Shape-Shifting Gizmos

One thing I really like to do is take something meant for one purpose and make it do something else.  I recently took a model rocket and encased it in what looks like an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) warhead.  I then made a launcher out of PVC pipe, put the electric launch guts inside and presto!  I had a rocket launching movie prop.  I realize that this may be similar to the orginal intent (it still acts like a rocket, after all), but there is no chance to "stand clear" when the thing is sitting horizontally on your shoulder opposed to veritically on a launch pad.  Plus, after lopping off the fins and making it wire-guided, it was a pretty different animal when I was finished.

There are other examples of this.  A bucket can make a great child's hat, a clicker pen can be a spring-loaded pistol, and a key ring can make your zipper work again.  It's only a matter of looking at things with a more open-ended perspective and determination.

It's easy to feel guilty when you are taking something that works perfectly fine and "ruining" it.  Sometimes a little destruction is necessary in the process of creation.  The point is that you are taking something mundune and conventional and making it unusual and unexpected.  What's wrong with that?

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Homemade-o-ween

October is upon us, which means one of the most popular holidays next to Christmas is also.  On All Hallows Eve (or a weekend close to it) kids and adults will dress up as their favorite whatever and go out and collect goodies and/or a good time. It's a huge commercial business and you'll even see entire stores that open up just for this one holiday.

Of course, hot items are always costumes, whether bought or rented.  We all know, however, that the best costumes are always the ones that are created and not purchased directly.  One year my little twin daughters were Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Suess' The Cat in the Hat.  Not only could you not buy that in the store, but we knew no one else's kids would be dressed that way and they were an immediate hit.  I was The Cat himself, but had to rent the hat.

There are some incredibly resourceful costume creators out there and I'm not talking just with fabric.  I've seen some sci-fi nuts make their own Halo armor, full Transformer outfits and even a working loader from the movie Aliens.  Crazy,  but very fun.

So there, the gauntlet has been thrown down.  What are you going to be this year?  How much time will you spend to be unique and turn heads?  Don't be one of the many, be one of the few!  Make something cool and go down in someone's party history.

Excuse me, I need to get back to crafting my glowing Green Lantern ring...

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Pocket Projects

Do you remember all the great stuff you used to have in your pockets as a kid?  Sure, your mom called it "junk" and threw most of it away, but in your mind, there was a lot of quality material in there.  Most of it served no purpose other than to stimulate your imagination (how many little boys still see a pen cap as a rocket or a stick as a gun?), but that was the purpose.

I still have stuff in my pockets.  My wife has stepped in as my mother by calling a lot of it "junk" and throwing it away.  The difference is now I see much of the stuff I find in various odd places are things that can be created and not just figments of my imagination.  Right now I have in my possession two hotel card keys, 1" PVC pipe scrap, a lighter and a zip-type plastic bag.  To the untrained eye, it may appear you can do nothing with these items (except the lighter), but I disagree.

Essentially, our pockets often become storage bins for all kinds of odds and ends that may have some use for.  Plastic bags are good for storing things.  Hotel card keys (or any plastic card) can be good separating tight plastic seams like those on a TV remote.  Lighters are good for fusing objects.  I don't quite know what to make of the PVC yet--a set of plastic napkin rings perhaps?

Whatever you feel the need to put into your pockets, there's a good chance you can make something out of it.  These "microprojects" inspire the same creative urge, just on a smaller scale.  Empty your pockets right now.  What can you make?

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A Better Mousetrap?

The common mousetrap is a design that has been around forever and inspired Ralph Waldo Emerson to say "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door."  It is one thing to create something totally new and another to improve on what has already been created.

I have to admit, the whole concept is downright dastardly: lure a mouse to a hair-trigger, releasing a spring-loaded bar that breaks his neck, back or skull.  The altenatives aren't much prettier.  Glue traps snag the critters in a tacky substance they can't break away from.  The "jaws" trap bites them in half.  Common poison kills by dehydration.  It just doesn't pay to be a mouse.

I prefer humane traps, but even they will cause the mouse to die from stress if you don't get them out fast enough.  If you to release them into the wild, you need to go far as the tiny rodent's homing insticts are quite strong and you may end up infesting your neighbor's house by mistake.

Homemade traps are just plain cool.  It's a great starter project for anyone to try to catch a mouse, preferably live.  I once created a trap out of a Quaker Oats box, a plastic bowl and some thread.  I cut a hole about an inch off the ground and ran the thread across the bottom middle of the box.  The other end went outside the box, suspending the plastic bowl from above.  When the mouse entered the box via the hole (which was high enough so he couldn't just dart out) he would nibble on the bait-covered thread, releasing the bowl to land on top of him.

I don't think there is really a better version than the original design and don't think there ever will be.  It sure is fun to try, though.

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PVC Pipe Dreams

I am not ashamed to admit I love PVC pipe and I'm not a plumber.  PVC (which stands for polyvinyl chloride) is amazing stuff.  Sometimes correctly referred to as "Tinker-Toys for adults", these plastic pipes can be used to construct just about any kind of structure you need for very little cost.

Personally, I have created a laptop stand for my car, a camera stabilizing device and Capture the Flag "cages" for Lazer Tag.  I am currently working on a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher prop that will consist solely of this plastic goodess, right down to the fake "optical" sight.  People are coming up with new applications every day for PVC pipe and it is great fun.

Most PVC gizmos can be assembled quickly and easily.  There are many sizes to choose from, and a plethora of attachments (elbows, T-joints, couplers, etc.) to fullfil just about any design you can imagine.  You can find the telltale white magic at any hardware store and get lots of it for a song.  Everything press fits together, eliminating the need for adhesive (which is also available) so you can reuse pieces in new projects on a regular basis.

If you decide to begin making PVC anythings, do yourself a favor and get some ratcheting PVC cutters.  They cut quickly and easily and are a lot nicer to your body than using a hacksaw, which takes forever. 

I know what I like to make with PVC, but how about you?  What are some of your favorite polyvinyl chloride creations?

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Waste Not

Here's a good motive to be creative: stretching out your resources to make them last longer.  I recently came across instructions on the web to modify a soap dispenser pump so that it regulates the liquid soap that comes out of it.  I've always been conservative at the sink, but my kids are notorious for pushing the thing as far as it will go.  The amount of soap that emerges completely covers their palm.  Most of that goes down the drain, while my face turns red.

The solution is simple: prevent the pump from going all the way down with some kind of stopper.   This won't prevent multiple pumps, but it's far easier to train a kid "one pump only" rather than "only pump halfway". 

This ideology as been around as long as conservation has.  I remember living in California during a drought and it was mandatory for all shower heads to have an external valve that allowed stopping the flow of water.  You'd get wet, flip the valve, soap up, then flip the valve again to rinse off.  I don't know how much water I saved, but I did save.

In the cash-strapped environment we currently live in, coming up with ideas to elongate our dollar is more important than ever.  What can you make to start your stretching routine?

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