by Rick Findley
This bubble hoop creates hundreds of bubbles with a single wave of the wand. This wand is made from zip-ties and an inexpensive plastic kitchen strainer whose mesh has been removed!
See Kitchen Strainer Multi-Loop Wands for an alternate adhesive-free design that uses drilled holes rather than the slots.
How to Make It[]
What you need:
- 8" zip ties
- super glue
- kitchen strainer with plastic rim and handle
- broom handle (for making zip tie hoops uniform)
Preparation (not shown): Remove the wire mesh from a plastic-handled kitchen strainer. The taller the strainer's plastic the better as it makes dipping in a shallow pan easier.
Make your mini-hoops by tightening the zip ties around a broom handle to ensure uniformity.
Use a spot of super glue on each loop to prevent them from collapsing further.
Arrange your loops around the strainer, spaced as you would like them in your final wand. Notice that the ends of the zip ties radiate from the center of the hoop. This arrangement is important for consistency.
Mark the location of each zip tie. You will be making slots for them later.
Lay out and mark the positions for the inner loops. The inner loops will be placed between every other mark for the outer loops.
With a regular handsaw (or Dremel) cut slots where you made your marks.
With a soldering iron, fuse the zip ties to the strainer. A spot of super-glue will further strengthen the weld. You can use use hot-melt glue or epoxy if a soldering iron is not available.
If possible, cut a gap where the handle meets the hoop to prevent a large film from forming that would interfere with the production of the small bubbles.
The finished wand
Videos[]
Demo 1
Demo 2