The prototype for the invention of the vuvuzela was an ordinary bicycle horn, which one of the fans used to replace the traditional pipe at that time. Subsequently, it was modified, and then they began to make it from scrap materials. The peak of the popularity of the vuvuzela came in the 90s of the last century and led to the fact that this musical instrument turned into a traditional South African one. It turned out that ancient African aborigines used similar sounds when gathering the inhabitants of their tribes for a meeting.
Be that as it may, the vuvuzela remains popular to this day. So today we suggest you make it literally from scrap materials that can be purchased at any hardware store.
Assembling a vuvuzela with your own hands
The author of this homemade product offered two versions of the vuvuzela. The first is a small size made from a film container, a balloon and a cocktail tube. All you need to do is cut out a small membrane from the ball with scissors and place it between the lid and the body of the container. The cocktail tube is inserted from the opposite side, and a hole for the lips is made on the side wall of the container. The sound from this vuvuzela will be similar to the buzzing of several hundred mosquitoes and may be useful as a remedy for them on a hike))
A larger copy of this musical instrument is made from plumbing fittings. For this we will need:
- A piece of PVC pipe with a diameter of 3/4 inch (25 mm), length –15-20 cm;
- 2 inch (63 mm) tee;
- 2" plug without thread;
- 2" thread adapter with conversion to 1" internal thread;
- Adapter for 2" pipe with 3/4" transition;
- 1-inch adapter with transition to external thread of the same diameter;
- A piece of rubber bicycle inner tube.
The tools you will need are the following: a rubber mallet, scissors or a paint knife, a drill or a screwdriver with an abrasive attachment.
The body of our vuvuzela will be a PVC tee. We begin to work with it by inserting an adapter with internal thread into its upper part. It fits in tightly, so after baiting it by hand, we nail it lightly with a mallet.
We screw the next element into it, an adapter with external thread.
The adapter with a smooth pipe hole needs to be slightly prepared. The pipe goes into it up to the locking edge, which we will have to work with a drill or a screwdriver with an abrasive attachment.
We make sure that the pipe fits into it freely and hammer the adapter into one end of the tee.
We install a PVC plug at the opposite end of the tee. It just fits in freely, so we line its side walls with a rubber gasket from a bicycle inner tube.
We hammer the plug into its seat and cut off the excess with a paint knife.
We insert a piece of PVC pipe into the adapter and nail it with a rubber mallet. It should fit tightly into the coupling hole and be fixed without additional gluing or soldering.
Our vuvuzela is ready, now you can test it in action.
Conclusion
It is also worth recalling that due to the shrill sound of this South African pipe, in some countries, for example, in the UK and France, its use at football matches is prohibited. The European Football Union (UEFA) also joined this ban regarding all matches held under its auspices.
