View source for String Tidy

[[File:StringTidy.png|200px|right]]
=====What to Make:=====

''(Designers might call this the Design Brief and/or the Specification)''


Design, make and decorate a small round container to hold a ball of string ready for use.


__TOC__


=====What to Use:=====

* Good quality card tube can be cut to length for the body ''(e.g. postal tubes)''
* Ready cut wooden discs can be used for the ends ''(or use plastic end caps for postal tubes)''
* Plastics tube can also be used ''(e.g. rainwater pipes)''
* Decoration can be applied by wrapping around a '''[[Colour Printing|computer print-out]]''', applying shapes cut out of self-adhesive plastics, '''[[decoupage]]''', or paint.  


=====Things to find out and think about:=====

* Collect small boxes and containers to look at how they are made and how their lids fit. 
* How big should the container be? You will need to measure some balls of string
* What size of string will be stored? This will determine the size of hole or slot the string is drawn through.
* How will the container be filled and emptied? You will probably need to have at least one end that releases in some way.
* Will the container be used outside ''(e.g. in the garden)'' and if so, will it need to be weatherproof?
* How will the string be drawn out of the container?
* How will the string be cut to length? A cutter could be built-in or provision made for a separate cutting tool to be stored within the design. 


=====Some ideas:=====

[[File:StringTidyGroup.png|500px|right]]

<div style="clear: both;"></div>
=====Ways of Making:=====
{|
|-
| Find a length of tube which is big enough to hold a ball or bobbin of string. Check that the end is '''‘square’''' by standing it upright on a flat surface and holding a '''[[Try Square]]''' against it. 
----
<span style="color: green">'''Note:'''
'''‘Squareness’''' is a word used by engineers to describe something which is a right angles or 90 degrees. They might perform a similar test using a '''[[Precision Marking and Measuring|Surface Plate]]''' and Try Square 
</span>
----
| [[File:TestingTubeEndSquareness.png|200px|right]]
|-
| Decide how long to cut the tube ''(don't forget to allow for the top and bottom fitting into the tube)''. Stand the tube upright on a flat surface together with a block or wood or similar with a height equal to the length of tube to be cut ''(less half the diameter of a pencil if you wish to be exact)''. Hold the pencil on top of the wood block and rotate the tube to draw a cutting line around it.
----
<span style="color: green">'''Note:'''
'''Engineers''' would use a '''[[Precision Marking and Measuring|Surface Gauge]]''' for very accurate work, or a '''[[Precision Marking and Measuring|Scribing Block]]''' to mark lengths along bars and tubes.
</span>
----
| [[File:PencilBlock.png|200px|right]]
|-
| It may be possible to hold smaller diameter tubes ''(e.g. less than 50mm dia.)'' against a '''[[Bench Hook]]''' whilst it is being cut using a '''[[Hacksaw|Junior Hacksaw]]'''. Slowly rotate the tube as it is cut along the marked out line.
----
<span style="color: green">'''Note:'''
The Bench Hook could be held in a '''[[Carpenters Vice]]''' to make it more secure.
</span>
----
| [[File:SawingSmallTube.jpg|200px|right]]
|-
| Larger diameter tube may be better held in an '''[[Engineers Vice]]''' whilst it is being sawn.
| [[File:SawingLargeTube.jpg|200px|right]]
|-
| The tops and bottoms of the tube container can be made out of discs of '''[[Manufactured Board|MDF]]''' or '''[[Manufactured Board|Ply]]''' or similar. Choose a thickness of about 6mm  for most purposes and mark out the required diameter using a  '''[[Drawing Instruments|Pencil Compass]]'''. 
----
<span style="color: green">'''Note:'''
'''Engineers''' would use '''[[Dividers and Compasses|Dividers]]''' and a Carpenter might use a '''[[Dividers and Compasses|Wing Compass]]''' to do this.</span>
| [[File:MarkingOutDisc.jpg|200px|right]]
|-
| <span style="color: green">They may also use '''[[Oddleg Calipers]]''' to find the centre of a disc with an unknown centre ''(e.g. if using discs which have been '''Stamped''' or '''Punched''' out of a sheet)''
</span>
----
| [[File:OddLegsCentreFinding.jpg|100px|right]]
|-
| Discs marked out on '''[[Manufactured Board|MDF]]''' or '''[[Manufactured Board|Ply]]''' can be cut out using a '''[[Scroll Saw]]''' or the work may be held in a '''[[Engineers Vice|Vice]]''' and cut out by hand using a '''[[Coping Saw]]'''
| [[File:UsingCopingSaw.jpg|200px|right]]
|-
| A number of discs will be needed to make the String Tidy: at least two for the top and one or two for the bottom. The top discs are glued together to make a lid so one needs to be the outside diameter of the tube and another made to be a snug fit on the inside of the tube. The discs can be finished to size by hand using '''[[Files and Rasps|Files]]''' or more accurately using a '''[[Disc Sander]]'''. The bottom of the tube can be filled the same way or by gluing a single disc to the inside. Alternatively the plastics end cap of a Postal Tube can be used.
----
<span style="color: green">'''Note:'''
If available, a small '''[[Centre Lathe|Lathe]]''' would be the most accurate way of fitting discs to suit the tube. Either mount the disc on a '''Mandrel''' or grip the disc against a pad held in the '''Chuck''' using a '''Rotating Centre''' .
</span>
----
| [[File:BoxTubeTops.png|100px|right]]
|-
| A decorative wrapper can be made by '''[[Colour Printing]]''' a rectangle with a length equal to the '''[[Circles|Circumference]]''' of the tube used and width equal to the tube length.
----
<span style="color: green">'''Note:'''
For some practical purposes, the '''Circumference''' can be estimated by simply multiplying the diameter by three. This is a little less than it should be but if the wrapper is glued with '''[[Glues and Pastes|water based glue]]''' it is likely to stretch slightly and fit.    
</span>
----
Alternatively, the surface of the tube could be decorated by '''[[Decoupage]]''' using images cut out of magazines - or the tubes could be painted. 
----
<span style="color: green">'''Note:'''
If water-based paints are used they can be made more durable and given a '''‘Glaze’''' by painting over with '''[[Glues and Pastes|PVA]]''' adhesive. 
</span>
----
| [[File:TubeBoxAssy.jpg|200px|right]]
|}

=====Testing:=====


* Is the top easy to remove?
* How can it be made easier?
* Is the top secure?
* How could it be fixed more firmly?
* Does the box hold a good range if string products?
* Can the string be dispensed without the ball or bobbin getting tangled?
* Does your decoration make it clear what is inside?


=====Further Work:=====
 

* '''[[Appliqué]]''' decoration to top

* Add a means of cutting the string or twine

* See also '''[[Making Containers from Tube]]''' and '''[[Silversmithing Cylinders]]'''


[[Category:Primary]]
[[Category:Manufacturing Projects]]