| Pond Popper | ||
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Pump |
3/4" coupling for pump |
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| Description: | |
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The Pond Popper was created by taking a sump pump and attaching it to a flat piece of wood using wire. The board was attached by placing the pump on top of the board, and drilling (2) holes on either side of the pump, and one at the back, large enough for the wire to pass through. Then wire through the side holes and over the space between the pump housing and the discharge portion of the pump. Then take another piece of wire and go through the last hole and around the pump handle. Next attach a 1-2 foot section of 3/4" PVC pipe to your pump (make it as long as you want your range of motion to be plus a little extra). Then cut a piece of 1" PVC about the same size as the 3/4" piece. Next file the edge of the larger pipe on one end and pound it through the 1" PVC cross piece until there is about 12 to 14 inches left sticking out (enough for a neck and head length). Then cap the top end of the larger pipe, and attach a string as a stop by placing it under the cap and then wedging the cap on. After the pieces are assembled, pull the larger pipe up until it is about 2 inches from the top of the smaller pipe, and tie off the string to the pump handle. Now attach (2) 4" pieces of 1" PVC on either end of the cross, and set the assembly aside. Now take your flat bar, and cut (2) 6" pieces - A1,A2; (2) 10" pieces - B1,B2; (4) 12" pieces - C1,C2,D1,D2. Then drill 1/4" holes where indicated, on picture below. Now take A1 and A2 and bend them in the middle at a 90° angle and put one on top of each of the PVC pipes sticking out on the main assembly. Do this by drilling through the aluminum and PVC with a bit that is slightly smaller than the wood screw so it can tap the holes as it enters. You may have to bore out the aluminum with a slightly larger drill bit for the screw to go through. The head was made by taking some chicken wire, and bending it into a ball shape with a hole at the bottom. Then drop the wire head over the pipe assembly and attach it to the pipe using either wire or string. Make sure the head piece is secure so your monster will not look like a bobble head. I then attached zombie hands to the ends of D1 and D2 and covered the whole thing in a thin porous fabric. You may have to punch holes in the mask top to allow water to escape from the mask when it goes back under. Place it in water, turn on the pump, and watch him rise! More to come. (The movie shown is of an older prototype, and as soon as I get hime finished I will make a new movie.) |
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Now put a bolt through both of the holes on the aluminum that hangs down on either side. Then slip on a washer, and add piece B1 on the top bolt, and C1 on the bottom bolt (make sure you go through the second hole from the end, leaving a piece sticking out with a hole towards the back of the pump). Then add another washer on each bolt, and cap them with two nuts (make sure you make it snug, but not too tight, and then tighten the nuts to each other). Now do the same for A2, B2, and C2. Then put a bolt through the opposite end of B1, and C1. Now slip washers over the bolts, and add D1 with the long end pointing upward (it should look like the picture to the right when complete). Do the same for B2, C2, and D2. For the last step, drill two more holes in the board you attached the pump to at either edge in the middle. Now tie a piece of string through the hole in the board, and through the hole at the end of C1 (make sure it is snug, but not overly tight). Do the same for C2, and then extend the pipe until the string that limits the travel is taut. The string should be tight, and the arms should have risen. If it appears that the string is too tight, and the string to limit movement isn't, then lower the pipe, and loosen the arm strings a little. If the arms did not raise, then tighten the arm strings until the arm raises.