
This project came about from a desire to have something more impressive than a lawn chair to sit on and hand out candy with. I was determined to come up with something a bit more "impressive". The result was this project. I have presented it as a how-to so if your interested you can construct one of your own or use this one as inspiration.
Part 1 - The design
Coming
up with the design is sometimes the hardest part. I was looking for something
that would be big and impressive yet fold up into a small space for storage.
After some intial concepts I drew up the plans shown below.
It gives a big impressive backrest with even bigger "spider legs" to enwrap the person sitting on it.
Part 2 - Seat Construction
The
first step was cutting out the shapes. I started with a 4x8 sheet of plywood and
using some grid paper and a tape measure made a good approximation of the
pattern onto the plywood. its not perfect, but hey - how many demon thrones are?
After
the front and back were cut I painted them up and started on the seat itself. My
first idea was a simple sheet of plywood nailed between them. But after sitting
down on it and having it crash to the floor (in front of my better half - to her
great amusement) I set about creating a solid seat as the basis.
Since
I have a decent picture, I won't show the details of how the seat is
constructed. I used a 2x2 foot top, and 2 foot long 2x4's below. It doesn't
really matter how you do it or how ugly it is, as long as it is solid.
Then
when putting it all together I ended up with something solid! Remember it has to
support the weight of someone.
Part 3 - The Backrest
Once I had a solid seat to sit on, it was time for the fun stuff! The backdrop had a lot of pieces to it to make it look good.
First
off were the "veins". I took some minimally expanding insulation foam and just
drew in some basic lines in a spray pattern. A little wiggly and they give some
"organic" character to the backdrop.
Next
up were the "skulls". I purchased a couple of those "pop-out" signs for a few
bucks each and then cut off the edge and stapled it to the plywood. A bit of red
paint to make the edges sort of blend in and the top of the backrest was looking
good!
Next
came the lighted piece. I cut a piece of plywood smaller than the main backrest
but with approximately the same shape. Then I screwed a 2x4 to it so when it
sits against the main backrest there is some separation. Finally I took a string
of red Christmas lights and duct-taped them to the piece so they couldn't be
seen from the front.
Although
you can't see it from the picture, it looks really great in low light. You can
see the red glow from behind the front piece which is lighting up the "veins"
quite nicely. I screwed the two backrests together and voila - a chair fit for a
Demon!
One of the parts I really wanted were the "legs" or whatever you call them, something big and spooky. The legs are designed to carry fog and have small holes drilled in them so the fog will float out, between the glowing lights and fog I expect this to be a pretty cool throne!
Here
is the detail of the 3/4" PVC piping I used as the foundation for the legs. A
series of "T" and "Elbow" connectors glued together and sized to fit under the
seat. Note the one "T" in the back where the fog pipe will connect.
This pic shows the legs in place. By mounting the foundation piece under the
seat, all the stuff is hidden. The legs are 2 foot sections on the bottom, and 3
foot in the middle and 3 foot on top. I used 45 degree elbows to connect them.
The middle leg has holes drilled every 6 inches to allow fog to escape.
I
then started painting up the legs to make them suitable spooky and presto! I
throne fit for a Demon.
Best of all, in a few minutes the whole thing will come apart, the PVC legs are not glued, just press-fitted in. The backrest and front piece are simple plywood and the "stool" part can be rebuilt next year easily. The whole thing will store in about 6 inches depth of space.
I hope this inspires you to build one or something even better. Happy Haunting!
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