Halloween Decoration Idea - How to Build a Cowboy Coffin

Halloween Coffin build notes:

'Tis the season and this Halloween my wife asked me to build a coffin for her decorations. To do this I used two full sheets of either half inch plywood plus a couple of small pieces to use for the top and bottom. If you want to create this and don't have a workshop or any leftover scrap plywood, most big box stores and lumber yards will allow you to buy a quarter or half piece of plywood. They may have a scrap piece bin where you will get your top and bottom pieces. You can also put together planks and make your coffin more authentic if you'd like.

What I prepared below are the dimensions that I took after I finished the build and a cut sheet of all the pieces that I made during the build. This first drawing below is the top view with dimensions of the bottom piece. 

I also included the steps that I followed on this project as you can see from the previous drawing. Because I used half inch plywood, and it was very warped, so the top didn't really fit since I precut it with the bottom. I definitely don't want you to make that same mistake! Don't cut the bottom and top at the same time, first cut the bottom piece, then cut and install your side pieces. Then turn the coffin upside down and trace it on your sheet of plywood to make sure the top fits perfectly.

With projects like this I like to take notes as I go. When I finish, I will draw it up more cleanly and write down the steps that I took. As I developed my DIY portfolio, people see what I’ve built and want to duplicate it. Below was the first drawing that I used to guide the build; although, we did have to make some changes to this as we went along.

Below is a cut list with the sizes and cut angles of all the pieces. You could do this project with a skill saw and a homemade guide or if you have one, use a track saw to do your crosscuts.

If you don't have a nail gun, you can just use regular finish nails. Just make sure they're not too long so you don't have to cut them off at the end or worse yet, forget to cut them and have someone get poked by them.

In the project in the video, I didn't worry about clean sides or rough sides. I plan to add molding to my coffin as another project in the future which will cover the outside joints. If you want to make sure the outside angle cuts on your side pieces are clean, make sure you cut them on the bottom side of the panel, so you don't get chipping or tear-out.

I hope this inspires some ideas for last minute decorations or gives you a spark for your next project. 

As Always, Keep Building!

- The Cabinet Talk Team