Witch Stirring a Hanging Cauldron
The Witch
The completed witch stands about six-feet tall. The frame is made of PVC and other common materials. The back-and-forth head movement is made by simple crank arm linkage. The hand skeleton is made of plastic tubing and wire and is covered by a pair of Death Studio's latex monster hands which were painted to match the mask.
The
witch frame is built on a base made of 2"x4" and 2"x6" lumber
screwed together for easy disassembly. It connects to the base of cauldron
with two four foot 2x4's standing on edge. The attachment point is variable
based on how far the witch needs to be away from the stirrer.
Four U-bolts are attached to the 2x6 uprights to hold the PVC frame. The frame is made out of schedule 40, 1.5" PVC pipe and fittings. Two 33" sections of 1.5" PVC pipe form the "legs" of the witch.
The PVC legs are attached to 90 degree elbow fittings on each side and three T-type fittings in between. Two of the T's connect to short pieces of pipe to form the "sides" while the center T is connected to a 1.5" to 3/4" reducer fitting which holds the pivot point of the extension of the 1/2" PVC pipe "neck".
The PCV fittings are attached tightly together with small 1 1/2 " sections of pipe and secured with screws.
Two 45 degree fittings and three sections of PVC pipe form the "sides". I used black duct tape to secure some of the joints. This made it easy to adjust the angles. The "sides" are also used to mount the motor that will turn the witch's head.
The "shoulders" are formed from two T-fittings, two 45 degree elbow fittings and one 4-way junction. The 4-way has a 3/4" reducer on the section pointing down. The reducer acts as a guide for the 1/2" PVC "neck".
The 45-degree elbow fittings each connect to an end cap fitting. An O-ring bolt is mounted thru a hole drilled in the center of the end cap. This forms the attachment point for the arms.
The arms are made from sections of 1/2" PVC with an end cap on each end. These end caps have an O-bolt mounted thru a hole drilled in the cap. A piece of hollow core foam is slid on to each arm piece to provide some bulk. This foam came from a cut up "pool noodle". The O-bolts are attached loosely together with small zip-ties.
