Light-up Spinning Haunted House Halloween Centerpiece

Using 3 mm basswood, cut out pieces from Canvas 1 and 2 shown in the Images 1, 2, and 3 above. Canvas 1, shown in Image 2, has the pieces for the Gear Box base that spins the center dowel. Canvas 2, shown in Image 3, has the pieces for the Haunted House scene and the slotted base that the pieces fit into.

This is the same gear base used in the Haunted Carousel so assembly is similar. I used the Cogsmith Parametric Gear Generator option for the “1:4 speed increaser” to turn the carousel and used dowel rods to assemble the pieces so the center gear spins the entire assembly.  

The first step is to get a 3 mm dowel to fit the center of the gears made with the Cogsmith Parametric Gear Generator.  

Image 1 shows the large and small gear sitting in the gear box base. The gear box is what hold the gears in place while they turn. The dowel shown in Image 2 will be glued to the driver gear and spacer like in Image 3, but not to the top or bottom of the gear assembly box or base. 

The top and bottom of the gear box acts like a sandwich that lets the gears turn smoothly inside. For the center gear, leave enough space for the dowl to sit in the hole in the base and then glue the gear with a spacer on top as shown in Image 4. Do the same for the small gear as shown in Image 3.

The gear box base sides are then glued around the edge of the base in the Image 5. The top circle of the gear assembly box will keep both gears from moving up or down when they turn. Glue the edges only of the top circle onto the sides of the base as shown in Image 5. I glued extra spacers on the bottom so that the dowels can turn without hitting the ground.

Glue the Haunted House pieces into the slots in the base and glue the base onto the dowel rod so the entire assembly spins. Place lights in the center of the Haunted House scene so the shadows trace the walls as they turn.