Lab – Page 4 – An Unorthodox Halloween

Yarr, prep the lab, me mateys!

Tharr be treasure.

From Lab

This truly WAS a treasure chest for most of my childhood. For, it held Christmas. It always seemed impossibly huge, and heavy. Holding all the Christmas ornaments, it was always good to see the treasure chest.

From Lab

My parents were tossing it out, after it had gotten caught in a flood. I just couldn’t allow that. I even had the initial thought of actually using it as a pirate chest….(Pirate lovers may wish to turn away now)

However, I also realized it will make a GREAT control panel for the Lab.

From Lab

Couple knife switches, some gizmos and doodads from a TV repair shop (that will all light up), I need a couple more gadgets to add to the thing, and a stand, but, it’s going to be a fine control panel.

Compared to last year, we actually had 1 switch. 1. This year, with 3, it’s adding to the show. The first will kill the lights and turn on the control panel and the blacklight. The second will turn on the Jacob’s ladder, and maybe some other doodads. The third will turn on Bob, THEN there’s the footswitch to make Bob sit up. MUCH more going on in the lab…

Speaking of, my Jacob’s Ladder:

The actual ladder is 3 ft tall, with base, the whole thing is 4 ft. Needs a stand, maybe a dial or something on the base.

And…Bob needs a new dentist.

From bob

Is that for Halloween???

So just about every child in the neighborhood asked the other night when we pulled Bob out for a paint job.

From bob

Nah, it’s for Easter…

From bob

This is the view from the audience side. (He’ll get legs later, they’re not priority at the moment)

From bob

Turns out Bob is a cross-dresser as well! Getting decked out in my mom’s panty hose. (thanks ma!)

From bob

Unfortunately, we had to stop there, as I’m out of latex. We’ll be getting some soon.

Of course, it takes a lot of electricity to bring Bob back from the grave. One would expect SOME kind of generator…

(A wine barrel, a cat sand bucket, and a dismantled cieling fan)

We’ll build a stand to lay it flat and get another cover for the other side of it, but you get the idea.

From Lab

Closeup of my cover.

From Lab

Video of it “on”. Effect provided by 2 flicker sockets. They were just thrown in. We’ll get it all glossed up on the inside of that cat bucket to reflect, and the lights centered, but again, the idea…

FSP Limited! (and some new projects.)

Like I was mentioning, I’ve had this plan to bring some high voltage into the Lab setup.

First and foremost among those plans was a Jacob’s Ladder.

I have been researching on how and where to buy or acquire the parts, and plans, and having little in the way of luck. Now, sure, there were “free plans” out there. They all left something to be desired…

And, other places wanted upwards of $20 just for the plans.

As mom will attest, I’ve had a long and glorious history of really screwing up with electricity. Including knocking out the power to our house at 4 years old, and being close enough to lightning on several occasions to see the plasma linger in the air as the bolt dissipated, feeling the heat, and once being knocked back (a metal door I was next to, I was inside, was hit)

So, I was not about to go about my typical muddle through it exercise with this one.

Finally, I stumbled upon FSP Limited.

Not only did they have NEW transformers for a reasonable price, but plans specifically for THAT transformer, and a kit to build a science kit for Kyle that included a couple experiments other than the Jacob’s ladder.

For us, it was a no-brainer.

Parts arrived promptly, and the instructions were clear and concise.

So, Kyle demonstrated his project to his scout troop last night, wowing everyone there, including the adults. (They’re working on the engineering badge) We’ve even agreed to take the entire lab setup over in a couple weeks to show them all the engineering they’ve been working on. Pulleys, switches, circuits, and catapults. Bob and the Lab bring it all together, so I get a test run, and the kids will get to have some fun.

Now, the thing is mine to adjust just a tad for a more Halloween-centric purpose.

If you’ve EVER wanted a Jacob’s ladder, or just want a project for your kid’s science fair, or similar, you really can’t go wrong with FSP Limited’s Kit.

From Lab

NOW, I’m thinking I might actually have use for their jet kit as well…but more on that later.

Anyhow, obviously, the Jacob’s ladder will be added to the lab. I want some slightly taller poles for it, and I’m going to enclose the ladder to keep any wandering fingers in that setting.

If it weren’t raining now, I’ld also be working on the ‘generator’ I intend to build.

The fan case just screams ‘generator’ to me. We’ll get some video of the intended effect as soon as my wife wakes up and can tell me where she’s hiding the video cam…

From Lab

Oh how I loathe ceiling fans…

We’ve been doing some minor work around the house this week.

Among them was installing new ceiling fans. A job I find particularly annoying for some reason. Something about holding this while you wire that and contort this over here…

Anyhow, in part due to this loathing, I set my eyes on the second fan I had taken down. I have my mind set on several pieces of lab equipment to go along with Bob this year. Figuring that if I’m to make these folks REALLY believe there’s tons of electricity flowing through him, it’s going to take more than a couple flashing lights and a bad sound effect, ala last year.

So, I figured on ripping out this here ceiling fan motor, and using it to EITHER turn the crank on a Wimshurst machine, or to run a Van De Graaff generator.

At the time, this was part of a 2 stage plan to bring high voltage to the lab.

But, getting TO that motor, I started staring at the case. Nice brass…evenly spaced vent holes…and inspiration struck.

It’s now a 3 stage plan. That fan case, and a barrel that’s been kicking around in the back yard are swiftly going to become a “generator”. Photos, and perhaps a how-to will soon follow.

In other news, one of Talia’s new favorite activities is to color Bob. He’s now covered in crayon doodles. Oh, sure, it’s all going to be covered by paint and corpsing later, but, like the grin, it makes me smile.

Joining in the fun, I couldn’t resist paying homage to the ORIGINAL reanimation stories, and wrote “Truth” on his forehead.

Yes, for those not catching the reference, Frankenstein is not the original. Check into the legends of the Golem. Most famously, the Golem of Prague.

Bob. The beginning…

As I was mentioning earlier, the idea for Bob was ORIGINALLY going to be Fred.

I even stumbled on the theme song for the idea, finding an old CD, and taking a listen to an old favorite tale of Uncle Fred…

But, Fred is heavy, and he really don’t bend all that well to make sit up to begin with.

Sure, one could go buy a bucky torso to make a new Fred, I really don’t have the cash to be doing so. And, despite my original intentions to keep to the naming convention, and name everything Fred, it would get REALLY confusing here for you guys.

And so, Bob was born.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Cole, Fred has his song, and he even has a song for this project! What about poor Bob?

Yer right…Bob needs a song too.

Bob has been in the planning since shortly after the fair last year. So much so, that I had gone out and purchased a $25 lifetime table at the Black Friday sales. The more I thought on this, however, the more it became apparant that those plastic table tops would not hold the mutilation I needed to impart upon them. So, I was forced to search out a wooden one.

Fortunately, I found them on sale at Staples.

Next, I salvaged some of that failed Charr prototype conduit for the primary mechanism. Some PVC pipe, a gate latch, and a couple bungie chords later, Bob was not only sitting up, but doing so on command.

Time for the hard part.

I really don’t know where I read about making the spine from pipe insulation and wire ties. But, I filed it into the back of me brain for future use, and there ya go.

I dug Fred out from his hiding spot, took as close of a tracing as I could get from his chest cavity, and put that into a cardboard frame for the ribcage.

Bob is now taking shape.

From bob

Talia finds him too fun…

From bob

Bob’s already begun quite well, scaring Alec with his abrupt sit-up.

Next, is to mache the spine and ribcage with a base coat, then start the painstaking process of filling in the bones one by one…

For that, it’s time for a SPECIAL brew…

From bob