Here is an idea that has you both building and enjoying a delicious snack for the afternoon! Yep, thats right, a JELLY BEAN DISPENSER! (also works for M&Ms.) Sorry about the sideways pictures. I cant really figure out how to fix that. oops! :)
Step 1: Materials
For this project, I used...
- 2 4''x4'' pieces of wood 7/8'' thick
- 1 31/2"x31/2" piece of wood 11/2" thick (31/2" 2x4)
- 1 31/2''x31/2'' piece of wood 1'' thick.
- 1 61/2'' to 10'' long piece of wood 1'' thick and 1'' wide
- 1/4'' dowel
- thin piece of wood at least 11/2'' long and exactly 1'' wide
- Mason Jar and cover. (screw on part)
- wood glue
- very small nails
- nails that are able to secure the wood good (not to long, not to short.)
- 1/2'' drill bit
- drill bit the size of the very small nails
- 3/4'' or 15/16'' drill bit
- Table saw
- Band/Scroll saw
- Tape measure
- Square
- Hammer
- Punch
- Needle Nose Pliers
- Varnish, Paint, or Polyurethane.
- Jelly Beans!!!!
- 2 4''x4'' pieces of wood 7/8'' thick
- 1 31/2"x31/2" piece of wood 11/2" thick (31/2" 2x4)
- 1 31/2''x31/2'' piece of wood 1'' thick.
- 1 61/2'' to 10'' long piece of wood 1'' thick and 1'' wide
- 1/4'' dowel
- thin piece of wood at least 11/2'' long and exactly 1'' wide
- Mason Jar and cover. (screw on part)
- wood glue
- very small nails
- nails that are able to secure the wood good (not to long, not to short.)
- 1/2'' drill bit
- drill bit the size of the very small nails
- 3/4'' or 15/16'' drill bit
- Table saw
- Band/Scroll saw
- Tape measure
- Square
- Hammer
- Punch
- Needle Nose Pliers
- Varnish, Paint, or Polyurethane.
- Jelly Beans!!!!
Step 2: Cut and Drill
Cut all your wood down to size, and then mark the two 4x4'' top and bottom. find the middle of the top block and drill a hole in it with the 3/4'' or 15/16'' drill bit. Set both pieces aside. take the thin 31/2''x31/2'' piece, and the long piece of wood of the same width. (1'') Put the top 4x4'' piece and place it atop the thin 31/2''x31/2''. Using a pencil, put a dot into the 31/2'' piece through the hole, so you know where to place your long piece. center the long piece of wood over the dot, and mark where it is with a pencil. make the lines you just made about 1/16'' bigger, and cut out on any saw, just make sure it is even. After this, carefully glue and nail down the wood you cut onto the thicker 31/2x31/2'' piece.
Step 3: More Cutting, Drilling, and Gluing!
Take the long piece of wood, and make a line 1/2'' down. find the middle of this new, smaller section, and with the 1/4'' bit, drill a hole in the center. Do not drill through the wood, but go far down. About 3'' down from the hole you just made, mark a 11/4'' space. turning it on its side, mark a line that is 1/6'' above the bottom. from there, make 2 30 degree angles that go down to just a bit more than the length of a regular m&m or jelly belly jelly bean.
Cut out this space. (also look at the pictures below) Take the 1/2'' drill bit, and drill a small circle into the slot you just made. this will make it so the jelly bean will not fall out of the slot as easily.
Cut out this space. (also look at the pictures below) Take the 1/2'' drill bit, and drill a small circle into the slot you just made. this will make it so the jelly bean will not fall out of the slot as easily.
Step 4: Putting it all together
take the 31/2'' blocks that you put together, and center, glue, and nail the top and bottom 4x4'' pieces to it. Make sure the hole in the top piece is directly above the opening in the pieces of wood. (smaller 31/2'' that were cut earlier) once this is done, take the long piece of wood and place it inside the opening. it should fit snuggly, but slide easily. If it does not, sand or cut out more from the sides. once you do this, get the 1/4'' dowel, and put it in the small hole in the mechanism. (long piece of wood) mark the dowel so just a small bit goes above the top 4x4'' piece. cut and glue inside the hole. Now, take the thin scrap wood and cut a piece that is about 1/2'' bigger than the back of the mechanism. making sure the wood is inside the opening, glue to the back, and add a small nail if you wish. You should now have a working dispenser, with out the jar on top.
Step 5: The Jar
Take the lid to your jar, make sure it has a hole in it bigger than the hole in the top piece of the wood, and carefully drill about six holes in it that are the size of your very small nails. center the lid on the top of the dispenser, and using a hammer and punch, carefully nail it in place. put on the jar, and voila, you have an almost finished jelly bean dispenser!
Step 6: The Finishing Touches
Erase any pencil marks, add a coat of varnish, paint, or polyurethane, and you have a finished jelly bean dispenser! For a cooler design, you could try using an old lightbulb for the jar, or even a tree stump instead of the wood! I hope you enjoyed my instructable! Even if it is a bit confusing! (this is my 2nd instructable)
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i like the idea..
would it work if i drill a hole thru the pusher? so that the jelly beans will drop to my waiting hand (or mouth).. :)
or will it make it stuck? does yours get stuck sometimes?
Thanks for sharing!
-stu
Perfect for holding/dispensing M&M's too!
Thanks
I will be making these for my children to dispense food to their
Pets - rabbits, ducks and dog. All the animals get a dry food type so all I need to do is resize storage and dispenser feeding needs and presto, the kids walk past and feed, work the dispenser slide, animals feed!
No mess no fuss, top up once a week - too easy. My kids are very young.
Horses, dogs, cats, etc. Great idea.
He drilled the slide hole completely through the slide so that you (should) catch the gum ball in your hand and he also smoothed and slightly tapered the hole with sand paper so that the first available gumball would fall into it easily.
Killer project!