RUMFORD — Using a nail gun in his basement on Friday morning, Scot Grassette shot nails into a meticulously cut and delineated square of plywood.

It was the first of 12 such pieces the longtime performing arts entertainer plans to make for his debut Walk of Danger stunt at Rumford’s River Valley Fourth of July Celebration.

Volunteers from the crowd will arrange several things, including concrete slabs containing shards of glass and boards containing nails and screws, on a 50- by 13-foot course.

Additionally, Registered Maine Guide Phil Milligan of Milligan’s Guide Service will set up several of his wild animal traps. Grassette will then walk down and back alongside the course, trying to memorize a path through the obstacles.

For the blindfold, silver dollars will be placed over his eyes and strips of black Gorilla Tape will be wrapped around them and his head.

Barefoot, using only his other senses, he will then walk the course.

“Yeah, that’s going to hurt to step on that,” he said, lightly pressing a hand down on nail points. “Of all the things, I think I would rather step on a nail.”

It’s Milligan’s bear trap that worries the 46-year-old NewPage Corp. electrician the most.

“Like I said, I’m going to need to know exactly where that bear trap is, and that’s where I need to stay away from,” the Rumford native said. “That’s probably the worst.”

“Phil goes, ‘That will take your leg right off, you know,’” Grassette said.

“If I step on a nail, step on a screw, step on anything else, it’s going to be very painful and it’s not going to be pretty. But if I step on that bear trap, I’m going to the hospital.”

To additionally unnerve him, some have joked about the stunt, calling it a life-ending ordeal.

“Some people keep calling it the Walk of Death,” Grassette said. “I said, ‘Don’t say death! It’s not the Walk of Death!’”

One coworker told him, “Yeah, you’re going to step in that bear trap, and you’re going to fall over into the screws, and you’re going to roll into the nails.”

“I’m like, ‘Stop saying that!’” he said. “But I’m pretty confident. I’ve made a couple of good runs in practice.”

Grassette owns and operates 49 Franklin, a theater and reception hall at 49 Franklin St., where he also lives.

He said he’s read several books about the stunt and been trained by people who have successfully done it, like legendary magician John Calvert and escape artist Paul Szauter of Bar Harbor.

Grassette said he wanted to perform something that would be “daring, exciting and spectacular,” and a testament to the daily dangers faced by the nation’s military.

“The Fourth of July is really a celebration of our freedom, and I wanted to have a special event at this year’s fireworks to focus on our troops,” he said.

“So I’m dedicating this event to all the men and women currently serving, and to me, that wasn’t enough, because I want it to be in honor of everyone who’s ever put themselves in harm’s way to keep our country free.”

That’s why the path will be 50 feet long to symbolize the nation’s 50 states and 13 feet wide for the 13 original colonies.

Grassette said he also believes this year’s Fourth of July celebrations across the country should be grander than usual.

“I really think that this year in particular, because of Osama bin Laden’s death, that America should really have an extraordinary celebration,” he said.

Grassette will perform his Walk of Danger from 6 to 6:20 p.m. on the Fourth of July at Hosmer Field in Rumford.

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