Halloween project

[tlt]

This is more of an "arts and crafts" thing than woodworking, but this might be a fun activity to do with your kids...

After discovering that the desert air destroys pumpkins in 2 days, I decided to try making something a little more resistant to the dry air and came up with these Halloween luminaries.

Basically I stack cut some pumpkin carving patterns on the scroll saw, routed slots on two sides of a post, and slid the cutouts in into the post. The light is difused with a sheet of plastic light covering (the kind they put over flourescent lights at the office) that was cut and glued behind the cutouts.

It seems like cutting patterns on the scroll saw is 1000 times easier than using those silly little pumpkin carving tools!

thanks for looking,
--tlt

[radhak]

Awesome!

Now you have set the bar for Halloween... thank you very much !!

[Mr__Bill]

What a great idea, but how do you get the pumpkin in the scroll saw? (I just couldn't resist )

Bill, on the Sunny Oregon Coast

[cgallery]

It seems like cutting patterns on the scroll saw is 1000 times easier than using those silly little pumpkin carving tools!

thanks for looking,
--tlt

We could carve our pumpkins on our scroll saws, I suppose.

Those look great. How long does it take to cut something like that on a scroll saw?

[LCHIEN]

square pumpkins, I like that kind of thinking outside the box, er... ball, er... whatever.

[docrowan]

What a super (natural) idea! Thanks for sharing, this might be one of those times that I actually follow through on my good intentions of copying one of the ideas on this site.

[drumpriest]

That's excellent! I love doing halloween scrollings too. Back lighting helps a lot, great idea.

[crokett]

That is a very cool project! You know you could make some Christmas ones and use red/green bulbs to light them.

[StickSeler]

What a great idea, but how do you get the pumpkin in the scroll saw? (I just couldn't resist )

Bill, on the Sunny Oregon Coast

We have carved them with a sawzall, jig saw and roto-zip even did a small one once with a coping saw.

Boxes are cool, might have to try that with the kids this year.

[tlt]

Thanks to all for the kind words.

Those look great. How long does it take to cut something like that on a scroll saw?

Thanks to the stack cutting, it was about an hour for the four patterns. One of the few projects I actually finished in an afternoon.

That is a very cool project! You know you could make some Christmas ones and use red/green bulbs to light them.

With a little redesign, it would be kind of neat to have luminaries with replaceable patterns...just slide out the halloween ones and throw in some turkey/thanksgiving ones. Any ideas on how to make the top lip removable (or some other mechanism)?

[Popeye]

Very cool. What did you use for a light? Pat

[Pappy]

With a little redesign, it would be kind of neat to have luminaries with replaceable patterns...just slide out the halloween ones and throw in some turkey/thanksgiving ones. Any ideas on how to make the top lip removable (or some other mechanism)?

Make the top piece a little larger than the 'box' with mortises to hold the tops of the posts. I have some display cases made this way, both plastic and wood. The top and base pieces also have a groove to capture and support the side panels. If this isn't clear, I will try to get some pics up later today.

Cool idea, btw.

[lrogers]

Those are great! I bet you could sell a ton of them at local flea markets/craft shows.

[tlt]

Very cool. What did you use for a light?

It's one of those low, wide-mouth glass jar candles from walmart with three wicks. It would be cool (and safer) to work in some solar lights, if they put out enough light.

Make the top piece a little larger than the 'box' with mortises to hold the tops of the posts. I have some display cases made this way, both plastic and wood. The top and base pieces also have a groove to capture and support the side panels. If this isn't clear, I will try to get some pics up later today.

I think I follow you, but wouldn't mind a pic or two The mortise on the top part makes it like an end cap, with maybe a hidden (unglued) dowel pin to keep it aligned?

[Pappy]

Sorry about the delay getting the pics up. This is one of the plastic cases with round corner posts. Same idea would work with mortise and tenons.



The glass fits in grooves in the posts and the notches in the 'mortises'. On the one wooden doll case we have, the mortises are connected on 3 sides with a groove to hold the glass.