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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Bud Light Wind Chime Homage to Super Bowl XLVI 02-05-2012

It started raining here on Thursday, and we really need the rain from last years drought. I knew it looked like it would rain all the way throughout the weekend, so I need to do something to keep me busy. I started thinking about a bottle cap wind chime I wanted to make.  I had seen one on Pinterest, and knew I had the materials it takes to make one.  I dug out all our beer caps & tabs we have here at the shop, found my fishing line and pliers as well as some tape, drill bit box, black magic marker and my black wire.  I also put the cordless drill on charge.  Saturday I came to work and of course the rain came rolling in around 10:00 am.  So that's when I decided I would get to work on my wind chime.  Since it was Super Bowl weekend I found a aluminum Bud Light bottle that was a limited addition for the SB and decide to use it.  
This is what I did.....
I drilled a small hole in the end of the bottle for the wire to be inserted for hanging, using a 1/16 drill bit.  I needed to do this first before I had all those strand on the bottle, and it would be hard to handle with all those beer caps and tabs swings around.
I put the bottle in a towel before placing it in the vise as not to scratch the sides of the bottle.  
I determined that I could drill 12 holes at a 1/2" apart, and marked them with the marker.  
I started with a 1/16 drill bit and then progressed up to the 5/8's inch so the wire could fit through the holes.  
I then drilled a small 1/16 hole in the beer caps and tabs.  This way I could tie off the fishing line to the tabs and caps.  
I used eight caps and eight tabs per strand.
I cut 12 pieces of fishing line at about 36" long for each strand.  Make sure you have plenty for the end, and you are not trying to wrangle a small piece of line when tying off the last tab.
I started each strand with a beer cap and then a tab and so on until I used all eight caps.  
Once I finished the strand's, I used the extra line at the top of the fishing line and taped it to the heavier gauge wire so I could snake the line through the holes.
I used the last tab at the top of the bottle to hold the strand.
I used about two feet of the black heavy wire to hang 
the bottle with.
I then trimmed all the extra fishing line off.
Voila, one Bud Light Super Bowl Homage Wind Chime!
I am glad I used the blue beer bottle, because the Giant's won
and that's their color!

This was a fun project!  
Recycle/Reuse/Up-Cycle!  

Supplies I Used:
1/16 drill bit
5/8 drill bit
20 lbs fishing line
Black marker
Regular desk tape
Ruler
60 Beer caps
60 Beer tabs
4" Piece of wire
2' Black wire
1 Aluminum Beer can
Needle nose pliers
Cordless drill
Towel
Vise



Update:  2015....

I decided I did not like the beer tabs on the strands.  I switched them out with glass beads!  I also added a eye hook with a bolt for easy hanging.  I think "Giant Super Bowl Hangover" looks so much better now!






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