# Meet My Electric Friend...WIP



## jasonsbeer (Nov 12, 2014)

Well, it doesn't plug in just yet. I am building an electric chair prop for this year. I built the chair today. I'm still debating on what to do with it. Right now, I'm thinking about animating it with an unfortunate soul. I could make it an interactive...we'll see. It is made from with 4x4's for the legs and various pieces of 2x6 and 2x4. The back is 5 feet high.

I used dados for the 2x4 connecting the front and back together.









Here are the two sides assembled.









Getting a feel for how it will look with the seat in place.









Final product.









Next step is to think about getting some hardware on it to make it look all electrical and scary.

Any thoughts on how to make this look like a well used chair?


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Great start on that chair! Beat it up with chains and other items with odd textures (steak/meat hammers are good with all those teeth too). For the wood, I like steel wool dissolved in vinegar over using stain, as it gives a older, weathered look to the wood rather than a new finish; although I'm not sure if that lumber is treated or not?

Looking forward to more pics.


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## bobzilla (Nov 13, 2008)

Looks great!


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## Abunai (Oct 28, 2007)

That's looking great.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Good job on those dados Looks like good, solid construction.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Really sturdy chair! WOW! I think the earlier suggestions members gave are good for aging it....you can take some grinding discs to it. They are great for digging out the wood to give it a worn and used look. Can't wait to see how you finish it off.


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## jasonsbeer (Nov 12, 2014)

Thanks for the comments an info, everyone!

I really like the sound of finishing it off by beating it up with chains and saws. That should give it a good look.

I will finish it with the vinegar and steel wool suggested by Jack.

Looks like I have a plan for next weekend.

The chair is very sturdy. I think it could survive even the most arduous of attacks by children.


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## mikkojay (Sep 15, 2014)

I like the "beefy" wood look. It makes it look much more like a real vintage chair than the ones that are sold commercially for big bucks. Keep the pics coming!
-Mike


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## Gweede (Aug 7, 2014)

Nicely done! This too is on my list this year - hopefully.


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## elputas69 (Oct 27, 2014)

Great start, looks fantastic. Can't wait for pics of the finished product!


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

One quick note about the vinegar/steel wool. It does not stain the wood immediately in most cases, as there is a chemical reaction that occurs between the mixture and the wood. You should notice changes with 10 minutes or so up until it dries, at which point you can add more to enhance the look.


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## jasonsbeer (Nov 12, 2014)

I have a question for those that have done the steel wool + vinegar trick.

From what I was reading, the solution should be ready within about 2 weeks. I've had my steel wool in the vinegar going on 10 days now, and other than some bubbling, there doesn't seem to be much action. It just looks like a wad of steel wool floating in vinegar. I expect the steel wool to turn rusty or dissolve or something. I have it in a Kerr canning jar with the standard canning lid.

Any hints?


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Your mixture should actually be ready for use in 12 to 24 hours (a longer wait does increase the depth of the color). I've put two to three steel wool pads in about a quart of cider vinegar and had them completely rust away and dissolve in about a day...white vinegar should do about the same. Did you try shredding the steel wool before placing in the vinegar? Maybe try removing the lid. I usually just dissolve mine in an open bucket of cider vinegar. Maybe it needs to oxidize in order for the chemical breakdown to occur?


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Did removing the lid help???


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## jasonsbeer (Nov 12, 2014)

I took the lid off on Saturday after reading your post. Basically nothing since. Still looks like a wad of steel wool floating in vinegar.

I'm using standard off-the-shelf white vinegar (5% acidity) and 0000 steel wool. I pulled it apart and tried to fluff it up a little. 

Must be time to retreat and re-evaluate my system.

I wonder if there could be a layer of oil or varnish on the steel wool that is thwarting my efforts. After all, they need to keep it from rusting in the pack...


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

I'm stumped. I've used this technique on my fence sections for the last three years with terrific results, sorry to hear about your troubles with it. As a last resort maybe try cider vinegar?

Best of luck as you experiment with this.


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## jasonsbeer (Nov 12, 2014)

Time to start over.

I read you can use nails to do the same thing. Just so happens I have a box of rusty 10D finish nails. Threw a bunch of them into the same vinegar and within a few minutes they were bubbling like crazy. Way more than the steel wool ever did.

Keeping my fingers crossed!


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## jasonsbeer (Nov 12, 2014)

Finally got back to this. I painted the chair with tea two weeks ago and the vinegar + nails solution today. The nails ended up in the vinegar for a few weeks. I think this is a great look for this prop. Thanks for the finishing tip, Sawtooth Jack.

Next up will be to build the victim. I have some ideas...










Edit: Thought I would add this photo. Ater drying for a few hours, the chair has basically turned black. It's so awesome! The pic doesn't do it justice.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Looks great Jason....nice tip from Sawtooth! I can't wait to see the victim for this chair. It's all coming together loverly! (that is if an electric chair can be loverly....):googly:


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Nice work on the chair, and the aging is very well done, looking forward to seeing the victim completed!!


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Looks great! That bottom pic is more what I was expecting you to get...kind of like an old cedar fence color. Thrilled to hear everything finally worked out!


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## jasonsbeer (Nov 12, 2014)

All right- basically have this prop finished, although I need to run it through it's final paces. Just want to get this thread caught up.

I built the frame of a "person" for the victim. This is all 1/2 inch PVC. The torso pivots on the legs/hips on a 3/4 x 1/2 x 3/4 tee. The foam head is from hobby lobby. It just happened to have a hole in the bottom that fit nice and snug over the PVC, which penetrates several inches into it.










I picked up the orange prisoner coveralls from e-bay. It's a cheap Halloween costume. Time to give this guy some substance. I stuffed crumpled up newspaper into kitchen garbage bags and used them to fill out the legs. I was worried newspaper would simply fall out of the legs if it wasn't contained somehow. The garbage bags taped to the frame inside prevent this from happening. I've connected a 6" throw cylinder to the frame. He is held to the chair with pipe clamps over the legs. My work boots finish the look.










The torso is filled out with chicken wire and some strategically placed wadded up newspaper. The upper arms are filled out with pool noodles (not shown). Again, they have holes running through the middle that fit perfect on the PVC. No additional fastening was required there.










I purchased some cheap knit work gloves for the hands. They are stuffed with newspaper to give them some substance. I then cut some 2 inch PVC into 5 inch (or so) pieces to give the wrists and lower arms substance. This was nice because it also gave me something to cinch the rope around to hold the arms in place. Of course, this also has the effect of appearing to hold the victim in the chair. Some additional newspaper was used to fill out the forearms. The frame must be free to move even though the hands are lashed to the chair. In order to mimic an elbow, the forearms and upper arms need to be two pieces.


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## jasonsbeer (Nov 12, 2014)

Now that we have the body complete, it is time to finish the electric chair look.

The cover for the head is burlap. I use burlap a lot in my projects. The local farm store sells used 50lb burlap coffee bags for $2 each! Just cut them up, turn them inside out to hide the printing, and you are golden. The two insulators at the top are for electric fences. Again, from the farm store. The head cap is just a reflector from a cheap work light. I happened to have some heavy gauge bare copper wire laying around from an old electrical project. It made a perfect addition to the prop. The electric wire is attached to the chair, not to the head. I tried connecting the wire directly to the head, but with all the movement, that was not going to work. I put a shorter piece of copper into the top of the foam head and it simply wraps around behind the head to give the illusion they are connected. The strobe light is from e-bay.










Here he is! I am going to see if I can test him tomorrow. I don't expect any problems as he has already been tested before adding the finishing touches.










Here is a shot of the controls in the back. This is run by mikojay's 4 banger controller, and I need to thank him for his help on this. The electronics are contained in the project box. Lamp extension cords make the best quick detach connectors. They are cheap! Cut them in two and use one end for the device to be powered and the other end as a dongle from your controller. You can just see them coming out of the bottom of the project box. There is one for each of three relays, and they control the strobe light, ambient lighting, and another option for the future.


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## jasonsbeer (Nov 12, 2014)

Finally, to put closure to this project. A video from Halloween 2015!


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

Nice job! The wisps of smoke and sound effects really sells it. You got yourself a great prop.


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