Introduction: Bending a Credit Card Into a Phone Stand Using a Lighter

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So you have a whole bunch of unused store cards, old credit cards, or other plastic, and you want to turn them into something useful.  Simply by heating them up with a lighter, you can quickly turn them into useful objects like a stand for your mobile phone or ipod, or artistic sculptures!

The trick is to heat up the plastic so it softens without burning.  I used a "weather-proof" lighter which gives a hotter and cleaner flame.  Note that I am heating the plastic with the jet of hot gasses from the flame rather than in the flame itself.  If you are using a conventional lighter, then you'll want to hold the plastic above the lighter, and use the heat from the rising hot gasses (and I repeat: not the flame).  As long as you don't burn the plastic, there won't be any burning plastic smell.

Be safe around fire and don't set fire to yourself, your things, or other people!