Giant Toothbrush

What could be more fun than a low-tech giant toothbrush? Every kid should have one. The only thing better is having a giant empty cardboard box to play in.

This project shows you how to make your own giant toothbrush. They make great accessories for your Halloween costume or award-winning grade-school science fair project. They also make great gifts for the dental professionals in your life.

You can't buy something like this at a reasonable price (call me frugal dad, ok... cheapskate dad) so I started out with some 1x3 wood scraps, scrub brushes, glue and paint to create something big...

This is a great weekend project to do with the kids so they learn some basic woodworking skills, use tools and to watch dad do his magic. Safety first!

And Captain Daydream says, "Brush 'em, brush 'em, woooOOOO!"
toothbrush song

Step 1 Layout and cutting wood

The pictures show me making four giant toothbrushes but you can make only one or as many as you like.

Begin by buying scrub brushes that look right for a toothbrush. My first one consisted of two scrub brushes cut and placed end to end to get a large enough toothbrush. The bristle color should probably be white for the right effect. The blue bristles make a cool color border that looks like an expensive toothbrush. I found my scrub brushes at a dollar discount store. We are looking for proper proportions so you can easily make a really giant toothbrush with one of those big sweeper broom heads.

Next, get some 1x3 wood stock about 4 feet long. Furring strips will also work if you want to take the extra effort to patch, sand, and round over the edges to make the finish look nice. This time, I found stock that is used for bed slats. It is a bit thicker than the standard 1x3 stock, already has rounded edges and has a little more heft to it due to the species of wood used.

Starting from one end, measure about 2 brushlengths long. This is a creative project so exact measurements are not needed. On the edge, draw about a 30 degree diagonal line from that point. You will then saw the wood through making two pieces. Extend the lines down the wide fronts as saw guidelines. You can use a hand saw or various power saws to cut. A bandsaw would probably be nice for this project but it is not necessary.

Comments

[naruto the ninja13]

make it into a giant bristle bot now!

[ikeike40]

yes! the newest device for self defence

[cowscankill]

hahaha! gotta use thiis during car washes! everyone would like to ve washed by it :P

[caitlinsdad]

Make sure they don't bite...

[flubs]

 well..... at least he'd be bitten by clean teeth

[cowscankill]

sweet car lol. also, the twinkies are nice and fluffy, but blow up when i try to creme them xD so now we have 6 large twinkies

[caitlinsdad]

Not my ride but it seems you can buy grille teeth to customize your car. They even have a "buck teeth" Wallace and Gromit version. also, it doesn't matter how the Giant Twinkies turn out, half the fun was trying to make them.

[bowmaster]

Now build a big mouth.

[caitlinsdad]

Already did...and a big nose... :)

[mason0190]

1-up'd hahaha

[bowmaster]

http://xkcd.com/151/

[caitlinsdad]

and ear!

[awang8]

What's wish the nose? A electronic boger-picking device?

[caitlinsdad]

Only the nose knows...

[clark]

hahaha oh the jokes that could come from that gigantic nose....

[bowmaster]

Awesome.

[watermelonhead]

heheheh i'm going to be the dentist warrior for halloween

[caitlinsdad]

heheheh You go get that scary plaque monster!

[Sunny124613]

what in the world....

[caitlinsdad]

Just big as West Texas or the Montana sky.

[espboy]

There is the floss for whoever uses that toothbrush.

[caitlinsdad]

I wouldn't stand too close during the rinse cycle...

[corinaxo]

this so cool&great! a wonderful idea! congrats caitlin 4 winning that science fair w/ this project! -love u , corina

[Weissensteinburg]

This is great! If I lived closer to my aunt and uncle (dentists) I would definitely make them one or two for their office!

[caitlinsdad]

Half the fun is carrying this thing down the street to the Fedex store to get it shipped. Cost of shipping: $20. Looks on their faces: priceless.

[Weissensteinburg]

haha...although based on past experience, it's probably more like $40

[beado4ever]

Really nice and straight forward instructions. This is on my diy-with-the kids List.

[caitlinsdad]

Nothing more important than sparking the imagination of kids. Cheers.

[GorillazMiko]

imagine putting that in ur mouth... hahaha that would be like eating a watermelon

[caitlinsdad]

Also be sure to floss after every meal...I think I left the giant floss on that big spool on back of the Con Edison electric utility truck.