GIANT bubble blower

had enough of those puny little bubbles you can blow with those store bought sticks...

well now ill show you how to easily make bubbles 2m in diameter easily and BIGGER! for under $3

Step 1 MATERIALS

for this instructable you will need

2 peices of dowling/ bamboo ( i used 1m peices)

1 spool of string (any string will do as long as it is slightly absorbent and not woolen)

1 roll of tape (i used gaffa tape)

Comments

[parmendil]

Can you put a video so we can figure it out how you do the bubbles?

[Aron313]

I agree! Video please!

[renailee]

An easy bubble solution that I have found works well is 10 parts water: 1 part liquid detergent : 0.25 glycerine ( 1 litre of water, 100ml detergent, 25ml glycerine) The bubbles retain their shape with this solution!

[Bubbleguy]

The 10:1:.25 ( parts water:detergent:glyc) recipe Renaliee suggests is fine for baseball sized bubbles. Maybe a bit bigger on days with high humidity.

It would never work to make satisfactory bubbles with the set-up described in this instructable.

Minimum, you need the higher percentage of detergent as described.

To get the biggest bang our of your bubble efforts, include the polymers suggested.

10:1:.25 was the standard recipe developed sometime decades ago. We have learned a lot about how to supersize our super performing bubbles since then.

If someone is going to make a try-string rig like this, they might as well brew-up a solution capable of making bubbles that will rock their world.

In my opinion.

[llauren]

Hi!

Would it be possible for anyone to make a quick translation of the bubble recipe into culturally neutral English? What is J-lube (and surgical lube)?

I'll pitch in by translating the volumes:
1.5 US gallons = approx 5.7 liter,
4.5 ounces = 1.33 deciliter,
16 ounces is just below half a liter (0.47 l),
1/4 cup is nearly 0.6 deciliter.

Having kids who spill their bubble solution (don't they all), it would be fun to make their own!

[supercell09]

J-lube is the lubricant vets use to pregnancy test cows.
Surgical lube is used by gynaecologist for similar prcedures....

[eulaliaaaa!]

Wow.  The metric system and all that what-not is very confusing.  I mean,  four and a half ounces is 1.33 deciwhatameanerif?  How would you measure that!?!  In America, we have straight numbers instead of all that 6.53147 and the 4.578km and 15.1234567890 and the old 7.55 and all that.

[dobos111]

are you kidding? the metric system is SO MUCH MORE LOGICAL. 1 kilometer = 1000 meters 1 meter = 10 decimeters 1 decimeter = 100 millimeters 1 meter = 1000 millimeters water boils at 100 degrees celsius and freezes at 0 degrees celsius. They all relate to each other perfectly numerically and by the actual words NOW THE US SYSTEM 1 mile = 5280 feet 1 yard = 3 feet 12" = 1 foot then you start talking fractions for partial inches? 3/32" is just a little bigger than1/16" - you'd never know by looking at those numbers. now we talk about ounces, and cups, and gallons which dont convert logically either Water boils at 212 degrees fahrenheit and freezes at 32 degrees? Where is the logic with that?

[merijnvw]

I totally agree with dobos111

[sneakyparasol]

fully agree! also america is the only place in the world where imperial is still used. what's practical about that?

[laxap]

I'm a metric system lover!

The metric system has more beauty and practicality, whereas the imperial system has more history...

But in the end, for the daily life, it's a matter of habit.

[murc]

Fully agree with Dobos111 And I prefer to refer to both systems as the Imperial and the Rebel system.. =D

[greasyjesus]

i fully agree that the metric system is more practical, but I have no intrest in using it. i learned the imperial system, and it works fine. i have no problems working with metric, so its good where it is. the only purpose to having both is so we can argue their faults on the internet. which I am also okay with....

[GameNox]

Anything metric makes so much sense i mean 32 degress farenheight at the water frezzing point?

[spenfisher12]

i dont hate the metric system i just like ours better

[nailed]

ILLEGAL DRUGS : The only reason Americans know and/or use the Metric Syst.

[emerson.john]

How do you use the metric system in illegal drugs?

[spenfisher12]

not tru i use mm and cm for things how are these used in drugs

[michaelkaer]

We all know that an OZ is 28.3 grams, but it gets rounded to 28 grams. Even with metric there is rounding up or down.

[Saturn V]

Aggreed. I use metric when going for accuracy, because they have millimeters. Otherwise, I use the American system.

[spenfisher12]

same here

[gourd]

FYI When you take a recipe in one system and try to convert it to another, that's when you get all of these crazy numbers. If you are dealing with a "native" Metric measurement, it would be in powers of 10, for example, 1.3 deciliters = 13 centiliters = 130 milliliters = .13 liters. It's a lot easier to convert within metric, since it is always powers of 10. Where as in U.S. measurements, we have to know that there are 8 oz in a cup, 32 cups in a gallon, but for some dumb reason, 3 teaspoons in 1 tablespoon. And how many tablespoons are there in an ounce? For what it's worth, I think both systems are great, and we should all learn both.

[pcolapaddler]

That would be 16 cups in a gallon ... cup = 8oz pint = 16oz quart = 32ox half-gallon=64oz gallon=128oz I have used metric, US... grew up on US measurement. Fractions, & decimal conversion make sense to me - many years in auto, machinery repair... fraction & decimal conversion used to bounce from my head. Metric not so much. Its not unlike language. Different languages offer different challenges. One will be comfortable with their native language. Others may be learned, but often they will require more effort.

[Saturn V]

My theory for the non-metric measurments: We like a good challenge!

[natman3400]

YA. America was built on challenges. I use metric when it is suited, but i use the american when it is convenient for others. I was raised on both, and can convert between the two with ease.

[eulaliaaaa!]

Hmmm... true.

[tomytaka]

+1 I am not a native english speaker and I very often fail to follow instructions on instructables due to the language barrier. Very sad since there are so many cool designs to make here! I hope instructables could put together a "component encyclopedia" with english synonyms, terms from other languages and large pictures of each thing. If instructables added links to large online stores where the components could be bought then instructables could use it as a stream of revenue too.

[GreenMangone]

Sounds like a good idea and one that could maybe be your instructable! Go for it!

[Safemac]

Thanks for a good Instructible. It helps remembering the various proportions.
1] the 'aging' period, a day to a week allows the polymers in the soap to fully absorb water

2] The taps is called "gaffer" tape, after the lead electrician on movie sets (actually comes from an English term for an older man. True gaffer tape is a cloth backed, very strong tape also known colloquially as '100 Mile-an-hour tape" in the US military. This is to differentiate it from 'duct' or 'duck' (brand name tape, which has a lesser strength and adhesion.

Pardon my OCD

[GrammerCheck]

"I" before "E" except after "C". Easily remembered: A piece of PIE. Nice instructions, tho!

[mysss]

WEIrd how such a scIEntific-sounding axiom doesn't actually hold for all words, eh?

[sincdn]

J lube is a water based lubricant, I searched on Google and came up with some unneeded information.

[tw2sheds]

Give him 2.5 cm and he'll take 1.609344 km lacks a certain ring.

[vwluvrs]

http://www.bubbleblowers.com/homemade.html

[vwluvrs]

From the Exploratorium Web Page.................. Mix up a bubble solution of 2/3 cup (160 ml) Dawn™ dishwashing liquid and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) glycerine in one gallon (3.8 l) of water. We have found that more durable bubbles form if you let this solution age for at least a day, preferably for a week.

[joegiampaoli]

I don't understand why it's so hard for a lot of you to usethe metric system. This should be taught in grade school from the start. The metric system is 26 times more precise than the english system (because there are 26 millimiters in an inch), ask any engineer especially those who have to work with precision, like designing jet engines, but apart from that just look at your currency, IT IS BASED IN METRIC SYSTEM! How many cents to a dollar? That is pretty metric to me. so when you say a quarter that means .25

[PyromanX]

Millimiter: A very small saw. ;) Not trying to be a grammer nazi, just thought it was funny.

[Chanio]

Nice!
This video might help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJyLQH2DUtY&feature=player_embedded
 

[Pizzapie500]

Dowels you mean?

[Stevioberosona]

Boiling water dissolved in a half a teaspoon of something? Something didn't type quite right. Could you post and clarify the cool self-healing bubble recipie? And suggest something to dip in, e.g. a baby pool? Spare dog dish?
I read:
1.5 gallons of boiling water <--Isn't deionized water better?
1/2 t J-lube ...as mentioned, possibly from a Veterinary Supplier, but since it's good for laughs and explains the boiling water, here's what Google shared: http://www.anus.org/SEX/jlube.html
4.5 oz. (small tube) surgical lube (n.b. it's aqueous and saline neutral so it 'does no harm' ...KY is half mineral oil, half water
1/4 cup of glycerine (99.5% pure)
16 oz. dishwasher liquid <--FTW caustic stuff like Liquid Cascade or Sunlight?
1/2 C. manual dishwashing liquid <--okaaay, plain stuff like...do they make it anymore?...Dawn or Palmolive Original?
This is going to make baby bathtimes tolerable for me, I think.