# wiper motor/coffin lid



## medicf43 (Jan 8, 2013)

I have a toe pincher coffin made from fence planks,it is 6.5 feer long. I want to make the lid more up and down and was wondering if a wiper motor will have thr power to do that or will i have to use pneumatics


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## gooffy87 (Oct 18, 2011)

It all depends on the action that you want. If you want a steady and consistent up n down, wiper motor will do fine. If you want the motion to have any character (similar to monster in a box props), pneumatics is yer answer. Keep in mind the price will increase pretty dramatically witha pneumatic set up. Good luck!


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## SuperCreep31 (Nov 22, 2009)

depends on how heavy your lid is. I had the same thing you are describing and the motor would not lift my lid.


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## medicf43 (Jan 8, 2013)

Yeah i just want it to go up and down. If it doesnt lift it i guess i wiil just do the set up for the rocing coffin from scarry terry


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

I used 2" thick pink foam for a lid to save weight, and fastened a few thin strips of wood here and there to re-enforce the area where the piano hing and lifting clevis attach.. The motor I used is way weaker than a wiper motor and with the Sliding bar arrangement it allows the lid to stay closed for a few seconds whihc is what makes this design different. The key is to use a Coungter weight as shown in this Video.






I have another video on my YouTube channel showing how the old style "Vent" motor can actually be used to lift a Coffin Lid. It's all about balance with a counterweight either on the motor or in the lid mech..


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## imthegoddess (Feb 3, 2012)

I used a wiper motor for the very thing you are asking and it worked very well. There are two basic set ups I have seen. a cam wheel (what I did) and a rod that the motor hits and the rod lifts the top open. I will try to find the links for both and post them.

Here is a link to photos of my cam wheel. http://www.halloweenforum.com/members/im-the-goddess-albums-coffin-build-open-close-method.html

Here are the instructions I followed; however, the cam follower I made seemed to put too much stress on the lid. I removed the follower and place a metal sign on the lid where the wheel was striking to cut down on wear to the lid from the cam. That removed much of the stress. http://www.cindybob.com/halloween/mib/


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## scarypapa (Jan 23, 2012)

medicf43./..about 3 years ago I build a toe pincher coffin based on a design by ScaryTerry on ScareFX. It was buld from wooden fence pickets and the lid was built using the same wooden boards that the coffn was built from. I used a wiper motor to lift the lid and it worked and is still working great. I hinged the lid at the botton (so the lid would open in a manner similar to the skeleton in the coffin at Diseny Haunted Mansion) and placed the motor about 1/4 of the length of the coffin from the top and used 3/4" plastic pipe to run from the motor to the coffin lid to open it. I also placed skeleton arms and hands I found at Michaels hobby store inside the coffin and attached to the lid edges to simulate a skeleton attemptin to open the coffin from the inside. Aditionally I included audio of the skeleton inside yelling to passersby saying "Hey you, let me out of here". It is a great prop. :laugheton: Due to the relative low cost of this setup compared to trying pneumatics (which I actually have no idea how to do) I would highly recommend the use of a wiper motor.


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