wonwinglo
SMF Supporter
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 6,754
- Points
- 113
- First Name
- Barry
Have you ever been faced with making a large canopy ? well if you dont know how to go about it stick around a minute for a method that costs you no more than your favourite soft drink,the material that large bottles of soft drinks come in is ideal for or task but first we need to make a mould,dont worry it is a simple task,just grab a block of balsa the size of your canopy and mark out first the side view,cut this out with a band saw or if you dont have such a luxury a keyhole saw will suffice,next mark the plan ( top ) view and cut away the surplus wood,finally use a surform or similar to shape the block,smooth the edges with glasspaper.
Next take the large drinks bottle and cut off the top portion at the neck,place the carved block of wood into the bottle and ram in some rag of similar to blank off the open end,now take your heat gun ( you can use an hair drier with care ) and play the heat evenly onto the plastic,what will happen now is the plastic bottle will shrink itself up tightly against the wood former,just be patient and do not get too close otherwise you will burn the plastic,leave to cool off and with your Stanley knife run a line at the base of the canopy and trim up with a pair of scissors,result one new canopy for your pride and joy.
Next take the large drinks bottle and cut off the top portion at the neck,place the carved block of wood into the bottle and ram in some rag of similar to blank off the open end,now take your heat gun ( you can use an hair drier with care ) and play the heat evenly onto the plastic,what will happen now is the plastic bottle will shrink itself up tightly against the wood former,just be patient and do not get too close otherwise you will burn the plastic,leave to cool off and with your Stanley knife run a line at the base of the canopy and trim up with a pair of scissors,result one new canopy for your pride and joy.