How to Make an Hourglass Sand Timer

One of the oldest, simplest and most captivating devices invented for the measuring of time, the hourglass remains a popular decoration and fascinating curiosity item to this day. The simple principle of this device makes it an easy device to create in your own home. Customize this project and make sand glasses that can time your common daily activities and save energy while adding an attractive decoration to your home.

Things You'll Need

• 2 narrow-necked clear plastic or glass bottles, identical sizes and shapes
• Bottle caps
• Heavy tape (gaff, duct or electrical)
• Crafter's sand, as fine as possible
• Drill with bits in various small sizes
• Funnel
• Large mixing bowl
• Stopwatch

Instructions

1. Thoroughly wash and dry both bottles and one bottle cap.

2. Drill a small hole in one of the bottle caps. Start by drilling with the smallest drill bit you have; you may need to adjust the size, but it will be easier to make the hole bigger than to make it smaller.

3. Test the hole you've drilled. Hold the cap upside down and spoon some sand into it (you can buy the sand at a craft store). If the hole is too small for the sand to run out of easily, make it slightly larger. If the sand runs out instantly, you've made the hole too large and will need to start over with a new bottle cap. Ideally, the sand should trickle out at a consistent, but not too quick, pace.

4. Use the funnel to fill a bottle with sand. Cap it with the drilled bottle cap.

5. Set your stopwatch for the amount of time you want to have measured by your new sand timer.

6. Measure the flow of sand from the filled bottle. Holding the bottle in one hand and the set timer in the other, tip the bottle upside-down over the mixing bowl at the same instant that you start the stopwatch. Watch the stopwatch and stop pouring the instant the watch's countdown is finished. This will fill the mixing bowl with the precise amount of sand needed for your timer. If you don't have enough sand, you will have to adjust the amount of time your timer can measure, or do this project with larger bottles (though most beverage bottles should be big enough to measure several minutes if your holes aren't too big).

7. Empty any remaining sand from the bottle and set aside.

8. Pour all the sand from the mixing bowl back into your bottle and cap it once again.

9. Attach the second, uncapped bottle mouth-to-mouth to the end of the first, making sure they line up as precisely as possible.

10. Secure the bottles together with heavy tape. Wrap it around the mouths and partially around the necks. Use several layers.

11. Tip your new sand timer upside-down to start timing.