Plastic Soda Bottle Lid Capsule

A couple of months ago I stumbled upon a discussion board that talked about and showed a small, lightweight reusable container made out of the necks and lids of two plastic soda bottles.  I haven't been able to find that same post ever since, but remember enough about it to want to give it a shot for myself.

I started with two identical plastic soda bottles to make sure that they would match in size. I cut the necks of the bottles off using a small hacksaw making sure that I kept the large flange that would be used to glue the two necks together later.

Step 1 Cut off the necks

I used a vice to hold the bottles still while I cut through them. If you don't have a vice you can still do the same thing by hand,but be very careful and take your time.

Once I had cut off the neck of each bottle I used a flat file to smooth down the rough saw marks and left over plastic.  The idea is to remove all the rough edges until you have a flat surface level with the large flange as this will be where you will glue the two pieces together.

Comments

[jedikid6777]

is there an easier way to file please reply asap P.S im new on this site

[Grimmy Grim]

Get a dremel tool or even a cheapie one.

[mygunsbigger]

After makng mine, i wrapped the center portions with fishing line and added a few hooks, swivels and sinkers to make it useful if i ever wanna do some quick fishing! the container is already a bobber! Thanks for this

[Tofu]

Not going to read all 107 comments; to see if someone already mentioned this or not; but this would be a great small geocaching log container.

Great 'ible!

[Galonii]

They work great for geocaches! But instead of cutting the bottles at the neck and glueing them together we cut them down almost the the extra neck piece put some gorilla glue around the lip and snap another bottle cap to the other end, then I glue some of those super magnets inside, and there you go a perfect micro geocache thats water tight!

[bfgreen]

Over 13,000 views and more than 100 comments - this was supposed to be kept between the few of us!

[17hmr243]

thanks ill have to use this now

[DivaB]

We've always made a ton of these in our group, but we glue plastic in the middle section so that each side is divided. Each side holds a different spice for camp cooking.

[bigfatton]

Awesome instructable, I've made 2 now and I think they're soo cool. My only concern is that I noticed on the krazy glue bottle, it says not to use it on Polyethylene, which isn't that what Soda Bottles are made of? PET? anyways, it worked regardless. Also, has anyone thought to use heat shrink tubing where the necks meet to ensure water-tightness? I've never really worked with the stuff, but it seemed like a neat idea.

[freeza36]

i am making one right now

[sppeart]

Great idea!
I might put some useful return info inside and fasten one of these to my dog's collar. He's got an ID tag - but there would be room for so much more in a rolled-up note tucked into one of these little capsules. Phone numbers, email address(es), any medication he needs, 'Reward if found', a picture of the kids crying their little hearts out... whatever. :)

[Ketzer]

http://www.capsandpreforms.com/

I'll just leave this here.

[bfgreen]

That looks great, if I wanted to buy them by the 100,000. What an annoying website - no pricing?

[The survival dude]

Yes the site is very,very annoying to get the price you have to email the company. stupid.

[The survival dude]

Is there a way to make it longer say ... for matches??

[TheMaker888]

WaterProof i presume ?

[bfgreen]

You presume correctly sir, else what is the point?

[Rainh2o]

Could use a dremel tool to cut the bottles as well...

[bfgreen]

Who doesn't have a Dremel? Of course, it goes without saying :)

[robot+more]

this is a cool instructable i did this but instead with two Gatorade bottles and it is about twice the size.

[bfgreen]

I love making these with Gatorade bottles.

[rtnatividad]

If there's a hose attachment that's the right size and design to screw onto the threaded neck of a soda bottle this would be PERFECT for making my own water reservoir for my Super Soaker Bottle Blitz :O

[bfgreen]

Oh man you've opened up a whole other use for this! Super Soakers, yes!

[GuyWitheGlasses]

This would make a good water tight pill container or something. So many things this can do we haven't discovered yet! Maybe you can roll up your bills and make this a wallet. A water proof wallet...

[silverassassin3]

it probabley would work as a wallet, but it would need to be bigger, because you would have to fold the bills pretty small. so i might just brain storm to think of a slightley bigger version, but still make it pocket sized.

[numademan]

Now you are talking. When I was young in Military Leadership school they had us practice brainstorming. It was along these lines of taking something strange and giving ideas on what to use it for. No laughing at each others ideas, just idea and write it down. It was just amazing how much we came up with with all of us giving ideas fast and furiously. A waterproof wallet is an excellent idea, easy to store as well.

[bfgreen]

There's a whole sub-thread below about using this as a pill storage container. That's what I originally made mine for.

[cmarsch]

Made my own and I use it for EVERYTHING.... that can fit in it. Thank you.

[chevhunter]

that is a great idea. i'm thinkin i'm gonna be building one with the two compartments for muzzle loading. one side for extra primers and on the other side will be some bore butter. ( instead of taking the whole squeeze tube with.)

[bfgreen]

Thanks! If you're looking for a way to re-package creams or greasy items, check out one of my other Instructables on that topic: DIY Single-Use Antibiotic Ointment Blister Packs. It might help you with what you are looking to do :-)

[numademan]

Now I didn't read all the comments, BUT you all know this type of plastic biodegradable and will melt away sooner or later. Just something to think about. It is a wonderful Idea with soooooo many ideas for its use. Just do not let it in the sun. Keep thinking!

[Paracord Ninja]

or you could be awesome like me and use a miter saw

[bfgreen]

Says the person with only 8.5 fingers :-) Seriously, you used a mitre saw? How did you clamp the bottle neck tight?

[TabbyDeAnne]

Haha! I loved your reply! That was great. Loved this 'ible too! Thanks for sharing. 5 stars all the way!

[bfgreen]

Thanks. I like to have a little fun with the comments.

[ilpug]

You can elongate these by taking a piece of PVC 1/2 inch pipe of the desired length and sticking it in between the two threaded pieces. It fits perfectly, so a few drops of Krazy glue secure it wonderfully.

[bfgreen]

Brilliant! The thought of extended or elongating this had never crossed my mind. My original intent was to keep it small :)

This is a great example of the collaborative nature of the Instructables site. I had an idea that was okay, but when you all start adding comments and expanding on the original idea the sky is the limit! Too cool. Thanks!

[ilpug]

Here's mine. It has a little survival kit in it. Shown: mini razor knife, mini pen, matches, sewing kit. The body of the container is wrapped in paracord. Not shown: mini tweezers, very small knife, 20$ bill. This thing is totally waterproof and survived being pitched at a tree really hard with no ill effects.

[bfgreen]

That's very cool. Thanks for sharing a photo of the finished piece. Pretty damn slick!

[ilpug]

Thanks. The total build time was probably an hour and it cost me probably $2.00, because I had everything but the Krazy Glue.