How to Make Kinetic Wind Spinners
A homemade kinetic wind spinner can be made within about a half hour and hung up outside from a tree branch, porch beam or other free-standing surface. When the wind catches it, it creates a beautiful blur of color as the spinner twirls around. Kinetic wind spinners are cheap to make because you can even use recycled materials from home. Here we are going to make a spinner out of a used plastic soda bottle.
Things You'll Need
- Plastic 2-liter soda bottle, emptied
- Electrical tape, in three different colors
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Pen
- Exacto knife
- Drill
- Paper clip
- Ball bearing swivel used for fishing
- String
Instructions
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1
Remove the label from the soda bottle by using warm soapy water.
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2
Cover the midsection of the bottle with horizontal rings of electrical tape. Alternate the colors and make sure each ring touches but does not overlap each other. Put at least 5 rings or more, if your taste desires.
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3
Wrap the measuring tape around the top ring and place marks with the pen every three-fourths of an inch. Using an exacto knife, cut vertically through the tape and bottle from the top edge of the top ring to the bottom edge of the bottom ring at each ¾-inch marking.
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4
Place the bottle upright on a table and push the bottle down from the top. When the middle sections flare out, pinch each ¾ inch piece in the middle to create a horizontal fold.
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5
Twist and fold the bottom and top of each 3/4-inch section at a 45-degree angle ---all in the same direction---so that the sections are slightly twisted and able to catch wind.
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6
Drill a small hole into the bottle cap. Unwind a wire paperclip and loop it through the bottom loop of the ball bearing swivel. Poke the paperclip into the hole in the top of the cap. Under the cap, twist the paperclip ends together and spread them out so that it provides an anchor for the ball bearing swivel on the outside of the cap.
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7
Screw the cap onto the soda bottle. Tie a piece of string to the top of the ball bearing swivel and hang your spinner from a tree branch.
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Tips & Warnings
Add stickers to the rest of the bottle for a more colorful, decorative spinner.
Don't drill too large a hole into the bottle cap or the paperclip may slip through a little, causing the spinner to tilt and spin off kilter.
Make certain you fold each section in the exact same place, at the same angle and in the same direction or your spinner won't catch wind and spin properly.
