Super chain!

Here’s just what you’ve always needed. An enormous, oversized fake chain!

If you are in charge of props for a school play or community theater group, or if you need a mondo-humongous chain for a Halloween or haunted house decoration, this is the project for you!

My sister Cindy, who often acts as prop mistress for church play productions, devised this clever “Taper-Plate” chain. It produces a lightweight, fairly durable, massive chain suitable for a draw bridge or pirate ship anchor.

All you need are some oval paper plates (the sturdy cardboard, Chinet type), a cutting instrument such as an X-acto knife, and a  bunch of duct tape.

Start by cutting the centers out of all the plates (you can save them for other crafts).

Take two of the resulting “rings” and place them face-to-face. Holding them together, wrap them around and around with the duct tape — not so tight that it squishes them. When you are finished with that first link, set it aside while you start the second.

Again place two plate rings face to face, and wrap part of  the assembly with the duct tape. But only part of it. On the unwrapped part, cut through both rings so that you can link the incomplete ring through the already-completed one.

Once the two have been interlinked, finish wrapping the second link around and around with the duct tape. The links should be able to move freely and independently without sticking together.

Continue in this fashion, always connecting the new link to the one you just completed, until your chain is the length that you need it. The chain in the picture is maybe 8 feet long and required 20 plates.

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