Powered by Step 1: dinosaur corn cob holder
Corn is great. I think it might be my favourite vegetable, next to onions. So, when Jayefuu showed me these corn cob holders designed by Lana Filippone, I knew I had to have them. But, since they are not yet available to purchase I decided to make my own. You can buy them now!
Aside from being partial to dinosaurs, I thought it would be fun to include herbivores, too. Having a history of playing with my food, these clever corn cob contraptions are a fine addition to my kitchen arsenal.
It's not clear if the original design allowed the dinosaur to be reconnected when not holding corn. I thought it was an obvious trick, and designed it into my cob holders.
Ready to make your own dinosaur corn cob holders?
Step 2: tools + materials
Making your own is easy, here's what I used:
tools:
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materials:
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My local Dollar Store had a bin full of different animals. I recommend picking up a few, as the cavity inside is sometimes a weird shape and might not accept the corn cob holder without heavy modification. Look for animals with wide torsos, allowing plenty of room inside. The cob holder will also need a deep cavity to house the tines, so err on the side of caution and choose larger animals.
Step 3: cut and cover
separate dinosaurs/animals:
Almost all hollow plastic animal toys are manufactured in two halves, joined together in the middle - the front half and the back half. Using a sharp hobby knife, the joining seam can be cut and the toy animal is cleanly in 2 parts.
drill joining holes:
To allow the cob holders to fit together small openings slightly larger than the diameter of the tines was drilled into the front face of each cob holder. I pressed the sharp tines into the plastic face to make a small mark, then drilled through the entire handle at the mark point. Make sure your drilled openings are larger than the diameter of the tines. For mine I used a 2mm (1/16") bit.
plastic cob holder profile:
The cavity inside each half will be slightly different, and the profile of the corn cob holders may need to be trimmed to fit inside. After dry-fitting the cob holders inside each half, use a marker on the inside portion of the cob holder to indicate which animal half it belongs to. I added another mark to show which end faces upwards, too.
capping ends:
Since my design allowed the halves to be joined back together when not in use, the exposed tines needed to be covered as they protruded through the plastic handle. If left uncovered, the tines would be buried and stuck when the holders are cast in resin. To solve this, I cut the caps from some glitter glue I found at the Dollar Store. The caps were cut to the right height, then placed over the protruding tines when the two corn cob holders were joined together. Hot glue was used to join the caps to the backside of the cob holders, and more glue was used to fill in any openings in the plastic where the tines were exposed; making each cob holder airtight inside.
Step 4: casting
To secure the cob holders in each side I used casting resin. Casting resin is a liquid that can be poured and sets hard and clear. This isn't an ideal application for clear resin, but worked well as a permanent adhesive and produced good results.
setup:
Before mixing the resin. Set up newspaper around the area you plan on casting on. Resin is messy stuff and once it hardens it's almost impossible to remove. You will also need an assortment of clamps or other devices to hold each dinosaur/animal upright while the resin sets. Position each toy half with the cavity upwards, and secure in a clamp. When your workspace is ready, you can start mixing the resin.
mixing resin:
EasyCast resin is a 2-part mix of resin and hardener. Following the directions on the box, each part of the resin was warmed, then equal parts were measured into separate disposable cups. The portions were combined and mixed together for about a minute, then transferred into a new cup and mixed some more.
pouring:
This resin takes about a day to set completely, but will start setting in about 20 minutes. Carefully pour resin into upright toy cavity and fill about 2/3 full. Carefully place the cob holder inside, capped end first. Sink so the front face of the cob holder is level with the halved dinosaur/animal edge. If the cob holder is not a snug fit, you may need to use masking tap to suspend the cob holder in place while the resin hardens.
Allow resin to set for at least 24 hours. Make sure the cob holders and plastic toys remain upright, level, and undisturbed for the duration of the hardening.
Step 5: consume
After the resin has set, use your hobby knife to clean up edges and any spilled resin drops. Clean the tines well with warm soapy water before use.
All that's left is to cook up some corn and stick in your favourite corn cob holder. Om nom nom
Bon Appétit!
Have you made your own corn cob holder inspired by this Instructable? I want to see it!
Share a picture of your version of these corn cob holders in the comments below and I'll award you a 3-month Pro Membership to Instructables.com and a digital patch!
Good luck!
License: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike.
