Halloween 2023: Work Begins

Started getting to work on our Halloween project for 2023. Not really going to share a lot of details here, so mostly just photos for now.

Liz and I landed on a concept a few weeks back… and honestly, we should have started a few weeks back. But today marks the first day where we actually did some tangible work, and I think won’t be under a mad rush this year before the big day.

Today was mostly Liz and I, together in the basement, working on our various projects. She was doing more testing with stains, while I was working on building out the Halloween concept/project.

It’s been a while since we worked together, so this was a nice change of pace. Us together in the basement, listening to music, working on actual, physical projects.

A few lines, a few rough approximations.

Getting some practice with the jigsaw. They’re not all winners, but I did end up getting better.

Trying out a few angled cuts on 2x4s, to make a support structure. The plywood piece will ultimately lean against this (and get affixed to it).

I used a junk 2×4 that was pretty warped, to make these base supports. I think my math was ok, but I still feel a small degree of shame that these boards didn’t turn out well (and I needed to use shims to fill in a few gaps).

A preview of the final product.

Liz helped out here, sanding down the surface in preparation for painting.

She also introduced me to wood filler, which we spread onto the surface. After it dries, it’ll get another round of sanding… and end up holding a good layer of paint.

The plywood had a lot of defects, and I’m glad we took this step. The finished version should look a lot better with these intermediate steps.

Related:
Halloween in Hyde Park, 2022: Plinko Board
Operation Halloween Candy Dispenser
Garden Arbor Construction, Part 8