Bone Sculptures

I've had a couple of you say you would like to see how I make my bone sculptures so I'm going to give it a shot

Step 1: Things You Might Need

there are a few things that you might need are relatively inexpensive and you don't necessarily need them but you might

1. drill corded or cordless (I use both) and drill bits to predrill holes
2. 2in screws a bunch (I used drywall screws)
3. 8x3 daul torq drive flat head screws (or any 3 in will work I just had these on hand)
4.loctite 3x glue or liquid nails
5.hammer
6.a willing helper (optional I didn't have one but would have sure been nice)
6.thing wire I used electric fence wire
7.grinder
8.metal or fiberglass rod for support
9.optional moonshine to keep you from going insane and slow ya down lol
10.lots and lits of bones

Step 2: Cleaning

The ones I found in the fields are usually Sun bleached and most the stuff is off of them suffer some dirt maybe some dried ligaments something along that lines and since how my projects are huge I usually bring them into my shop and use a wire wheel on my grinder to clean them up pretty good and then spray them down with the cleaner like bleach or something along that lines

Step 3: Set Up

At this point it's like a huge puzzle I have all my pieces separated out here in my pile and I start laying stuff out and fitting it together the picture is already put together but it's basically how I lay them out to see how they're going to work

Step 4: Assembling

Once I have a rough idea of how I want to put together I figure out how I'm going to balance them or how they will stand in my case structurally sound without breaking from their own weight keep in mind dry bones can be pretty brittle. In the picture I've taken a steel rod and Bennett in the middle add a little less than a 45 degree angle drilled a hole in the two bones that would be the knee and slid the rod in there nice and tight because that's where a lot of the weights going to be it's going to support the body I've also added screws after drilling a hole for them to avoid cracking the bones at about a 22 degree angle on the bottom of the foot the two bones that would make the ankle and foot that way I have a base and a knee

Step 5: Connecting the Hip

Now I'm ready to connect the two legs to the hips and lower back that I've already assembled put together I've used a fiberglass rod on mine a steel rod and strong wooden dowel would probably work just the same I've drilled holes in both legs were the hips would join and slid them through the hip area on to the Dow.
I use screws to adjust the legs and hold them into position on the rod so that I can see how I want it to stand so it can balance on its own weight and not fall over either direction frontwards or backwards or side to side

Step 6: Drink Time

By this time you're probably ready to pull your hair out if you're doing it by yourself like I was putting everything together drilling the holes first then screwing it together by yourself is a bit stressful lol Plus when you try to rush it you will have to go back and fix it its not maybe you will better to stop have a nice T beer liquor whatever and just look at what you're doing

Step 7: Finishing

Once you have everything pretty much screwed together go back through and strengthen it drilling and putting in extra screws where needed once that's finished you can start adding Glu to some of the weaker points

Step 8: Hands

Save these for last because this is where you will probably need the grinder I've taken regular bones cut them into 3 pieces flip them around so they look like knuckles fill them with hot glue and ran wire through it to hold em so I can bend them anyway I want like I said it's like a giant puzzle

Step 9: Stepping Back and Looking

If you've made it this far step back and look and see if it looks right to you if it doesn't look right to you and then it probably won't to anyone else make sure it's as true to form as it can be but keep in mind bones are like sticks none of them are the same and very few of them are straight

Step 10: Strengthening

I've added a steel rod up through the back of my gargoyle and through the neck into the back of the skull that holds it because the upper body weighs about 60 pounds Plus if I need to move it it comes into 3 pieces The Gargoyle in 2 and the chopper is all one piece it stands on its own and so does the gargoyle .I think that pretty much covers it .any questions ill try to answer.but I can tell you there's a ton of trial and error in putting bones together just taking your time is the key

Step 11: Video of It All Together

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10206514244525525&id=1552719225