8-Foot Grim Reaper
The Scythe
This is the finished 8-foot grim reaper with his scythe as it appeared during Halloween 2004. The materials for the scythe consisted of two boards, two screws with nuts and some paint.
I made a template of the basic shape of the blade on my computer and printed it out. It was just over two feet in length. I transferred the shape onto a 1x6 pine board.
I cut out the basic shape with a jig saw making sure to add a 1.75 inch wide section that would be attached to the staff portion of the scythe. I drilled two holes in the attachment area.
I then took my Dremel tool with a sanding drum attached and sanded the pine board down to a blade shape.
I cut a lap joint at the top of a 2"x2"x8' board to fit the attachment area of the blade. I picked out the most curved 2x2 I could find, but it was still pretty straight. I drilled holes in the 2x2 to match the holes in the blade.
I stained the 2x2x8 with some leftover walnut colored Minwax Gel.
I attached the blade to the staff with two screws and nuts which were countersunk below the surface. Then I painted the blade with a base coast of dark gray latex. Then I dry brushed different shades of gray and silver to make it look like metal.
I think it turned out pretty well. I hope this project gives you some ideas for building your own grim reaper.
