Hello fellow tinkerers, this tutorial will show you how to build a large tiki statue with an outdoor speaker inside of it. I decided to build a pair of rock speakers out of the same materials, but the idea quickly turned into building this guy. I designed it and built it entirely from scratch. He is 42 inches tall and weighs in at a whopping 110 pounds. The tiki itself took eight days to complete (from gathering materials to final coat of paint), and rigging the amplifier and hooking it up took roughly 3 hours. I spent around $120 on this project (speaker and cables were bought at Goodwill, some of the materials were lying around in my garage), so if you were to buy all of the materials new, it should cost about $200. In order to build a tiki speaker of your own, you will need the following items:
Tools:
-Dremel tool with cutoff wheel
-Scissors
-Caulking gun (for Liquid Nails)
-Wire cutters
-Wire strippers
-Pliers (needlenose or regular)
-Steak knife
-Paintbrushes
-Drill with mixing attachment
-Small trowels
-Bucket for mixing concrete
-Spray bottle
Materials:
-Home Depot buckets or similar (x2)
-Roll of duct tape
-Large round foam planter pot
-Styrofoam blocks
-Flexible pipe insulator foam
-Metal chicken wire
-Floral wire (or other metal wire)
-Tight metal or plastic mesh
-Liquid Nails (strong super glue)
-Spool of speaker wire
-Thoroseal paintable water sealer
-1 bag of concrete stucco
-Outdoor speaker
-Wire nuts (x2)
-Stereo amplifier***
-Stereo speaker cable end with plug***
***If you just wish to build the tiki itself without a speaker inside, simply disregard sections 1, 2, and 5 of Step 2, and all of Step 7
NOTE: Make sure your amplifier output power does not exceed your speaker imput power. Both should be measured in watts. As long as the amplifier power is equal to or under your speaker imput power, you're A-Okay.
Tools:
-Dremel tool with cutoff wheel
-Scissors
-Caulking gun (for Liquid Nails)
-Wire cutters
-Wire strippers
-Pliers (needlenose or regular)
-Steak knife
-Paintbrushes
-Drill with mixing attachment
-Small trowels
-Bucket for mixing concrete
-Spray bottle
Materials:
-Home Depot buckets or similar (x2)
-Roll of duct tape
-Large round foam planter pot
-Styrofoam blocks
-Flexible pipe insulator foam
-Metal chicken wire
-Floral wire (or other metal wire)
-Tight metal or plastic mesh
-Liquid Nails (strong super glue)
-Spool of speaker wire
-Thoroseal paintable water sealer
-1 bag of concrete stucco
-Outdoor speaker
-Wire nuts (x2)
-Stereo amplifier***
-Stereo speaker cable end with plug***
***If you just wish to build the tiki itself without a speaker inside, simply disregard sections 1, 2, and 5 of Step 2, and all of Step 7
NOTE: Make sure your amplifier output power does not exceed your speaker imput power. Both should be measured in watts. As long as the amplifier power is equal to or under your speaker imput power, you're A-Okay.
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Signing UpStep 1: Making the Basic Frame
1) Okay, lets start building our tiki by taking our large flowerpot and turning it upside down. This will be the base of the tiki, and give it the distinct flared bottom. The rest of the frame is pretty simple from here. You will need to break out your Liquid Nails and caulking gun and apply a generous amount to the top of your upside down flower pot. On top of the glue, stick on your outdoor speaker. The speaker should be positioned on the pot so that none of the corners hang off.
2) Once your speaker is on the flower pot, it is time to get those plastic Home Depot buckets. Most plastic buckets like this have metal handles on them. If yours doesn't, that's okay, because you won't need them. In fact, if your buckets have them, go ahead and take your dremel tool and cut them off.
3) Take your first bucket, right side up, and secure it to the top of the speaker using your Liquid Nails, making sure the bucket is centered with the rest of the structure. Now your second bucket will require a little cutting with the dremel tool. I cut the top of my second bucket about 8 inches from the top. The top section of what you cut off is what you need. Next, simply take that top ring of bucket and glue it on top of your first bucket. This is just to add height to the tiki (trust me, you will regret not adding it later on if you don't. After all, size does matter)
I appologize for not having pictures of the frame before I wrapped it in foam. I didn't think of taking pictures until I started wrapping it, but you can get an idea of what it looked like without the first layer of foam.
2) Once your speaker is on the flower pot, it is time to get those plastic Home Depot buckets. Most plastic buckets like this have metal handles on them. If yours doesn't, that's okay, because you won't need them. In fact, if your buckets have them, go ahead and take your dremel tool and cut them off.
3) Take your first bucket, right side up, and secure it to the top of the speaker using your Liquid Nails, making sure the bucket is centered with the rest of the structure. Now your second bucket will require a little cutting with the dremel tool. I cut the top of my second bucket about 8 inches from the top. The top section of what you cut off is what you need. Next, simply take that top ring of bucket and glue it on top of your first bucket. This is just to add height to the tiki (trust me, you will regret not adding it later on if you don't. After all, size does matter)
I appologize for not having pictures of the frame before I wrapped it in foam. I didn't think of taking pictures until I started wrapping it, but you can get an idea of what it looked like without the first layer of foam.
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I've made this stuff into fake boulders...cool, paintable, lightweight!
Take your plastic sheeting and measure out enough material to cover the top of your tiki. Once you have your plastic measured, cut it out with your dremel tool. Glue it on top with your Liquid Nails.
What plastic sheeting are you talking about? Can you describe what the product is that you used and why? Could I just use a bucket lid?
I'm trying to envision how to make a bear standing up. Thanks?
One of these would look great in the middle of my garden :)
Compact Rotational Gardening with Raised Beds
OHHH YEAHHHH!!!!!
OH NO IT IS HAPPINING TO ME!!!!!!
OHH YEAHHH
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Wind-Harp!
and amp teh sound though this....
I found a pic or two from old emails, but not the assembling photo's :-(
the pics don't do it justice. I took it to my kids grammar school for a show and tell, delivered it early and hid it among the ferns in 1 classroom (no pics :-( ) a randomn teacher walked through and almost fainted , it was a surprise and big! almost 7 feet tall and wide as a compund bucket. The thing is cardboard (refrigerator box sliced up on one side so it rolls up), then glued, then I made appliances from cardboard (all glued with yellow carpenters glue) then stucco'd lightly with plaster and painted up. He was sorta a copy of "first man" as seen by the Maori.
He stood in a couple of scout events, and then my kitchen, went to school then halloween then , burned in trash , how sad. But we had no place for him.....
Great Job !
I made mine with cardboard rooled around two spakle/compund buckets with lids on carefully made rounds that I glued in place every 2-3 feet then pulled the buckets. The top of mine was egg shaped and sat on a bucket flled with steel plates. Tiki Man came off the bucket and fit nicely in my minivan. We put him out at holloween (do put yours out too, with eerie music and add lights to his eyes) but he was not allowed back in house so I trashed him. He loked real nice when the garbage men cam and they just stared laughed and threw him in.
yet another dead Diety.
sparkie
A virus wiped me out a few years back in the clone wars of 05 , I think I lost tikki man, if I find him I will post with the series of pics I shot as I did it. It was either pre instructables or I did not know about it then.
thanks,
--brokeit