DIY Holy Grail Prop from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

I just came in from my garage where I was turning one on my lathe and thinking, "How would Derek finish this?" and I see this video. 😮Not even kidding.

You have chosen wisely. Great prop build! I recently watched Adam Savage’s grail diary and some other vids on his prop collection from Indiana Jones. I’m so happy you employed the amount of layering and distress you did. What a difference! Gold leaf is SUCH A PAIN to work with. It’s like glitter in that it sticks to everything! I did a 8” tall by 16’ wide gold leaf Sanskrit lettering (mural?) and by the end of the day I never wanted to work with gold leaf again.

A few days ago I was cleaning the inside of the upper dome of my 450,000 volt Van De Graaff Generator with water and the water rolling around in the silver bowl totally reminded me of the cup of Christ from the Holy Grail! And here it is in gold! Beautiful timing.

Really fun project! You have such a keen eye for color. After the final reveal I looked back at the reference pics, only then noticing all the colors you so accurately incorporated. Most impressive!

I actually made a Holy Grail for my Indy shelf a while ago, though I used some Goodwill finds and a little epoxy clay for the initial shape (Don't have too much access to 3D printers) Something I found that works just as well as classic gold leafing is a product called Liquid Leaf, which I used on my Grail for the outside and inside parts. I think it uses the same pigment, but much easier to apply, just make sure to shake the bottle every time you use it. I like this take too, well done, much better than some of the ready made mass produced props which go heavy on the aging (Looking at you Disney Store)

Awesome build - I love how your grail turned out. Thanks for sharing the process, it's always great to see another maker's creative process.

Cool. Now I want to make one!

One of my favorite movies grown up. Glad you didn’t get tossed out of a Zeppelin or wither into a pile of bones. Great build!

This looks awesome - I’m always impressed with your 3D modeling skills

You've given me so many great tips, I'll give you one in return. If you're looking for a dusty clearcoat without texture (similar to what you did here with the white), use Rust-Oleum Frosted Glass. It adds the perfect "dusty aged" look on anything, mainly glossy surfaces, metallic surfaces and glass. Start with one layer and add as many as you want. I used a combination of your baby powder effect with layers of Frosted Glass to make wine bottles look old in a flash.

Fantastic work really enjoyed this build I would love to try some gold leafing !!!

Now that's the cup of a carpenter!

Love this! Excellent job, sir!

Love it! I’m big in an Indy phase right now! Second only to Star Wars for me.

LOVE IT!! Thanks Bro!

Turned out great!

"Not Star Wars or Halloween Project"? Who isn't a fan of 80's props or Spielberg stuff! Awesome, love it!

GREAT JOB!!! It looks awsome, thanks for sharing 🙂

Definitely looks like the real thing, just amazing 🤩 thanks for sharing

I had done one of these about a year ago, same methods basically and man.. leafing that inside of the cup was rough lol I ended up using mod podge so it dried slower but after seeing this, I think spray adhesive was the right call. Looks great!