# The Obelisk that I'm making



## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

I decided to try my hand at making an Obelisk for our graveyard this year and I began today. Here's my progress so far...

Wish me luck!


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

NOICE - have been considering making one of those this year. Any plans for weighing it down so the wind doesn't knock it over?

-TM


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Tooth picks ( round) will work in place of the stick pins and you can leave them in place and just snip them flush with the surface. You are farther along on yours then I am. Were you thinking of cutting out symbols on the surface and lighting it from inside?


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

I'm basically using John Nelson's plans from http://usersites.horrorfind.com/home/halloween/juggernaut/oblsk1.html

But if you follow that plan be warned that when doing that top little pyramid part, his plans said to cut the angles at approx 35 degrees. It's actually 45 degrees.

BoneDancer, I'm planning on putting a Celtic design on the spire like this...










And since the theme of our haunt this year is a nod to horror movies, the inscription will be for Vincent Price. I'll inscribe it on the base of the Obelisk.


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Looks like you're well on your way.

Does that mother demon work her way into every picture you take at your house?


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Bone Dancer said:


> Tooth picks ( round) will work in place of the stick pins and you can leave them in place and just snip them flush with the surface.


DAMN BD! That's a brilliant idea! Especially if you coat them with wood glue before putting them in. They'll work like dowels. I'll do that for now on. Thanks!

Simply brilliant idea.


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Revenant said:


> Does that mother demon work her way into every picture you take at your house?


LOL! I keep her in my dining room to force me to finish her. All she needs is a little airbrushing and one hand glued into the final position. I had to wait till I found a baby doll to figure out the final hand pose (she'll be holding up a baby above a baby demon like she's feeding him). I have the doll I want now (nice and light weight) so I can finish Mother off soon and get her the hell out of my dining room finally :devil:


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## dynoflyer (Oct 8, 2006)

Cassie looks good, like to see how you finish it.

Here's picture of mine, it's primed, engraved and ready for 'marbleization'. I also used John Nelson's plans. 









Mugford is a reference to an obelisk in the town graveyard that honors Capt. James Mugford.

"TRIBUTE OF MARBLEHEAD TO THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE CAPT. MUGFORD AND HIS HEROIC CREW WHO IN THE SCHR FRANKLIN, OF 60 TONS AND FOUR 4 POUNDERS, MAY 17, 1776, UNDER THE GUNS OF THE BRITISH FLEET, CAPTURED, AND CARRIED INTO BOSTON THE TRANSPORT HOPE: 300 TONS, 10 GUNS LOADED WITH MUNITIONS OF WAR, INCLUDING 1500 BARRELS OF POWDER."

Marblehead is the birthplace of the American Navy


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## spideranne (Jul 17, 2006)

Looks good so far. Keep us posted on how its going. I've wanted to try something like this but figured it would take a lot of time.


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Terrormaster said:


> NOICE - have been considering making one of those this year. Any plans for weighing it down so the wind doesn't knock it over?


Yes. The spire is removable from the base and the base is hollow so we can toss a sand bag in it for stability.


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## dynoflyer (Oct 8, 2006)

Here's another way to anchor the obelisk with rebar driven into the ground. The pvc slips over the rebar to keep it upright. From Scott Messinger's Obelisk plans on the Monster List http://members.aol.com/Smessin983/Halloween/Obelisk.html


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

dynoflyer said:


> Cassie looks good, like to see how you finish it.


Did you have the same prob as I did with the keystone at the top? His plans said apprx 35 degree angle where it should read 45. 35 renders a three sided keystone and this project requires a four sided one.

So far my finish plan is to coat it with joint compound. Not sure what I'm going do from there. If the joint compound looks good, I may leave it with that and just paint it.


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## Spid3r3lla (Jul 3, 2008)

Great start can't wait to see it completed, will you add engraving as well Cassie, or leave it like the one you have shown as your inspiration? dynoflyers - yours is coming along nicely, damnnnn now I want to make one of these. Great job u 2!


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## HalloweenZombie (Jul 22, 2007)

Hurry up and finish! I want to see! I want to see!


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## dynoflyer (Oct 8, 2006)

Cassie, I pretty much followed the plans except that when it came to the top (you're right, it's four sided, not three) I transferred the measurements from the top of the base to determine the dimensions for the top four triangular pieces. It didn't matter what the angle was because I used the width of the bottom and a big compass to draw an arc to the locate the tip, then drew lines and cut them on a band saw to mitre the edges at 35 degrees for the TAPERED sides. 

I used wood filler on big dings first, followed by two very thin coats of joint compound. Sanding in between each coat. Then painted with old latex primer mixed with old latex paint, gave it a couple of coats. 

One mistake: should've Dremeled out Mugford before painting, would've given a cleaner, sharper edge detail. Oh, well. 

I"ll post some pics in showroom forum when it's finished.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

I know it makes life easier, but is a band saw an essential tool for this or any large foam projects (like columns and mausoleums) or could someone get by with nothing more than a hot wire? I don't own ANY woodworking type tools (no bandsaws, table saws, electric saws, nada; well nothing more than a 6" hacksaw). Which is the other reason I've been avoiding using wood in my projects. Never really been a tool or shop kinda guy until I dived knee deep into haunting. Always the IT nut so all my tools are of the electronics nature.

-TM


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

I'm planning on doing a Celtic design on the spire like this:










And since our haunt is a tribute to horror movies, the inscription will be Vincent Price.

Terrormaster, I use a $20 foam burner from Michaels and cut two boards at a time. It really cuts down on mess and time being able to do it this way.

Since the base is hollow and separate from the spire, just place a brick in it and its good to go.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Thanks Cassie - was getting worried my investment this year was getting deeper.

Can't wait to see it finished.

-TM


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## dynoflyer (Oct 8, 2006)

Terrormaster, a band saw just makes cutting the angles easier, it isn't necessary. Foam is such a forgiving medium you can rough cut and use a rasp or coarse sandpaper to quickly get it where you want it. It's like shaping a surfboard.


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## Aelwyn (Jul 7, 2008)

Looking good! Can't wait to see the finished product!


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Dynoflyer, do you recall what font you used for the lettering? I like that.


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## TNBrad (Sep 10, 2007)

Cassie7 said:


> So far my finish plan is to coat it with joint compound. Not sure what I'm going do from there. If the joint compound looks good, I may leave it with that and just paint it.


I coated mine with brown paper (for packages) and used 50/50 school glue.
to make it hold and then I coated the out side with joint compound.
and paint them.

http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc25/TNBrad/Obelisk%20How-To/?action=view&current=Obolisk03.jpg








http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc25/TNBrad/Obelisk%20How-To/?action=view&current=Obolisk08.jpg


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## dynoflyer (Oct 8, 2006)

Cassie, The font I used is called Bremen Bd Bt. It's TrueType font for PC if that's any help. Don't ask me where I got it, I've downloaded all kinds of fonts from different places, never know where that creepy font you've been looking for will turn up.


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## dynoflyer (Oct 8, 2006)

TN Brad, nice work on your obelisks! The kraft paper probably makes them less susceptible to 'dings', seems every time I move mine I get a new one. 

BTW, where's you find the gargoyle candelabras? Those are way cool!


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## DSTRONG61 (Jul 8, 2008)

You don't need luck your stuff always turns out way cool! But Good Luck anyway!!
Denise


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Some progress...I haven't added the bottom portion of the base yet though.


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

I just finished carving the Celtic pattern on the face of it


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## Uruk-Hai (Nov 4, 2006)

That's looking GREAT Cassie! An obelisk is definitly on my list for next year.


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

looks cool cass.. keep up the good work


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## dynoflyer (Oct 8, 2006)

Nice work, Cassie! The Celtic pattern looks great!


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## TNBrad (Sep 10, 2007)

dynoflyer said:


> TN Brad, nice work on your obelisks! The kraft paper probably makes them less susceptible to 'dings', seems every time I move mine I get a new one.
> 
> BTW, where's you find the gargoyle candelabras? Those are way cool!


I got those Gargoyles at Kroger or Kmart in the mid 90's 
I have to fix one though; the wind came up last year and turned over one of the obelisks face down in the driveway. A little super glue and some airbrush paint and Hey that adds texture (LOL).
I also used the blank/clear CD that is at the bottom of a ream of CD-R, as a backer for the Gargoyles for two reasons; one, to add strength to the structure, and the other is the Gargoyles have a red light that backlights them on the wall or where ever they are hanging; so the clear CD-R reflect the light around the Gargoyle better than just the painted joint compound would.


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## widowsbluff (May 24, 2006)

Very nice, it's going to look great.


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Sorry for lack of updates but this isn't a tutorial thread and I've been mudding and sanding and mudding and sanding LOL

When it's dry tomorrow, I'll take a progress pic for you all  Then I'll have to decide on how I want to finish it. I'm really wanting to do John Nelson's idea of mixing ceiling texture with latex paint but I don't think I can slide the extra expense by hubby. He's already grumbling about my using extruded foam instead of the cheap white bubble foam. And it took me a lot of sweetness to convince him that I absolutely needed to coat it in several layers of joint compound.

I'm really happy with the inscription though and the Celtic pattern. It's looking great and will make a great showpiece for our Avondale Cemetery Graveyard this year


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Sorry (again LOL) about the lack of updates but I have been working on it. The base is finished but the spire still needs a bit of sanding and paint.

My cat really likes the base


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## TNBrad (Sep 10, 2007)

Great work Cassie I like the pop up in the last 2 images LOL
Here are some different ways we used ours over the last few years
_in the light, at the civic center_
Obelisk How-To :: mummy1.jpg picture by TNBrad - Photobucket
_in the dark, at the civic center_
Obelisk How-To :: mummy2.jpg picture by TNBrad - Photobucket
_in front of the band_
Obelisk How-To :: Obolisk09.jpg picture by TNBrad - Photobucket
_in the drive way_
Obelisk How-To :: 11-03-2007014713pm2.jpg picture by TNBrad - Photobucket
still can't get images from photobucket to showup Hummmm


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

That's odd, mine show up fine (photobucket).

Yours look great! Now you're making me want to make another.

BTW, are you in Knoxville too? If so, you have to let me know where your haunt is so that we can check it out! I'll show you mine if you show me yours


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## spidermonkey (Jul 29, 2008)

Great job.

So your cat doesnt use it as a scratching post or a chew toy


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

spidermonkey, she did when it was plain foam, but she doesn't like to scratch on the joint compound.

I generally have to keep my foam boards closed off in another room though.


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## HalloweenZombie (Jul 22, 2007)

Very nice work! Very nice indeed.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Wow Cassie, that cat prop is so life like.


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## Aelwyn (Jul 7, 2008)

My man was ogling your axe and suit of armour.  He's a medieval weaponry enthusiast.

The obelisk looks great....and I love your cow-cat!


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

My Obelisk is finally finished!


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

That turned out great Cassie...
nice stone look on it
what's up your sleeve now?


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## cerinad (Jun 23, 2008)

That's really nice.. Great job!


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Thanks folks! I'm wanting to hot glue on some Spanish Moss here and there but my dumb cat keeps trying to eat it LOL


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## ScareShack (May 26, 2006)

Turned out really really Sweet!


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## TNBrad (Sep 10, 2007)

*Closer than you think*



Cassie7 said:


> That's odd, mine show up fine (photobucket).
> 
> Yours look great! Now you're making me want to make another.
> 
> BTW, are you in Knoxville too? If so, you have to let me know where your haunt is so that we can check it out! I'll show you mine if you show me yours


Yes...I'm in Knoxville too,... well I'm really in Sevierville. But I work at HGTV, (& DIY, Food Network, Fine Living, and GAC) in Knoxville off Cedar Bluff.
I would love to see yours. LOL and you can see mine too.
the neighborhood has already started walking for their health... strange..... YEAH RIGHT! 
hummm their looking in my garage and trying to see what's new this year.

AND I must say You have done a great job on these. WOW


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Wow Cassie, that really came out awesome.

-TM


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

I hot glued some moss on the Oblelisk and here are some pics...


































I just hope that when Hubby gets home, he'll like it


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## Black Cat (Aug 20, 2005)

Looks great Cassie. If I left that standing in my kitchen, my cats would think it was a new scratching post for them.


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## DarkShadows (Feb 6, 2006)

Good work, it looks great!


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## Moon Dog (Oct 3, 2006)

Looks really good! Excellent work!


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## dynoflyer (Oct 8, 2006)

That looks awesome, Cassie! I love the vines creeping up the sides.


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## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

nice work cassie...good proportions and I also like the moss


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## dynoflyer (Oct 8, 2006)

Cassie, I put some pics of my finished obelisk in showroom. I want to thank you, especially for the vine idea. Hope you don't mind me stealing your idea.


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Not at all! I love to share ideas. Thats why I post 

Your's is looking great!


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