# Weather Resistant Stump For Hiding Projector & Other Electronics



## Rabbit101 (Sep 3, 2009)

A couple of years ago I made a tree stump to hide my projector and electronics for my singing Pumpkins display.
Thought I would share how it went since I took photos of the steps to build.
So far 2 VERY rainy years in Seattle have not damaged my expensive projector while it has been inside the stump. 
I have the Projector, DVD Player, FM Transmitter located inside








Here i have cut out the plywood bottom in a random pattern, cut several circles for the supports, note I have cut a concrete tube then stretched it (about 2/3rds of the tube) next photo shows the 2nd piece also about 2/3rds of a tube nailed on. You may be able to fins a larger tube and not have to cut the tube to create a larger cavity but my local Lowes had one size the day I purchased mine.
The trick is to make the inside larger than the biggest piece, in my case it was my projector, my only regret is not making it even bigger than I did so plan ahead.








Here both sections of tube are attached to the frame








Here I have cut pieces of Blue foam and glued to the outside of the tube, note over lapping is ok before shaping the stump, if you have bare spots thats Ok because the next step is to use Insulfoam from a can to fill in the bare spots.








Here it is after shaping with a ordinary hacksaw blade, Im sure you could use a grinder or a wire brush on a drill also to shape the stump








This photo shows the 2" tube I put into the bottom to run wires in/out for power and audio cables, I started with black paint to disolve the foam a bit then went with brown, green and grey followed by a coat of dry white wash to help bring out the shape.








Finished project with Projector running through hole below branch
I have the Projector, DVD Player, FM Transmitter located inside.








Another shot from the back of the stump showing the singing pumpkins video, I did have to shape the opening a bit more to accomodate the projection but not too much. To make the rings on the lid I used a hot hanger (From our closet) heated up with my propane torch and ran it around in circles.

Thanks for Looking!


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## chinclub (Oct 6, 2011)

Wonderful idea. Thanks for the tutorial.


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## xrockonx911 (Jul 28, 2010)

great idea! 

Do you have a separate level for the DVD player and a separate level for the projector? or are they sitting one on top of the other? 
I'm thinking by the looks of it your only access point is through the top which would be a single level? Is this correct??


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

Very nicely done! (Bookmarking this for future reference.)


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## Rabbit101 (Sep 3, 2009)

xrockonx911 said:


> great idea!
> 
> Do you have a separate level for the DVD player and a separate level for the projector? or are they sitting one on top of the other?
> I'm thinking by the looks of it your only access point is through the top which would be a single level? Is this correct??


Great question I forgot to mention any detail on that, I cut a hole into the bottom of the floor section for a 10" computer fan (110 Volt)
I have the fan blowing upward to force the air out of the hole in front where the projection goes outward.
Then the Projector drops in and sits on the next level about 4 inches from the floor, then I stacked the DVD Player and the FM transmitter side by side in top of the Projector. Having the corners of the projector sit on the 2nd level allows lots of air to run up from the fan and through the projector keeping it cool. Before I added the fan it did overheat so that was update #1


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## xrockonx911 (Jul 28, 2010)

ah okay... kool. Thanks for the info.

I'm interested in trying this... I thought about doing a paper mache rock to hide a projector but Ive never liked the idea of a big ole rock being in my graveyard... a stump though would be a lot better. 

Thanks for sharing this great idea.... and your final product looks awesome!


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

Clever idea, and excellent execution....thanks for sharing!


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## Terror Tom (Nov 3, 2008)

Wow! Great looking stump. You could hide all kinds of lights and audio/video stuff around the yard with those.


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## Rabbit101 (Sep 3, 2009)

Terror Tom said:


> Wow! Great looking stump. You could hide all kinds of lights and audio/video stuff around the yard with those.


Yes exactly, I have a 2nd stump that I put an Arduino controller in (To the right of the stump with the projector lit). You could drop a bunch of power strips or speakers in them. I may make a few more maybe even a tall version where I could project a ghost video from. I also plant a different prop on top of one or both every year. In the photo below I have "Angry Alice" sitting on a stump (While I was testing out my Arduino controller) or Ill put a Zombie baby sitting on one. Ill have folks stare at the Singing Pumpkin display for quite a while and still ask where the projector is located (And still question if its really in the stump after I tell them) so Im very happy with the outcome.


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## Phantom Blue (Sep 28, 2008)

Super nice work.........more and more things I gotta try someday.

PB


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## annamarykahn (Oct 4, 2009)

gr8 idea!

gr8 execution!

amk


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## cyberhaunt (Oct 23, 2006)

Wow! I like that a lot . I may have to try to build one of those. Thanks for sharing.


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## scarybella (Aug 4, 2010)

that's a great idea and it looks fantastic. I may have to borrow that one  it has multi uses hidden speakers, exit for fog machine, pir trigger etc...


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## kenkozpgh (Jul 19, 2012)

Nice job. 
I've used rock designs in the past to hide things, but I may have to "borrow" this idea.
Thanks again.


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## doombuddy (Apr 7, 2013)

Very nice idea


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## Junit (Sep 1, 2008)

This is great! Thanks for sharing, I will definately be making a couple of these!


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## Ghost Ninja (Aug 25, 2013)

This is exactly the idea I was looking for to hide my projector. Thanks for sharing your idea!


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## Palmdale Haunter (Sep 26, 2010)

Wow, great idea!


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## HalloweeenSis (Sep 9, 2011)

Wow! Very creative and practical idea. Thanks for the step-by-step.


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## z0mbie st0mp (Oct 3, 2010)

That looks great


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## The Halloween Lady (Jul 17, 2010)

Fabulous idea and fantastic tutorial! Very nicely executed as well. It is lovely.


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## James B. (Oct 8, 2009)

Great idea I might do this for some lighting


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## im the goddess (Mar 10, 2012)

Very clever idea. Thanks for the tutorial.


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## Revenant (Feb 24, 2009)

You got Madprop'd.

https://soundcloud.com/pjhawke/hc56-madprops


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

Congratulations on the Mad Props! Love this idea and the realism is amazing.


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## Jack-o-Lantern King (Aug 3, 2012)

VERY cool set up! The stump is AMAZING! 

Now, you just gotta get MY Singing Pumpkins, and REALLY blow everyone away! See them here.... www.TheSingingPumpkin.com


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## nickdunn (Sep 1, 2011)

These would be great to hide fog machines, and have the fog shoot out the pipe at the bottom


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## Dogbite (May 30, 2012)

Great ideal and a some really nice work on that stump. I just finished a tombstone to hide mine, kinda wish I would have seen this first.


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## GodOfThunder (Aug 26, 2011)

That looks fantastic! Really well done....great ideas and execution there.


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## jpercy75 (Oct 29, 2017)

This is awesome. Can you tell me where to get the digital downloads link for the singing pumpkins?


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## emelton (Sep 30, 2017)

Got to try this. Thanks for sharing


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## Dminor (Jul 21, 2006)

If you didn't want to use a tube, you could always use a 5 Gal bucket.


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## theric85 (Feb 23, 2014)

That is pretty amazeballs! That would be awesome to make as a fog chiller!


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## Plant175 (Oct 27, 2017)

Bringing this thread back up becouse I may give it a try. Has anybody else made one of these ? Is there anyway of making the platform the projector sits on adjustable up and down for projecting onto the pumpkins? Another stupid question is how do you wire the fan in ?


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## Zombie-Mombie (Jul 26, 2015)

That is simply marvelous! Great job..... I just posted inquiring about how people hid and kept dry their projectors - I live in Oregon so we are no strangers to the rain either. Thanks so much!


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## OddTodd (May 31, 2009)

Plant175 said:


> Bringing this thread back up becouse I may give it a try. Has anybody else made one of these ? Is there anyway of making the platform the projector sits on adjustable up and down for projecting onto the pumpkins? Another stupid question is how do you wire the fan in ?


I made one out of an old wire spool and chicken wire. Covered with 6mil plastic. I made an adjustable shelf for my projector out of a coupe of "L" brackets and a piece of 1/16" steel.


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## Plant175 (Oct 27, 2017)

Thanks Todd great idea !


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## Plant175 (Oct 27, 2017)

Still looking for some help trying to wire a computer fan into a box


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## roystere (Oct 9, 2014)

What a great idea!! Excellent workmanship!!


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## rowlandharris (Sep 14, 2010)

Plant175 said:


> Still looking for some help trying to wire a computer fan into a box


Not sure what you're looking for. 110V fan? or 12V fan? Can you describe what you're trying to accomplish?


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## Plant175 (Oct 27, 2017)

I understand that I need a fan to keep the projector cool but I don’t know what type of fan or how to or where to wire it to.


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## rowlandharris (Sep 14, 2010)

First find a fan. I'm thinking about 3" (70 - 80mm) diameter fan would be a good size where the intake and exhaust ports aren't too noticeable, but you still get good airflow.

The easiest way to do this is to find a fan that uses 110V and has a simple plug attached. You can plug it into the extension cord that's powering the projector. You may find these at a surplus store, or a resale shop. Otherwise, look online.

More common are 12V fans, found at the same places (surplus, ebay, Amazon...). Here's an example I found on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...chnic+Fan+12V,+80+x+80+x+25mm+MGA8012UB-025+A

Then you need a wall wart power supply to power the fan - at least 1 amp - that again can plug into 110V. Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/inShareplus-...ower+supply&refinements=p_72:1248879011&psc=1

This example shows a wall wart that also comes with an adapter for stripped wires. Otherwise, cut off the small round plug. With a voltmeter, determine which wire is positive (12V) and negative (ground). You need to connect the fan wires to the wall wart wires - ground is black and 12V is usually red. If it has three wires (the third is used to allow the computer to detect if the fan is moving or not - you don't need this one), just use the red and black ones. You can connect the wires by soldering, or using small wire nuts found in any hardware store. Then use electrical tape to wrap the connections well, making sure you don't short them.

I'd locate the fan inside the enclosure at the exhaust port so that the air is blowing outward. This should be near the top of the enclosure since heat rises. The intake port should be opposite the exhaust port and towards the bottom to pull air into the enclosure and circulate it around the projector. Make sure you know where the projector's intake and exhaust is so that the enclosure fan isn't fighting the projector fan (i.e., the intake for the projector shouldn't be near the enclosure fan where they're sucking against each other). If you put a screen over the ports to camouflage them, you'll need to make sure to check them for dust blocking the airflow.

Good Luck!


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## Plant175 (Oct 27, 2017)

Thank you sir this is very helpful


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## Roselanecemetery (Sep 29, 2016)

nice job think I will tackle this, this year


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