# The Coffin Banger in Progress 1



## Neverhart (May 28, 2012)

I needed one final scare for the yard this year, so I built the ScareFX coffin with the dog-eared fence slats (which are no longer $1 a piece, but rather $1.64 at HD... not a big deal but increases the stated "$25 coffin" to more like $32.) I wasn't exactly sure how the upright supports were attached (the angles make nothing flush,) but I just screwed them in from the bottom and sides and it works fine - not going for fine craftsmanship here.

View attachment 136616


View attachment 136620


Before deciding how to hinge the door (the fence slats are a very soft pine) I needed to figure out how the banging mechanism was going to work. I've seen some very clever uses of a push rod which seem really sturdy and reliable, but they give a very regular banging pattern which doesn't seem scary enough for my tastes, so I decided to make an eccentric cam and follower system, using a MonsterGuts wiper motor to power it.

View attachment 136618


View attachment 136617


View attachment 136619


Still unsure if regular box hinges were going to work, I temporarily duct taped the lid on... since the lifting mechanism is only lifting a couple inches it doesn't have to be that sturdy, it just has to stop the lid from moving laterally, which the temp duct hinges did fine. I've since thought about using nylon strapping with grommets for the hinges to keep things light/flexible/strong/simple.

The coffin lid is surprisingly heavy, so when I cautiously tried to test it on my power supply's 5V setting, it didn't have enough oomph. Throwing caution to the wind, I switched the power supply to 12V and tried it - and it worked!






The motor, fog machine, lights, and boom box will all run off 120V, so to trigger the scare (which will be located near the pathway from my house to the next) I'm using a simple wireless keychain remote that can turn on/off three 120V outlets. I believe I bought it at Lowe's or HD a couple years ago for $15-$20 in their Christmas section... I think it's "supposed" to be used to turn the Christmas tree on and off without crawling behind it, but it seemed like a pretty easy prop controller without monkeying with relays to handle service voltage.


----------



## Saruman of Many Colours (Sep 8, 2010)

Looks great!


----------

