Trading tips for dark displays and prop production.
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By Zombie Pumpkins!
#12552
I'm looking to put together a standing scarecrow, and I wonder if anyone had advice (or a handy web link) for how to build a support for hold him up.

Basically, I'm trying to figure out what sort of base to make, so he doesn't tip over. I could bolt together a few 2x4's or PVC pipe or something... but before I go winging it, if someone could point me towards a resource for a tried and true structural plan, that would be excellent. :) Thanks!
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By amandap80
#12560
Ryan,
This is something Kyle and I have perfected over a few years. Of course, our scarecrow is stuck into the ground, not using a stand. Also, our scarecrow is frickin heavy, made of grapevines with a huge real pumpkin head. I have attached a crude diagram. The main post is constructed out of 2x2s, the arms are also. A 5x5 square of plywood with huge nails thru it is mounted on top, to hold the pumpkin. The bottom is sharpened to fit in a 2 inch PVC pipe, buried 16 inches in the ground. Of course, the pipe stays in the front yard each year. So, I don't know if the idea is feasible for you. The scarecrow is very sturdy!
Image
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By Zombie Pumpkins!
#12594
Thunderclap - Pumpkin Rot does have some great inspiration. Someday I'll make displays like all that. For this year, I already know what my scarecrow will look like though. Basically, I plan to hang up my Patch Master costume on a pole. Hey, if I'm not using it, might as well display it somehow, right?

amanda - Great advice, I'll use that method if I ever make a scarecrow like that. My needs are sort of reversed though. My scarecrow will probably be pretty lightweight. And rather than stuck in the ground, I need him to be mobile, so I can set him up in different locations.
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By amandap80
#12601
My scarecrow is also over 9 feet tall :twisted:

I went a little over board....
Hard to believe, I know....
I wanted to go for the Sleepy Hollow Scarecrow look. Hence the grapevines, and he is draped with torn black cheesecloth.

Maybe a stand with a 2x2 square base, with large nails to secure him to the ground? Then, you can just pull the nails out of the ground and move him. I wish I knew the name of the nails, but they are about as wide as my finger and 7 or 8 inches long.
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By S.A.M
#12663
I wanted to do a standing scarecrow last year but I wasn't confident enough with what I had made would stand the weight of a pumpkin so I went for a sitting down scarecrow.

I'd like to try and do a traditional scarecrow this year so with the advice amanda has posted I may well give it another go, thanks.
By stormqueen29
#12758
Just something I thought of.

You could probably put a pole into a weighted base like for a patio umbrella and it would be both mobile and sturdy.

Just my two cents.

Gale
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By Zombie Pumpkins!
#12759
Gale, that's so logical, I'm slapping myself in the forehead for not thinking of it. I'll have to give that a shot, before I go making it more complicated than it needs to be, right? :)
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By KILLER KLOWN
#12763
That's the way to do it(weighted stand). Get a 5 gallon bucket at the local Home Depot(cheap) fill it with "Quickcrete"(cheap) and while it's setting-up stick a pole in there. That is how they set-up Satellite dishes for apartment complexes. It's a portable pole mount! :)

Later...T