How to Make a Guillotine

October 30, 2015

Description:

For Halloween this year, I wanted to make something that would stand out. Sure I could make a pumpkin or a tombstone decoration, but I wanted something that caught the eye of every neighbor in my subdivision. After I did some thinking, I thought it would be cool if I were to build a full size guillotine and put it out in front of the yard for Halloween. To begin the process of designing/building the guillotine, I made a 3D model of it in Google SketchUp (Link at bottom of Page). Once I finished making a 3D design of the guillotine, I calculated all the materials that were necessary and made a shopping/cut list. For ease of storage, I made the top and bottom half of the guillotine two separate structures that are held together with a bolt on each side. All you have to do is slide the bolt out on each side and you can easily store this while it’s not in use.

Shopping List:

7- 2×4’s at 8′ long

2- 1×6’s at 8′ long

1- 2×6 at 8′ long

1- 2’x4’ Sheet of ½” Plywood

4- ½” Bolts at 4” Long

4- ½” Nuts

8- ½” Washers

1- Box of 3” Exterior Screws

1- Box of 1 ⅝” Exterior Screws

1- Piece of Rope

1- Piece of 3/8″ Dowel at 1′ Long (Connects the Upper and Lower Headstock)

1- Bottle of Wood Glue

1- Eye Hook (Connects the Rope to the Blade)

1- Can of Red, Silver, Brown and Black Paint Long

Cut List:

2×4 Material:

2- 96” Long

2- 70” Long

2- 55” Long

4- 15” Long

4- 12” Long

2- 10” Long

1×6 Material:

10- 13” Long (Slats on the Bench)

2- 21” Long (Top Pieces on the Guillotine)

2×6 Material:

4- 12” Long (Head stock pieces need to be planed down to 1 3/8” of an inch to fit properly)

Note: The Blade and it’s components were cut to fit at the time of the build and the dowels for to connect the headstock were cut to fit as well.

Email

You can email directly at eric@woodworkingnut.com

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