Can Lanterns

Recycle your used drinks cans into potential fire hazards!! A modern take on the paper lantern... now even shinier ^_

Step 1: Materials needed

You will need:
Any size or shape of drinks can (Preferably unopened as of yet as we need the flat top to balance the tea light on)
Something to put said contents of can in.
Our friend Mr Stanley the Knife.
Pliers (I find Snub nosed easier of this)

Also needed but not pictured:
A small length of wire ~10cm
A tea light (those lil lights in a metal pot)
Matches

Comments

[pogoman12345]

does it matter which end you cut out?

[fourthjinn]

A very easy way to remove the base of a soda can cleanly is to score the edge of the concave section by "dragging" the tip of a screwdriver along its edge repeatedly. Doing this weakens the metal enough that (after cutting a few slits in an asterisk pattern) you can simply bend the metal flaps until they snap at the score line. It is very easy to do.

The idea comes from: http://www.readymademag.com/feature_11_gotorch.php

Another idea i had to embellish the cans is to sand them down with some high-grit sandpaper and a bit of oil or water. i figure this would eb easiest to do when the can is still full because that way there is pressure from the inside to help you avoid denting your soon-to-be glorious can lantern

[h3idi]

I took the lazy way out and used a belt sander, and voila, the thin aluminum got a hole and COKE everywhere... I was hoping to keep the can intact since i wasn't thirsty. Chalk that up to experience, glad i was outdoors.
I primed and painted with spray, and mine are white - a little bit less enviro friendly, but very pretty, and i poked holes in them for patterns (more windproof) and put stickytack on the bottom (convex part) to keep my tea lights in. Still haven't experimented with handles, just put these on the railing of my deck. Beauty.

[Alberta Leong]

very innovative idea! thanks for sharing! :)

[catboo22]

eeeeeeewwwwwwwww lemon diet coke! even just normal diet coke is gross( not to mention bad 4 u )

[Frindledon3]

its not lemon the outside is just yellow for decoration

[Frindledon3]

yes it was sarcasm....what else was it supposed to mean

[mg0930mg]

I hope that was sarcasm...

[Frindledon3]

i really like this ...i just made one for when me and my friend go camping...thanks a lot..good job also

[Oorspronklikheid]

I did a few quick ones with my dremel and bench grinder. I used my bench grinder to remove the hard bottom.In the middle is a burning tea candle

[Frindledon3]

just use a can opener

[TangMu]

Oh for a dremel....

[PKTraceur]

i sanded down a Dr. Pepper can, so you could still see the red, but there was a lot of silver.... it is TRIPPIN!

[rholland45]

you shud call them canterns lmao

[egreen767]

I like it!

[when_im_sixty4]

Contents liable to "a splode"... LOL. Perhaps you could make some H*R themed can lanterns? = )

[poi_pai]

A suggestion for getting clean lines for designs, or just avoiding jagged lines, fill the can about two thirds full of water and toss it in the freezer. That way you have a solid surface to work on and less risk of cutting yourself. I did lanterns like this for a wedding once. :)

[TangMu]

Great idea. I just used my fingers on the other side but your method is safer and painless!

[bruno13069]

Made these at Scout camp. After you drink the soda, remove the top with your can opener. Then invert the can over the end of your walking stick and push it out. (Use a broom handle or the like.) Poke holes, random or patterned, into the sides of the can, or cut out a section of the side. (No more than 1/4 of the way around.) Use a wire handle long enough to hang it near your ankles. That way it lights your path, but it doesn't blind the others on the walkway. We called them "Lollapaloozas".

[schuldig]

hey I found another can project by someone else who made cutting the bottom out of the can a lot simpler...a can opener http://www.instructables.com/id/Sneaky-Drink-a-Beer-Anywhere/

[connorcancount!]

haha i like it, probably going to attempt, hopeflly i wont burninate my fingers.

[j626no]

damn....i was just going to make this later this week and i noticed there was already one one here.....i still may post my one design though, i was going to use the heat from the candle to make the can spin. very cool though

[TangMu]

I tried doing that in my experiments but my attempts at making a floating top part just using wire and the can didnt quite work O_o

[shadymilkman]

i did this once while at a friends house in his basement. We thought it would be cool if we coated pieces of T-shirt riped into strips with melted candle wax to use as fuel. It worked well for about 30 seconds and it started to really catch fire. The resulting blaze caused some panic, but we did get it put out. His house smelled like blown out candles for about 3 days. Ahh the good ol days!

[BobertXXL]

Ive made one uses lighter fluid and I did not put lines. Put it worked well.

[mrbob1000]

you can make them hang from a wire or rope if you make the handle shaped like an upside down v

[bigpinecone]

why are v's so useful? i can always find a way to use a v in a project =P

[camscam]

this is a good idea. you could get like 10 of these and light and outdoor area 3rd world style!

[bubbles]

(removed by author or community request)

[pluish]

yoo silly boy, its so ghetto you have to like it x)

[digitalgoddess]

cool idea - i'd recommend LEDs as a less-fire-hazardous option also - cutting cool shapes like a dragon or whatnot if you have some serious art skillz would be pretty cool

[kl0an]

A better and safer way to remove the top of the can is to take some sandpaper and lay it flat on a table, put the top of the can on the sand paper, wrap your hand around the can and sand back and forth. After a few minutes, you'll have sanded away the seam and the lid will lift right out. Nice and clean.

[TangMu]

I have also heard that you can use a can opener on the tops of drinks cans to take the top off. However i wanted to keep the top on as its the only part of the can thats flat for the tea light to go on.

[sparkyss]

i was thinking mabe you could cut the part that was removed. and make it into a fan and put it back on top so it willl spin slowley. idk

[TangMu]

I did try to do this once but i couldnt get a straight axle for the top part to rest on (I was using 3 pieces of wire coming from the base and joining in the middle above the flem, tripod style). Also i'm not sure if the flame would actually casue it to spin as the fan blades would not be directly over the flame. I think i remember trying with a base unit with the fan resting on it and several candle parts around the outside of this but it didnt work (tho that culd be down to poor axle and bearing design O_O

[mrbob1000]

whoah i just tried to read over the steps again and it came up with an error messege ERROR 403: can not view: EVBIM6B58BEP2LL7F4

[Vermin]

Aluminium is naturally quite resistant to oxidation due to the fact that the oxide molecules are bigger than the original metal atoms. Thus it quickly forms an impenetrable layer of oxide on the surface restricting further oxidisation. I'd like to see you try to do this with a steel can! :)

[theRIAA]

super cool, but is there a way for them to be waterproof? eh, theyll rust anyways

[mrbob1000]

not if they are tin or aluminum

[austin]

i like the dr pepper one . the diagonal cuts look cool