The Windy Box

What in the world is a Windy Box? A good question.

The Windy Box is a new innovative way of play. It uses the common every-day hair dryer to form a vertical wind flow which allows you to levitate objects on the wind flow. Ping pong balls are the ideal objects to play with. You can also modify your ping pong balls by putting on small weights, taping on feathers, drilling holes in them, etc. Then you can call your friends together and challenge them to create their own ping pong ball designs and let them 'fight' against each other in the wind flow!

You can also experiment with different objects to see which will remain in the wind flow and which will 'fall off'.

Check out the video to learn and see more!

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Step 1: What You Need...

You need...

• A hair dryer
• Wood or plywood
• A drill
• A circle drill bit
• A jig saw or hand saw or any other cutting device
• Glue ( I used a glue gun but I think wood glue would be better)
• Sand paper
• Wood varnish
• and a lot of ping pong balls

These materials and equipment are what I used, but you can use whatever you have. I also think with precision tools you can do an even better job.

Choosing the right hair dryer is essential. The hair dryer has to be able to levitate a ping pong ball, if it can't it's useless for this project. If you were to buy a hair dryer and you have this project in mind make sure to test it out if possible.

Step 2: Sanding the Wood.

I used some wood which were quite old and at some places a little stained, so sanding was a must.

Step 3: Cut Your Dimensions.

Your dimensions will depend on the size of your hair dryer. Careful planning is needed so that your hairdryer fits in perfectly.

Step 4: Optional Prototype Made From a Cardboard Box.

To ensure that your hairdryer fits you might want to make a quick carton prototype. This will also help you when designing the wooden one.

If you do not like working with wood, or might not have the tools, or whatever the reason, but you still like this idea you can always just make this cardboard version.

Step 5: Measuring and Tracing the 'air Hole'.

Measure very carefully the radius of the hair dryer's opening and then using a compass (not the one used to find the north!) trace the circle onto the top section of the box.

Step 6: Cut the Circle and Sand It Smooth.

I used my jig saw and roughly cut it out, then using an old rounded file I smoothed it out. It worked quite well, but other methods could work even better.

Step 7: Glue Up the First Four Parts.

This includes the left and right larger pieces, the top part and the back piece. Do not glue up all the sections at once!

Step 8: Cutting the Section Where the Cable Comes In.

This cut should be carefully measured according to how your hair dryer fits the box. You can see that actually I made my cut a bit too big. Don't make the same mistake...

Then glue that piece on too.

Step 9: Add the Hinged Bottom Piece.

I think I could maybe have done a better job here and I know some of you guys will really be able to do a better job. You also don't have to use hinges, but can use any box-opening method that will work.

Note: The hair dryer I used fit in the box perfectly and it wasn't necessary for me to place wooden adjusters in the box to hold the hair dryer upright, but you might have to. Although I don't have a step showing this, it might be necessary for you to place in some adjusters.

Step 10: Add a Wood Piece to Keep the Bottom 'lid' From Falling Open.

I took a piece of wood which was slightly larger than the opening for the cable. I then filed and sanded it down till it fitted quite tightly. This I then glued to the bottom 'lid'. You could also use magnets to stop it from falling open.

Step 11: Finishing the Box.

Sanding and varnishing the box was an essential part for me as my wood was not the best, and it was stained in some places.

Step 12: Making a Rack for Your Balls.

I simply took two small wooden planks and drilled five holes in them. The holes should be large enough to easily hold the balls, but not too large so that they just fall through. They should also be evenly spaced and not too close to each other.

These ball racks are just to stop the ping pong balls from rolling everywhere and if you are playing against a friend - to keep track of the amount of balls you have left.

Step 13: Plug in and Play!

Now all you have to do is to plug in your hair dryer and start playing.

Because I did not make a way you can switch the hair dryer on directly I suggest you plug in the power cable at a port which already has a switch.

Safety tip:

Do not burn yourself with the hair dryer as it does release quite a bit of heat. If your hair dryer has an option where it just blows cold air be sure to put it on or taping down the button.

Feel free to ask questions and tell me what you think about the Windy Box. Thanks for viewing this instructable and don't forget to vote!