How to Melt a Vinyl Record Into a Bowl
A vinyl record melted and turned into a bowl can be used to store items like keys, small jewelry items, vegetables or fruit while adding a unique touch to your home decor. You can use new copies of your favorite records, buy used records from a thrift store or yard sale for a just a few dollars or use records from your collection that you no longer listen to.
Things You'll Need
- Oven
- Vinyl record
- Water
- Dish soap
- Lint-free cloth
- Dish strainer
- Oven-safe bowl
- Cookie sheet
- Large bowl
Instructions
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1
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
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2
Wash the record that you want to use with a 10 parts water to 1 part dish soap mixture, wiping gently counter-clockwise around the record with a lint-free cloth. Allow the record to dry in a dish strainer.
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3
Place an oven-safe bowl upside down in the center of a cookie sheet. Place the oven-safe bowl in the oven to heat for 10 minutes.
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4
Center the vinyl record over the bottom of the oven-safe bowl and close the oven. Allow the record to heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until pliable.
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5
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly place a larger bowl over the record and upside-down bowl on the cookie sheet.
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6
Remove the top bowl from the record. Place the record on the stove to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and return to its original hardness.
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7
Wash the record in the same 10 parts water to 1 part dish soap mixture, wiping it carefully with a lint-free cloth in a counter-clockwise motion. Allow the record to air-dry.
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1
Tips & Warnings
If you have a set of glass nesting bowls, they are excellent for shaping a bowl made from a vinyl record.
If you don't want to use a second bowl or prefer a more free-form design, you can remove the cookie sheet from the oven and shape the bowl by hand as it cools. Wear oven-safe gloves or mittens if the record is too hot for your hands when it first comes out of the oven.
Open the windows before melting a vinyl record to make a bowl. Fumes from vinyl can be dangerous, and ventilation is required. For this reason, you should avoid melting more than one record at a time.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit old gramophone image by Digital_Zombie from Fotolia.com
