# Creating an antique Ouija Board, help?



## robbywar (Jul 9, 2013)

I've been searching for some help to create an old, antique, but functional ouija board.

My ideas so far is to buy and cut a thin board of wood to burn in the letters and design. I think burning would give it an older look. If someone has a better or easier way to add the letters and imagery while still giving it the old look, please let me know!

If burning, I would then place a piece of cut glass over it to make it smooth again. Sheet glass has been around since the 1800's, so it wouldn't be historically inaccurate to use glass.
I need a way to age the glass while still leaving it smooth on one side.

I will then buy crown molding, something old and fancy looking to build a box to set the board up on and set the glass on top of that.

















If possible, I'm looking for a way to create an inner contraption to make the board make a sound as if a spirit is in it.

I also need ideas for a planchette as well.

Any help or input would be extremely helpful.


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## Aquayne (Sep 1, 2008)

Paint the wood gray. Put a coat of Elmer's glue. After dry put a coat oh yellow. It will crack. Paint letters in black then sand them partly away. Antique with brown. The need not be old to look old.


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

As far as the contraption, whats your budget?


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## robbywar (Jul 9, 2013)

Hippofeet said:


> As far as the contraption, whats your budget?


It depends how effective it could be. I'd say I'd spend anywhere up to $100 or so.


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## robbywar (Jul 9, 2013)

Aquayne said:


> Paint the wood gray. Put a coat of Elmer's glue. After dry put a coat oh yellow. It will crack. Paint letters in black then sand them partly away. Antique with brown. The need not be old to look old.


Do you have a photo of what the final outcome would look like?


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## typoagain (Feb 27, 2012)

I have actually considered doing this myself, as I have not come across a board in 3 years. I wanted to make one with a moving pointer. 
I figured to just print out a large picture of an old board and glue it on a thin piece of wood. Then I would give it a light tea-stain wash. 
For the sides I was just going to mount it on short (3" ?) legs and use a black drape beneath it to keep you from seeing under it. That way I could have fairly good ventilation and sound.
For sound and movement control I would use a 4 channel learning controller, that way it would make sound all the time, but the movement would only be on when someone was in front of it. I was looking to cut down on wear on the paper top. 
Everything but the basic 120v supply line would be mounted under the board.

It sounds to me like you will end up with a much nicer one than my idea. But I really do not have the time to carve anything.


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## weaz (Sep 11, 2010)

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=34992

Here is the one that I built. I didn't make the board from scratch, but found it at a garage sale. Maybe check Ebay? All in all, I maybe have 20 bucks in this. Hope it helps.


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## Dan The Welder (Jul 18, 2012)

Use magnets to move it around, cheap, simple, reliable


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## robbywar (Jul 9, 2013)

Dan The Welder said:


> Use magnets to move it around, cheap, simple, reliable


I don't want it to move on it's own. I want it to have a timer or trigger that makes something in the box move or bump.


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

I had someone ask me to design a randomizing mechanism for a Ouija board, but then they ended up wanting something else, so I never finished it. If you just want it to jump, or thump, that shouldn't be nearly as involved as moving the whatchamacallit around to different letters. If you want, I can draw something up that makes it jump. With a fat frame, it should be able to sit on any table.


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## robbywar (Jul 9, 2013)

Hippofeet said:


> I had someone ask me to design a randomizing mechanism for a Ouija board, but then they ended up wanting something else, so I never finished it. If you just want it to jump, or thump, that shouldn't be nearly as involved as moving the whatchamacallit around to different letters. If you want, I can draw something up that makes it jump. With a fat frame, it should be able to sit on any table.


That would be AWESOME if you could do that.


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

OK. Im going to try to make a mock-up with batteries and a remote (easier for me, you can use any power source, and Ill try to rig up a PIR too), but I have to go out on the boat tonight, because there's this lady who, well, its not important. But I'm only going to have a few spare hours this week, so its going to take a few days to get it together.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

What shpe and dimensions are you looking at for the table?
To be honest, you have to keep in mind thatt you are going to have to store this before and after the holiday, so you should keep that in mind when designing and building it
You can ind a large, ornate Ouija board design I did for HowtoHauntYourhouse.com,while it is laid out for a round table or format, I can easily create one to a different shape. Maybe a pentagon? 
http://howtohauntyourhouse.com/images/stories/2012/SeanceTableClr.pdf
I can create a "parchment" background and change the color of the artwork to a deep brown, I can also age/erode the artwork to make this feel even older. I'd look at taking the file to a Staples or a sign shop that can print it out at the desired size, then maybe put glass over it to protect it during the haunt.
Drop me a PM with your email address if this is of interest to you.
Rather than trying to make the table with fancy molding, you might consider a fancy table cloth with a tasle boarder and just have the Ouija board sitting on top of the table. For the planchette or puck,, will it be stationary/static, moving or...?


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## weaz (Sep 11, 2010)

Hippofeet said:


> OK. Im going to try to make a mock-up with batteries and a remote (easier for me, you can use any power source, and Ill try to rig up a PIR too), but I have to go out on the boat tonight, because there's this lady who, well, its not important. But I'm only going to have a few spare hours this week, so its going to take a few days to get it together.


I'd love to see this also! I can think of a few other uses for something like this.


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

Check out this link. he includes step by step instructions on how to make a quija board and even includes the amazing artwork he drew for it to download and use if you want to.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Ouija-Coffee-Table/?ALLSTEPS


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

That is a cool table!


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Interesting project. I googled images of 'antique ouija board'

https://www.google.com/search?q=ant...tcngA9vhgMgH&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=606

Seems like most of the older boards are paint on plywood. That might actually be easier to replicate than wood burning. None seem to have a sheet of glass on top. With the wood and paint, some varnish and sanding may go a long way to making a smooth surface. I've had super good results with either Deft lacquer with multiple coats - sanding every three or so, or water based polyurethane with the same sanding regimen.


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

I had to order a couple servo motors, I didn't have anything on hand. The motors were from allelectronics, 16 bucks each and 7 cabbages for shipping.

I have the board made (its ugly, *shudder*) and the remote and relay (an RB5, but any old thing will work) set aside for this.

I'M going to strip down a larger PIRD, but I could have bought one for 10.99. 

So far, Im under a hundred bucks, I think Im at like 40 for the relay, the servo motor, the 12v battery case ( a bunch of AA's ) and the PIR.

Ill build it all up in a few days, when I get the servos, and see how she thumps. Sorry for the delay, but I didn't want to overnight the servos.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Unfortunately, you have to keep in mind that many "guests" are destructive and or abusive of people and props, that's the only reason I suggest using glass or even Plexiglass/acrylic to put on top of your Ouija board.
For the movement or sound issue, you can go with a speaker face mounted to the bottom of the table, a transducer (subsonic) that will jolt the table without any outward sound. A servo (but you'll need something to trigger that too), or an actor who just sits beneath the table and shakes it, moans, etc.


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

If you do the graphics in your computer, you can do a transfer, rather than burning or painting the individual letters. I did this for a ouija board that I made last year. 
http://content.photojojo.com/diy/diy-photo-transfers-on-wood/
You don't have to use the expensive clear coat that they suggest. A $2 bottle of gloss from the paint aisle at Michaels does the trick.


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## scarypapa (Jan 23, 2012)

I have made an animated quija board using a tutorial from DaveInTheGrave. It has a deer motor mounted in a aged wooden box. The ouija board itself I purchased from Toys R Us. Put plexiglas over the quija board and the planchett will run smoothly over the board.


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

If anyone is watching this thread to see when I post a how to on the board, I am still working on it, but I got swamped at work (in a 7, off some nights at 9) so I just haven't had any free time to put it together. But, its going to happen. Sorry for the delay.


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## printersdevil (Sep 28, 2009)

I would love to see this tutorial.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

I think bizarre magick has an excellent place in haunting. It's something I've been studying extensively. Here's a great site. Their effects are unfortunately (like most magic) incredibly expensive. But the site is a great place to get ideas.

http://www.outlaw-effects.com/store/golden-gun/the-dark-board.html


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

Geez, I forgot all about this!

I still have some of it in a box...

Note to self, do this project!

I'm only going to do so many tutorial things this year, I got a couple big side projects that are going to take a ton of money, but I think I can squeeze this one in.

Plus, it's spring, and I have a new GF, and a new solo canoe, and I redid my bug out bag and camping stuff and I really REALLY want to hit the deep woods a lot more this year, and I got a project truck, need to get the canoe sail done and hit the islands up in Lake Superior next month I hope... sheesh. lol. 

It's a shame I am so lazy.


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## ATLfun (Oct 12, 2012)

Terrormaster said:


> Here's a great site. Their effects are unfortunately (like most magic) incredibly expensive. But the site is a great place to get ideas.
> 
> http://www.outlaw-effects.com/store/golden-gun/the-dark-board.html


Wowzers!!! You were not kidding about the price. They wanted $600 for their haunted Ouija board.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

ATLfun said:


> Wowzers!!! You were not kidding about the price. They wanted $600 for their haunted Ouija board.


Most magic props are mad ridiculously overpriced IMHO. The stuff on that site is NOT mass produced though. Everything is hand crafted with the finest woods (or so they say). Where we as haunters go cheap because most of the time the prop is for display only. Magic props need to be handled by the magician and sometimes up close by the spectator. It needs to pass casual inspection and hold up to wear.

That board in particular is loaded with an electromagnetic coil that is remote triggered and even interacts with other products they sell. $600 worth?! Hell no, I can pick up a PC for less than that. But keep in mind the real reason for the costs being so high is it limits the number of people buying it. Yes I know it sounds counterintuitive to modern economics. But the idea is that if its cheap the market gets saturated and too many people would be on to the "secret".

Anyways, electromagnetics is simple basic electronics. The real treat here is the design of their board - its excellent inspiration.


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