Introduction: Watering Cup

By timmolderez.be

I like to have a little bit of green in the office, so I keep these two small plants around on my desk. I used to water the plants with an empty water bottle, which works okay, but it's tricky to avoid spills. I figured I should probably get a proper watering can, but it'd be way too large for just two small plants .. which is how I ended up with a watering cup :) Let's make one!

Step 1: Tools and Materials

This instructable is a quick and easy one; all you need is this:

  • Plastic glass/cup/mug
  • A pen you don't need anymore (.. or some other kind of small plastic tube)
  • Drill (It doesn't even have to be an electric one.)
  • Hacksaw
  • Small file (for filing plastic)
  • Pencil
  • All-purpose glue (as long as it glues plastics and is waterproof)
  • Sandpaper

Step 2: Making the Watering Cup

  1. Remove the guts of your pen, so you're left with just a plastic tube. This will become the watering can's spout.
  2. Using the hacksaw, make a 45 degree cut near one of the ends of the plastic tube. (first picture) You can just eyeball it, but it's handy to have a mitre box around. You also may want to use some sandpaper to clean up the cut.
  3. The plastic cup I used had some advertising on it, so I sanded it off. (You can still see the sanding marks in the pictures, but I sprayed on some transparent lacquer spray afterwards to make it look smooth again.)
  4. Place the end of the pen you cut against the cup. You should hold it in the location where the spout will attach to the cup. Now use a pencil to mark where you need to cut a hole in the cup. (second picture)
    Make sure the spout is sufficiently high; you don't want any water pouring out while you're still filling the cup. To be safe, the nozzle should end up at least as high as the top of the cup. See the law of communicating vessels :) (In hindsight, I probably should've put mine a little higher up..)
  5. Use a (hand) drill to make an initial hole (or multiple) in the cup. (third picture) Don't use too much force or the plastic might crack.
  6. Use a file to fine-tune the hole for the spout. Keep shaving away bits of plastic, until the spout fits. (fourth picture) If possible, try to hold the file at a 45 degree angle, as the spout needs to sit at the same angle.
  7. Use a liberal amount of glue to attach the spout to the cup. There's probably better clamping methods, but I just held the spout in place for about 10 minutes. (fifth picture) After that I just let it dry by itself for an hour or so.
  8. All done! (You still may want to clean up some excess glue.) Give your new watering cup a try; enjoy! Maybe make some more for your friends, while you're at it :) I made another one with a transparent pen as the snout (sixth picture). You can also try adding a handle to your watering cup (or simply use a mug instead) to make it look a little more like a watering can.