minimize fan burn-out and increase the scare..*

To minimize the wear and tear on the fan (and lower the chance of a burn-out), you could add a trigger to the prop to only kick when someone walks nearby.

I built a simple motion trigger this year out of a cheap motion sensor security light with screw-in "bulb-to-plug" adapter (for the light sockets) and an extension cord. (approx. $15 total)

The beauty of the security light trigger is that you can set the sensitivy (for distance) and the duration the power to the fan is running/prop is kicking. The fan then has a chance to cool between triggers instead of continuous operation. It only has to operate when it's being viewed.

I like the design with the fan, and I think it would be great to see the reaction to visitors when the static hangman suddenly starts kicking when they walk up to it. 

I'll post a link to the place where I heard about using the security light for homemade trigger. I googled it and didn't save the link. It was a "DUH! Why didn't *I* think of that?" moment when I read it.


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## Seante (Sep 27, 2010)

I"m wondering if this prop worked as well with no video posted.


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## Wolfman Joe (Apr 20, 2010)

Any chance of re-posting the original tutorial, in addition to a video? Half of the pics from the original post have disappeared (at least on my PC). It would be greatly appreciated - as others said, this look like a nice easy prop for the less electrically inclined!


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## Hauntcast (Oct 3, 2007)

That's a different take on the hangman. Nice.


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## dsmgirl07 (Apr 3, 2011)

thats a good idea im goin to try that this year


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## Atiehwata (Aug 26, 2010)

HAHAHAHA! A cheap fan motor! I made a hang man last year using pvc and foam noodles. built an hanging scafolding to hang from, but it did not move (unless there was a stiff breeze). I was overthinking what sort of motor to get and was planning on hitting yard sales this year to find something! I have a couple of fans I can dismantle that will do the trick! Thank you very much for that idea...it is simple and effective!


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## MissMandy (Apr 18, 2011)

Atiehwata said:


> HAHAHAHA! A cheap fan motor! I made a hang man last year using pvc and foam noodles. built an hanging scafolding to hang from, but it did not move (unless there was a stiff breeze). I was overthinking what sort of motor to get and was planning on hitting yard sales this year to find something! I have a couple of fans I can dismantle that will do the trick! Thank you very much for that idea...it is simple and effective!


I was actually wondering how foam noodles would work since some folks were experiencing motor burn outs. Noodles are obviously more light weight than wood. Maybe that would work using the fan? 

Also, I'm not too clear on where exactly to attach all of the limbs to the fan (going off of original tutorial) Two of the blades were cut off, leaving the one to attatch the sinker to. The cover is put back on the fan and then it says to drill holes wherever you want to attach the limbs. But drill where?? The cover of the fan is a 'cage'. Doesn't look there's any place TO drill.


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## Trail of terror (Jun 9, 2010)

Atttach them to the housing of the fan.. then when the fan shakes around he will too.


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## knife67 (Apr 30, 2011)

I built one with with wiper motor and had the same problem. Great Idea.


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## killa283 (May 11, 2011)

*Great Idea*

Great idea i will have to look into this and really see if i can make this. I have been trying to find someone that would make of these for me i will cloth it my self but just do the body cheap.


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## Yorkshire Ghost (Jun 22, 2009)

just a small observation, but why is there a need to "cut off" the other two blades to the motor. i can see the point of the weight making it shake, but why not leave the other two blades on?

if they were left on, they would provide a bit of breeze, which would help to cool the motor, extending its life??? also it may push out the chest clothing of the body so it looks like a deep breath (i am guessing here)

i am sure some of you know what i mean.

i am not always right (thats the wifes job), so i may have this wrong and miss the point, but it is worth considering if you are building one.


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