How to Make Old Radio Sound Effects Devices
- 1). Make a crash box by filling a tin with broken coffee mugs, an aluminum can, pennies, nails, wood and gravel before sealing the lid down with duct tape. Shaking the can suddenly and violently will produce a convincing "crash" sound effect. Use the sound for replicating anything from a car accident to a roll of thunder. Learn to manipulate the way you use the can to produce different types of sound. Remember to always have the can end the right way up so you can put it down without making another noise.
- 2). Construct a thunder sheet from a length of high-impact styrene plastic available from most plastic stores. Gripping each end of the plastic sheet and shaking it back and forth suddenly produces a thunder-clap sound. This piece of plastic can also be used for making a "wop-wop" sound to represent space creatures or combined with the crash box to make a convincing thunderstorm.
- 3). Fill a shallow plastic or wooden tray with gravel to make a gravel box. This can be used to simulate the sound of someone walking on a driveway or on loose stones. Use two halves of a coconut shell to make the sound of a horse walking or use a piece of wood to simulate the sound of a person walking in a pair of shoes. A large flat piece of wood can be used to simulate walking on a solid floor.
Source...