Homemade Devices For Inventive Teens
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Make Stuff For Fun
By Alan Detwiler
Smashwords
addition
Copyright 2012 Alan Detwiler
License Notes: This ebook is licensed for use by one person and that person's immediate family. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for encouraging the hard work of ebook authors
CONTENTS
article
title
prolog
-- build some wonders
large
paper clips -- hold many
sheets of paper
CD
holder -- storage for CDs
in jewel cases
macrame
hanger -- for hanging a
flower pot
crayon
batik -- draw on cloth
with a crayon
bootjack -- used
to help remove your boots
duct
tape wallet -- a wallet
made from duct tape
whirligig -- easy,
well working whirligig
paper
bowl -- decorative bowl
from paper strips
boot
puzzle -- a puzzle made
from paper
snap
trick -- a puzzle made
from wood
fractal
folds -- from cut &
folded paper, cool
string
climber -- a simple
mechanical wonder
book
safe -- a hiding place in
a book
door
sign -- a message on your
room door
collage -- make
a display of many pictures
smoke
rings -- a few ways to
make smoke rings
paper
ball -- 3 paper disks
cleverly put together
water
viewer -- aids seeing
what's under water
bookcover -- from
a paper grocery bag
theme
box -- decorative/functional
paper box
paper
cube -- cleverly made
paper cube
juggling
sticks -- sticks made for
juggling
tube
dulcimer -- music from
metal tubes
geodesic
structure -- from rolls of
paper
string
sphere -- string made
rigid with glue
cable
ride -- a pulley that
rolls on a cable
dollar
ring -- paper money folded
into a ring
cubby
box -- multi section
display box
catamaran -- model
boat from soda bottles
pinwheel -- for
low speed air currents
cook
something -- enjoy making
and eating it
stilts -- walking
tall is fun
scrapbook -- reminders
of interesting events
rope
machine -- make your own
rope
model
burrow -- use it as a
pencil holder
drawing
board -- swings to draw a
patterns
juggling
pins -- you can make them
from junk
Jacob's
ladder -- it's peculiar
somehow
disk
box -- a box made from
computer disks
bottle
rocket -- pump it up and
up it goes
potato
gun -- shoots plugs of raw
potatoes
simplest
motor -- battery, wire and
a magnet
epilog -- what's
good about making stuff
Prolog
In times past
it was often necessary to use whatever materials that were at hand to
fashion a contrivance that would fulfill a practical need. A typical
home was often built by the occupants and contained many homemade
items. Those valued items must have been a source of pride and served
as reminders of the ingenuity of the human mind. The necessity to
make mechanical things has been taken away by the easy availability
of manufactured goods. But the opportunity to exercise and
demonstrate our mechanical ingenuity is as available as ever. When a
purely leisure pursuit is your desire, have some fun discovering what
your mind can do with the tools and materials you have. Perhaps you
will make something that has a special meaning to you, something that
stirs a valued part of yourself and makes a statement about the
wonders of your mind and the wonders of the world and thereby
strengthens your hope that ever greater wonders will be produced by
human spirit and ingenuity.
These large paper clips can be used to keep a bundle of papers together. Begin by cutting off the hook and twisted part of a wire clothes hanger. To cut the wire use a wire cutter, a hacksaw or hold the wire with a pair of pliers and bend the wire back and forth at one point on the wire. If each bend is made as sharply as possible the wire will break after maybe 5 or 6 bends. Straighten out the wire with the pliers or a hammer. For the trombone clip make the necessary bends by holding the wire against a cylinder shaped object such as a pie roller or tin can. Then bend the wire against the cylinder. A very even curve can be made that way. The butterfly clip bends can be made using a smaller diameter cylinder such as a piece of old broom handle. Make the size of the clips any size you like but 5 to 7 inches works well. Two more possible designs are shown below.
CD holder
If you happen to have a piece of
a wood board about 5 1/2 inches wide, at least 1 foot long and
between 3/4 and 1 1/2 inches thick then you can use it to make a CD
holder. You'll need maybe 10 wire clothes hangers, a drill and a
drill bit just a little narrower than the wire.
Draw a pencil line one inch in from the board's edge. Draw another such line one inch in from the other edge. Put a mark every 1/2 inch along both lines.
Drill a hole 1/2 inch deep at each mark.
Cut and straighten the clothes hangers as necessary to produce enough 11 1/2 inch pieces so there is one wire piece for each pair of holes.
Use a pair of pliers to bend each piece into a U shape as shown.
The horizontal section of each shape
should be 3 1/2 inches. The vertical parts should be 4 inches.
Push the wire ends into the drilled holes. If the fit is very tight grip the wire firmly about 1/2 inch from its end. Tap on the pliers with a hammer. If you prefer, space the holes one inch apart so only half as many holes and wire pieces are necessary. Then 2 DC cases can be kept between each guide.
macrame hanger
Four
pieces of rope each 6 feet long can be used to make a hanger for a 8
inch in diameter flower pot. For larger or smaller pots use longer or
shorter lengths of rope. Put the pieces of rope together so that the
ends of each rope are even with each other at the ends of the bundle.
Fold the bundle in half so that all the ends are together. Tie a
overhand knot a couple of inches from the end of the bundle that has
no rope ends. Think of the simplest knot that you know and that will
be the overhand knot.
A simple overhand knot and a bundle of ropes tied at the center:
Below: The next step.
Above: Think of the rope ends as being labeled A through H from left to right. Tie an overhand knot in A and B at a point half way between the rope ends and the first knot. Make a knot in each remaining pair: CD, EF and GH.
Make a knot using the pair BC at a point half way between the rope ends and the knots you just made. Then similarly make knots with pairs DE, FG and HA.
Then tie all the rope ends together with a single knot. That knot should be close enough to the rope ends so 2 or 3 inches of each rope extend to form a tassel.
Then place the pot in the hanger. Place the hanger and pot where the plant will get the amount of light it needs. Most garden plants need more light than they will get indoors. If the plant will be indoors, choose a type that will do well with less light. Possible choices are aloe, spider plant, philodendron, Christmas cactus and geranium.
If you don't have a regular pot, cut off the top of a plastic gallon milk jug or a plastic soda bottle. Use the bottom part as a container for the plant. Be careful not to water the plant too much or too little. The general rule is that when the soil is dry 1/2 inch below the surface, it is time to water. Do not add so much water that the soil is still soggy the next day.
crayon batik
Crayons
can be used to draw pictures on cloth. The cloth can be a
handkerchief, a T shirt or a wall hanging. Choose a simple drawing
such as a peace sign, a yin yang symbol or an onyx. Your name in
fancy lettering or a favorite phrase or motto might appeal to you.
Practice the drawing on paper first.
A white or very light colored cloth is best. Press hard to get lines that show up well. Crayons will make only faint markings. For the design to show up well, you may need to draw outlines using permanent markers, ball point pens or fabric markers. Put 3 sheets of newspaper both under and over the cloth. Slide a hot clothes iron over the paper. Leave the iron on the paper long enough so that the cloth is thoroughly heated. The heat will melt the crayon wax into the cloth so that it will stay there. When it's time to wash and dry the item, do the item by itself because it could stain other clothes.
If you are willing to spend several hours or more on a drawing, you could do something as complicated as a clown's face. Begin by drawing a grid of lines on a T shirt. The next sketch shows the grid with a clown's face. Space the lines one inch apart. Use a pencil and a ruler to get the lines straight and right. Use the lines to judge where to draw each line making up the clown's face. Look back and forth between the picture and grid until you see just where to draw each line. It is best to draw a very light line with a pencil first. Darken the line by going over it again with the pencil when you have the line the way you want it. Finally go over the line with marker or pen. Be especially careful doing the lines for the eyes. The line for the lower edge of the white eye area should be much thinner than the other lines. The line making the upper edge should be much thinner than the circle around the eye. The circle should be thinner than the brow.
Make the spacing and shape of these lines as close as possible to being the same as those in the drawing. You will likely find it a challenge to get the eyes to look right. Don't expect them to look exactly the same as the drawing. You have succeeded if the eyes appear to express any character trait that a clown might have. Make the circle for the nose by placing a jar lid or some other round object where the nose will be. Press down on the object to help keep the cloth in place and draw the circle as you keep the pen or marker against the round object. The clown's face is probably best as a black and white sketch. Fabric paint could be used to make the nose bright red and the area immediately around the mouth some shade of red that suggests lips or an open mouth.
bootjack
If you
often find it annoying to remove boots as you enter the house, this
project is for you. The bootjack makes the task easier especially if
the boots are tight fitting or you are carrying something so that
your hands are not free.
Begin with a 3/4 inch thick board that is about 2 feet long and 6 inches wide. Cut a V shaped notch in one end. Use nails to attach a small piece of wood to keep the notched end raised above the floor.
Keep the bootjack outside by the door where you most often enter wearing boots. Put one foot on the jack to hold it in place. Put the heel of the other foot in the notch and pull your foot out of the boot.
duct tape wallet
A
rather nice looking wallet can be made from duct tape. About 12 feet
of 2 inch wide tape is needed. You will need to work carefully and so
expect to spend several hours on this project.
Begin by cutting 5 pieces of tape each 9 inches long. Measure and mark with a felt tip marker on the adhesive side of the tape before cutting. The 5 pieces will be joined together to make a single piece 9 by 9 1/4 inches.
One piece is joined to another by overlapping the long edges by 3/16 of an inches. With the adhesive side up mark one of the pieces with 3 marks, one near each end and one in the middle. Each mark is 3/16 inch in from the same long edge. Those marks will guide you in how much to overlap the two pieces.
When placing the two pieces together, both have the adhesive side up. Carefully align the two pieces before they make contact with each other.
The 3rd and 4th pieces are added in the same way. Before the 3 marks are placed in preparation for adding the 5th piece, measure for those marks so that the width of the 5 pieces together will be 9 1/4 inches as intended. It may be necessary to change the 3/16 inch measurement.
Eventually there will be a fold made in this layer. To be sure the fold keeps its proper shape, two pieces of plastic about the size and shape of a credit card will be added. About 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches is good. Cut the two pieces from flat areas of thin plastic containers such as gallon milk jugs. The lids of cottage cheese or whipped topping containers might be suitable. Avoid plastic that is thick and stiff such as credit cards.
Turn the tape sheet so that the seams run toward and away from you rather than side to side. Measure in 3 1/4 inches from the left edge and place a mark there. Make three such marks near the top, center and bottom of the sheet. The left edge of the plastic pieces will be positioned on those marks.
Place a mark 3/4 inch down from the top of the sheet and 3/4 inch up from the bottom also to mark where the plastic will be positioned. Place both plastic pieces in place.
The next step is to add a second layer of tape to that which you just finished. This will be added one piece at a time to the first layer. The pieces will be placed adhesive side down. Because two adhesive sides are being put together, it will not be possible to separate them to correct any mistakes. For the second layer, mark and cut 5 pieces of tape each 8 inches long. Place 3 marks near one 9 inch long edge of the finished layer. As before, one mark will be near the middle and a mark should be about an inch from each end. Each mark is 1/2 inch from the edge of the sheet. This will guide you in placing the first piece of tape so that a 1/2 inch wide strip of adhesive will be left uncovered along that edge. The pieces of tape for this second layer are 1 inch shorter than the first layer. This allows for an area of adhesive 1/2 inch wide at each end to remain uncovered. To insure that the area at both ends is of the proper size, place a mark on the adhesive of the first layer 1/2 inch in from the end. Place the end of the added piece of tape on that mark.
The width of the overlap for each piece of the second layer is 7/16 inch. Measure and mark the position where each strip belongs before placing the piece. When placing the 5th and last piece of the layer mark its position so the space covered by the second layer is 8 1/4 inches.
Use a scissors or hobby knife to cut away the small square at each of the 4 corners. Cut a slit at S1 and S2. Distance A is 2 1/2 inches and B is 5 inches. Fold over areas marked with the number 1 so the adhesive bonds to the strip ends of the last layer. Then fold over the areas marked with a 2. Then fold up the left end along the dashed line running between the S1 slits. Crease that fold sharply by pressing with the bowl of a spoon. Then fold up the number 3 areas to hold the folded part in place.
The wallet can be used as it is now, if you will only be using it to carry cash. If credit cards, drivers license, photos or other similarly sized and shaped items will also be carried, proceed with the rest of the instructions to add compartments for those items.
The next step is to make a second piece similar to what you have just completed. The second piece is smaller, simpler and will be fastened to the first piece to complete the wallet. Measure, mark and cut 4 pieces of tape to be 10 inches long. Use the same method as before to combine the 4 pieces into a single rectangular piece 10 by 6 inches. The amount of overlap at each seam is 2/3 inch. That's close to 11/16 or half way between 5/8 and 3/4. When those 4 pieces have been combined, cut 3 pieces of tape each 8 inches long. Use those as before to add a second layer to the 10 by 6 sheet. See the next diagram.
Leave 1/2 inch of adhesive uncovered along both 10 inch edges. Leave 1 inch
uncovered along both 6 inch edges. Cut away the small rectangle at each corner.
Cut slits at both Ss. Then fold up the flaps labeled number 1. Fold up the number 2 flap last. Sharply crease along the dashed line. Do not fold up number 3 flaps yet. Lay the piece down with the folded edge to the left. Unfold.
Lay the first completed piece on top and fold the flap back up so you have what the diagram shows. Then cut the slits shown in red at A and B. Fold up the 4 flaps made by the 4 slits to fasten the wallet together. Finally fold up the flaps numbered 3.
Fold a sheet of paper into the size of a credit card. Put it into one of the 4 small compartments of the wallet. Do the same with the other 3 compartments. Also put 5 or 6 bill sized pieces of paper into the large
compartment. Fold up the wallet. Be careful to have the edges aligned the way you want them to be. Put the wallet under a heavy flat weight for several hours.
The wallet gets a lot of stress when it is in a back pocket and the person carrying the wallet is sitting. After several months seams may separate. To repair add a piece of duct tape across the separated seam.
whirligig
1: Cut a
strip of paper about 2 by 8 inches.
2: Fold 3 inches of one end down.
3: Unfold and cut down the center to the fold.
4: Make two cuts each 1/2 inch long and about 1 inch below the fold.
Fold in the edges below the cuts.
Fold down the blades and put a small paper clip at the bottom.
Stand on a chair, hold the whirligig up high and drop it. Or forget the chair and just toss it up. It will come down in a nice spinning slow fall. Second floor or higher releases are most impressive.
paper bowl
A decorative
bowl can be made out of strips of paper glued together. Choose a bowl
with the desired size and shape. Cover the outside of the bowl with
very thin plastic food wrap. For glue use white glue mixed with an
equal volume of water. Or make a thin paste from flour and water. 2
parts flour to 1 part water is about right. Cut strips of newspaper
about 1 inch wide and 3 inches long. Dip a strip in the paste. Remove
excess paste by pulling the strip between two fingers. Place the
strips onto the bowl until the outside of the bowl is covered with 3
to 5 layers of paper. Allow the glue to dry completely before
removing the paper mache bowl. It can then be painted and decorated
or left as is.
If you make another paper mache bowl, to the basic design can be added handles, bases, lids, flanges, ridges, embedded objects, or whatever appeals to you. Use pieces of cardboard to form shapes that can be made by bending or twisting flat surfaces. Odd shapes can be added by forming them from paper mache pulp. Buy the pulp at a crafts store or make it by tearing newspaper into small pieces and letting the pieces soak overnight in water to soften. Remove them from the water, and mix with glue. Then press the resulting pulp into the desired shape. Try to keep such shapes as small as possible because large, thick shapes dry slowly and may mold.
boot puzzle
The boot
puzzle is made of paper and is simple to make. It's not much fun just
making the puzzle. But it's good to show to people who have not seen
it before. At least at first, they will think that there is no way to
solve the puzzle.
Fold in half a piece of stiff paper that is about 2 by 4 inches. Draw a picture of a boot on the paper with the top of the boot strap at the crease.
Cut this shape from a piece of stiff paper that is about 3/4 by 3/4 inches.
Make this shape from a piece of stiff paper about 3/4 by 5 inches.
To assemble the puzzle, slip the square piece onto one arm of the rectangular piece.
Put one of the boots down between the two layers of one of the arms.
Slide the square across and down onto the straps of the boots. Unfold the rectangular piece. The challenge of the puzzle is to get the boot off without damaging the paper.
snap trick
Drill a 3/16
inch diameter hole in a small piece of wood and carve it into a knob
shape with sharply tapering sides. Glue the knob onto a 2 inch long
piece of 3/16 inch dowel.
Drill a 1/4 inch diameter, 2 inch deep hole in a 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 by 3/4 inch block of wood. Drill a 3/16 inch diameter hole across the opposite end of the block from the end the 1/4 inch hole was started. Thread a rubber band through that hole and tie a knot at each end.
Demonstrate the apparatus by inserting the dowel into the 1/4 inch hole. Pull the dowel out about 1/2 inch. You will be able to make the dowel snap back in place. Challenge a spectator to do the same and they will fail. The secret: the rubber band has nothing to do with it. You squeeze the knob. The tapered sides cause it to slip between your thumb and index finger and snap back into the hole. Turning the knob this way and that before snapping it may add to the effect.
fractal folds
A fractal
is any physical form or pattern produced by repeating an operation
over and over. But each operation is different in one or more ways
from each previous operation. An example would be:
1] Draw a
square of any size.
2] Draw another square 1/2 as big as the
previous square.
3] Each additional square is centered on the
right side of the previous square.
A piece of paper can be cut and folded producing a fractal form that is interesting and attractive. It is best to use paper that is thicker and stiffer than writing paper. It will hold its shape better. Paper thicker than a post card will be difficult to work with.
An 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet can be used. Begin by folding he sheet in half. Crease the fold sharply by pressing the bowl of a spoon against the fold. Make two scissors cuts that start at the folded edge. Each cut is 1/4 of the way in from the end of that edge. It is likely that estimating the 1/4 point will be close enough without measuring. The length of the cut should be just over 1/2 the way across the paper. An estimate should be close enough.
Fold the area between the cuts over so the creased edge is along the opposite edge. Sharpen the crease with the bottom of a spoon.
Then make two more cuts on the newly made creased edge. Place the cuts using the same rules as before.
Again fold over the area between the cuts. And once more make two cuts starting at the folded edge.
You should now have folded 3 times and cut three times. Any more folding and cutting will be too difficult. Since two more folds and one more pair of cuts will make a more attractive card, we have to use a method to work with less layers at a time.
Unfold all folds. Find the first fold you made. Find the part of that fold that is between the first pair of cuts that you made. Reverse that section of fold.
Find the second fold that you made. The second fold actually produced two creases at once. One section of those two will need to be reversed to give the form shown in the diagram to the right.
Now flatten out the paper by folding at the first crease. Find the 8 slots produced by the last pair of cuts. Fold each of the 4 sections that are between those slots. Fold them one at a time. Reverse those 4 folds. Make the cuts shown in red.
Finish by folding the sections between the last cuts and then reversing those folds.
string climber
The
string climber is made mostly from wire. One end of a string perhaps
4 feet long is tied to something so the string hangs down from it.
The climber is attached to the string near the lower end of the
string. By repeatedly pulling on the lower end of the string the
climber makes its way up the string little by little. The string
climber's appearance and actions somewhat resemble that of a person
or robot climbing a rope. That and the cleverness of its operation
make it an appealing gizmo to make.
Wire from a clothes hanger will do. Choose one made with thin wire. It will be easier to work with. You will need a pair of pliers. Long handles on the pliers will make the work easier as will a second pair of pliers. Cut or break off the portion of the clothes hanger that is two lengths of wire twisted together. Straighten out the rest of the hanger.
Make a 45 degree bend about 1/2 inch from one end of the wire. 1/2 inch farther along the wire make a 90 degree bend. The diagram shows which ways the bends should be made. Move down the wire 1 1/4 inches and make the 3rd 90 degree bend. The 5th bend is about 1/2 inch farther along the wire.
The 6th bend is 45 degrees and is placed so a gap is between the start of the wire and the wire after the 6th bend. The gap should be plenty wide enough for a string to pass easily through it. The diagram shows a view when looking down.
The 7th bend is about 1 1/4 inches farther along the wire. top view:
Move along the wire about 5 inches from the last bend and make a bend that is a little wider than 90 degrees. 1 1/4 inches farther make another such bend. The next bend is 90 degrees and is 1/2 inches from the last bend. Then slip two 1/2 inch long pieces of hard plastic tubing onto the wire. Tubing with an inside diameter of 1/8 is best. You may be able to use a piece from the inside of a mechanical pencil or the straw of a drink box. Continue bending to complete the shape shown in the last diagram.
Bend a hook on the end of a wire that is a least 9 inches long. Make a 90 degree bend 3 inches from the end of the hook. The next 4 bends are each 1/2 inch from the previous bend. Make a hook on the wire end to match the first hook. Bend the point of the V shape downward somewhat. The V is a guide for the string. Bending it downward will help keep the string in place.
Place the hooks around the 2 1/2 inch straight portion of the first piece you made. Bend the hooks side view into loops. Open each loop slightly so the loop slides easily side to side on the straight portion of wire.
Make a V shaped bend at the center of a piece of wire that is at least 7 inches long. The long straight portions that are the sides of the finished piece are both 1 inch long. The short straight portions at each end are 1/4" long. All other straight segments of wire are 1/2 inch long. This last piece is taped to the second piece you made. Black electrical tape works well. It can be stretched as it is wrapped around the wire to make a secure connection. Two pieces of tape 3 or 4 inches long should do it. If no tape is available, wrap the joint with string.
The distance marked by the red line should be 1 1/2 inches. The yellow line is where to place a 2 1/2 long rubber band.
The device is finished by attaching a 2 inch long paper clip.
The paper clip should be carefully bent so that the parallel portions are aligned and touching. Make sure the two segments of wire to which the clip will be attach are oriented so the clip will not be twisted when it is attached. Tie securely with string at the 4 places the clip contacts its holder.
The string is put through the clip similar to the way paper would be placed.
adjustments and troubleshooting:
If the paper clip slides up then back down the string, tighten its grip on the string by bending the center of the clip so that the string takes a slightly more crooked path through the clip. Make sure the side by side portions of the clip are contacting each other. And/Or try a slightly thinner rubber band. A slightly thicker string might help. If the string slides on the V guides instead of pushing the climber upward, try loosening the grip of the clip on the string. And/Or move the V guides closer together. You may be able to do that by sliding the taped guide without undoing the tape. That change causes the string to press harder against the string guides. That means more friction and less tendency for slippage.
book safe
If you have a book which no one
wants, you can use it to make a secret hiding place.
Open the cover to the first page and place four marks, each one in an inch or so from a corner of the page. Use the marks to place 4 lines with a pencil and straight edge. Cut along these lines to remove a rectangular section extending from the first page to the last. Use a utility knife or hobby knife to cut 3 or 4 pages at a time. You may find it helpful to use a ruler laid along the line as a guide for a knife to follow. Avoid pulling or pushing the blade toward any part of your body. When applying force, a knife blade can move suddenly and cause a serious wound.