# Where to buy a GIANT cauldron?



## GingerG (Sep 1, 2004)

Hello everyone! We are in search of a GIANT cauldron this year for our "witch's home." I know we could make one, but we've just got so many projects on our plate this year that I don't know if we'll get to it. 

Has anyone seen any realistic "classic"-looking cauldrons for sale online anywhere? The largest we've been able to find are the 16x20" plastic ones. We're flexible on the material, since I'm sure we'll paint it a little more for effect, but the shape is the main goal.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Ugly Joe (Jan 13, 2004)

Curiosity: how big is "giant"?

I don't know that I've seen anything larger than those 20" or so plastic cauldrons (maybe a touch larger, but nothing dramatic) in stores...

Is it going to need to hold liquid?


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## Guest (Aug 8, 2006)

Good point... if it doesn't need to hold liquid (or will be holding a smaller, seperate ice chest or similar for dry ice effect?), you could go get one of those big inflatable exercise balls, and paper mache about 2/3 of it. 
After it's dry, deflate and remove the ball, then add a nice lip around the top to level things off and give it the right cauldron rim look, and from there add more mache to strengthen it to your satisfaction.
Add rolled up newspaper for the legs of the cauldron, attaching with more paper mache.
Paint it flat black, add some rusty spots if you want. Seal it (inside too!) with satin or matte finish acrylic sealer for weather/fog dampness.
It's an idea anyway! 


Mike C.


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## killer13 (Aug 24, 2005)

Once you get the paper mache dry on the ball, you can buy a round fun noodle(long foam water toy) to use as a form for the lip of the cauldron. 

Just a thought.


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## michigal (Oct 30, 2005)

One suggestion I can make if you don't need it to hold water is to go to your local Wal-Mart and look for some giant plastic planters in their garden center. Should be going on sale by now.
Or yard sales in your area may be another good bet.


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## Guest (Aug 8, 2006)

killer13 said:


> Once you get the paper mache dry on the ball, you can buy a round fun noodle(long foam water toy) to use as a form for the lip of the cauldron.
> 
> Just a thought.


Would work very well indeed, as long as they use acrylic or latex paints on the prop... oil and enamel paints eat into foam!


Mike C.


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## Hallowtheme (Jul 31, 2006)

*Diagon Alley*

At least that's where Harry Potter bought his.


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## Guest (Aug 8, 2006)

Hallowtheme said:


> At least that's where Harry Potter bought his.


Heheh! Yeah, but was it a GIANT cauldron? 


Mike C.


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## HowDoIMlkACow (Aug 5, 2005)

I had the same problem and I had to make one


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## SinTheDoll (Oct 10, 2004)

I took a plastic circular trash bin, cutted it in half, and spray painted it black... Then attached a fun noodle to the top with hot glue thens pray painted that as well. Viola! A giant cauldron that holds liquid and also eqiupment inside.

maybe an Idea? heh
-Anthony


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## DawnOfTheDead (Oct 13, 2005)

I have a 20" cauldron. I got it half price a couple of years ago at one of those Halloween stores (like Spirit). The price tag says $19.00, so I'm sure you could expect to pay around $20 for yours.


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## Haunter112 (Nov 27, 2005)

I actually have a real one. It feels like it weighs a ton and it's missing a foot but it's really cool. It belonged to my granny. She use to make lye soap in it when I was a kid.

There's nothing like the real thing.

Keep checking those flea markets, antique malls and estate sales. I've seen quite a few for sale and they've all been bigger than 20".


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## alwysrit2 (Jul 28, 2006)

*55 gallon drum*

We started using a plastic 55, we cut the top 6-8" off the top. The shape isn't round enough in the middle so you would need to build it out, but it is a strong base to start with. The idea came from http://www.scarefx.com/project_witch.html. HowDoIMlkACow is much better than where we would have ended up. We never finished it because of theme changes this year. 
I looked at the exercise balls, never found one big enough, cheap enough. 
Good luck!


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## Home Haunter (Jul 19, 2005)

I did the "buy a ball at walmart and paper mache it" thing a couple of years ago. I though I had it very well protected from the elements, but after about three weeks of rain, the bottom busted out of it. This is a cheap way ($3 for a 2' diameter ball at walmart) to do the cauldron, but If you go this route, I wouldn't put a bottom in it...or I guess you could put a trash bag inside to protect it even more from the weather.

Here is a link to my pictures:
http://http://www.yardofdeath.com/images/images/index.php?path=./projects/cauldron/


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## daveo1101 (Oct 12, 2005)

Home, That looks really good. wonder if just sealing the heck out of the interior would help


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## HowDoIMlkACow (Aug 5, 2005)

Hey home haunter what kind of paper mache is that? It looks like plaster or something?


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## Home Haunter (Jul 19, 2005)

I used paper mache pulp (boiling shredded paper then mixing in glue) then I covered the whole thing with a thin layer of dry wall spackle. I used a garden hose for my bottom ring and a garden hose and cardboard for the top lip.


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## Home Haunter (Jul 19, 2005)

One other issue I had that might have made the bottom weaker was that I put a windshield washer motor in the base to make it look like the witch was stirring the cauldron. Perhaps the holes I drilled in the botom allowed the water to penetrate the mache.


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## turtle2778 (May 22, 2006)

Hey the hidden do you have any pictures of the final product? The paper mache is a good idea, but what if you are looking BIGGER, like hocus pocus BIG??


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## GingerG (Sep 1, 2004)

I'll just have to keep an eye out for something bigger to buy. I'm crafty, but I somehow missed out on paper mache 101 class. I never learned how to do it well. Everything I try just doesn't work out.


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## Cynicalangel (Oct 2, 2021)

Guest said:


> Heheh! Yeah, but was it a GIANT cauldron?
> 
> 
> Mike C.


It was only a size 2 pewter cauldron. Perfect for classroom shenanigans, but not big enough to cause a catastrophe!


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## WickedTwist (Sep 29, 2021)

Gorilla Wood Glue is extremely waterproof. Says so right on the product description. 

If you mix that into your paper mache and then paint on a layer of undiluted Gorilla glue after it dries whatever project you're working on, should be pretty much impervious to the elements.


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## Daphne (Aug 11, 2007)

Our shop vac motor died so I took the base, added foam insulation board spines all the way around it to create a cauldron shape, stuffed pool noodle pieces between the spines and covered that in the rolls of insulation foam. A couple pool noodles wrapped around the top made a perfect lip. To cover the seams in the insulation foam roll, I painted a heavy coat of latex paint with a second coat of latex with paver base mixed in. I spray painted that with a metallic paint and sponged flat black on the raised paver base. I drilled and attached a wiper motor to the bottom since it was hard plastic and could support it and had 2 PVC tunnels coming through the wall in the back. One tube had the shop vac hose with the nozzle on the end to pipe fog in and a second pvc tunnel was for electrical. We like to recycle! You would never know it was the receptacle for a shop vac.


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