I came up with a completely unusual and useful use for a standard plastic canister with a capacity of 5 liters. Below I will tell you in detail how to make a convenient electrical extension cord out of it.
What do we need
- Empty canister (from antifreeze, distilled water, etc.);
- A piece of textolite;
- Sewer plastic pipe with a connecting socket (diameter 50 mm);
- Bolt (M 6) 5 cm long, two nuts (one self-clamping), a piece of wooden tube (or plastic);
- Plug and remote socket in a rubberized casing;
- Round wire with a cross-section of 2.5 mm and a length of 10-15 m;
- Super glue;
- Drill (screwdriver), set of drills and wood bits;
- Electric jigsaw;
- Hacksaw for metal;
- Knife.
Preparatory work
The first step is to drill a hole in the lid of the canister. We select the diameter so that it matches the thickness of the wire (in our case it is 8 mm).
Coil axis: make markings, stepping back from the thick edge of the pipe no more than 1 cm from the rubber seal. Next, measure out a segment whose length is 5-10 mm greater than the thickness of the canister and use a hacksaw to cut off the required fragment. We process the edges of the cut with sandpaper.
Handle-limiter: On a sheet of textolite we mark the outer diameter of the thick edge of the pipe and draw an oval template around it, so that there is about 1 cm between the edge and the marking.
The other side of the oval should taper, causing the entire structure to resemble a pointer or arrow. We first cut out the hole using a milling cutter, and then use a jigsaw to cut out the entire part. You will need to make two such blanks.
For the plug on the other edge, we need to mark the inner diameter of the pipe and the outer size of the wide part of the pipe on a sheet of textolite, and then cut out two circles.
All this must be cleaned with sandpaper and joined together using superglue.
After drying, the parts can be painted with aerosol paint from a can.
A hole for the wire should be drilled in the pipe section.
Then insert the wide end into the double handle and treat the edges with superglue on both sides.
Next, in the narrow part of the part, we drill a hole with a recess for the flat head, insert it from the side of the pipe, tighten the nut, fixing the pin on the plate, and put on the hollow tube.
To ensure that it rotates freely, do not tighten the self-clamping nut all the way.
Canister alignment: Using two diagonals, we find the center of the canister on the side ribs and mark the holes - on one side the diameter is equal to the thickened edge of the pipe (the one where the handle is already glued), and on the other it corresponds to the size of the opposite end of the coil. We cut it out and process the edges of the holes with a round file, removing irregularities and burrs.
Assembly
We pass the electrical wire from the side of the handle into the axis of the improvised coil and bring it out through the side hole.
Next, we insert it into the canister through the opening under the large edge of the pipe and remove it through the lid.
We insert the coil, grease the round side stop with superglue and glue it to the pipe.
We stretch the wire so that the rubberized socket fits tightly into the pipe.
We put a plug on the other end and wind up the extension cord using the handle. The length of the wire can be 10, 15 or even 25 meters - it all depends on the selected cross-section.
When carrying out work, do not forget to follow the rules for using power tools and be careful when handling a sharp knife. The work is not at all difficult, but as a result, an original and very convenient extension cord was created from an unnecessary canister that will serve reliably.
