Pirate Ships Wheel

Take a look at my version of a Pirates Ships Wheel for this years Halloween, Made from insulation foam and has a wood base

Step 1: Stair Rails, Cutting Off Ends

I had seen a few home made ships wheels on line and wanted to make my own for Halloween this year. Most seemed to be made from wood and needed a number of angled cuts, I wanted to try and make a lighter version.

I had some old stair rails that I cut off the ends and did a quick sanding to remove any sharp edges. I cut two circles from 1" insulation foam using a christmas tree stand to make the shape and for the inner circle I just used a string and pencil from the center.

I had a round wheel made from 2x4s that I hijacked from another project for my center wheel. I thought this should be made of wood since it would be the main spinning point. I measured the handles to be 8" out past the outside of the wheel. Taking a paddle drill made holes in the center circle. Once everything was measured I cut packing foam to fill in the spaces between each rail then glued down.

Step 2: Celluclay and Sanding

I used Celluclay on each rail to make it sit in the center of the wheel and hold all the foam together, I then glued the second 1" insulation foam circle on top making it as even as I could. Covered the entire wheel with Celluclay let dry and sanded. When it was dry I added some spackle to smooth out any high points.

I tried using a stain but with the Celluclay and wooden rails it didn't look right. So I just used a dark brown acrylic then a lighter brown and finished with a black wash on everything

Step 3: The Stand (Helm)

I framed out a 2ft x 3ft platform and covered with plywood adding supports in the center. I rounded off the top of a 2x4 and cut a slot in the platform so the base of it could be supported with screws and not on the outside.

I cut the skull out of a form dollar store grave stone and I had some left over rope trim I sprayed gold for the front and glued everything on.

I used 1" pvc pipe to hold the wheel on and capped off after spraying everything gold

I painted the base the same dark brown and used some think rope I had laying around to trim everything out and give it a nautical feel.

Hope this helps if you ever want to make one. It took about a week with waiting for things to dry