Making Sculpture Tools From Soda Cans and Waste Pens

I have always liked finding a second use for things that would normally end up in the trash. This time, I had a few empty soda cans lying around and started wondering if the thin aluminium could be turned into something useful instead of throwing it away. I work with clay and small sculptures, so I decided to experiment with the cans and make my own set of sculpture and modelling tools. I cut the aluminium into different shapes, formed the pieces, and attached them to old pens to make handles.

The interesting part is that the different shapes can be used for different jobs, shaping clay, making curves, cutting small details, smoothing surfaces, and creating textures. The pens also make surprisingly comfortable handles because they are already designed to be held for a long time.

This project cost me almost nothing because I used empty soda cans and old pens that I already had at home. It was also a good way to turn something disposable into a set of tools that I can actually use in my sculpting work.

What I Like

This was a very simple example of turning waste into something useful. The soda can was just a thin piece of aluminium, but its shape and flexibility made it surprisingly suitable for making small modelling tools. The old pens worked perfectly as handles, so almost every part of the project came from things that were already lying around. And because you're making the shapes yourself, you aren't limited to the designs normally found in a store. You can make a tool specifically for the texture, curve or detail you need.

In this Instructable, I’ll show how I made them from the can, including how I designed the shapes, cut the aluminium, formed the tips, and attached them to the pen bodies.

For this project I used:

1. Empty soda cans
2. Old/recycled pens
3. Scissors
4. Craft knife
5. Small pliers
6. Ruler
7. Pencil or marker
8. Sandpaper or a small file
9. Thin aluminium strips from the can
10. Wire for securing/decorating the handles

First, I emptied and washed the soda can thoroughly. I removed the top and bottom portions of the can and then made a straight cut down the remaining cylindrical section. This opened the can into a flat sheet of aluminium. The sheet naturally tries to curl back into its original shape, so I gently flattened it by hand and then placed it flat on the table.

Before cutting the aluminium, I drew the shapes I wanted directly onto the sheet. I made several different designs because I wanted the final set to have different functions.

Some of the shapes were:

1. Pointed tools
2. Rounded tools
3. Curved blades
4. Flat shaping tools
5. Narrow detailing tools
6. Texture-making tools

I also drew long, narrow strips that would be used for some of the handles. The important thing here is to keep the part that will be attached to the pen wide enough to make a secure connection. The working end can be shaped however you like.

Once all the shapes were marked, I carefully cut them out from the aluminium sheet. For the larger pieces I used scissors, while the craft knife helped with smaller or tighter sections. After cutting, I had a collection of rough aluminium pieces..

Now I started giving each piece its final shape. I used my fingers and small pliers to gently bend the aluminium. For example, I curved some pieces to create rounded modelling tools, while others were bent slightly to create scraping or smoothing surfaces. For the texture tools, I cut small patterns into the edge of the aluminium. I didn't try to make every tool perfectly identical. In fact, some variation makes the set more useful because each tool behaves slightly differently on clay.

Next came the handles. I collected several old pens and removed the parts I didn't need. The pen bodies were useful because they already had a comfortable cylindrical shape and were much easier to hold than a tiny piece of aluminium. I kept the barrel of each pen as the handle and prepared one end for attaching the aluminium tool.

I then fitted the shaped aluminium pieces onto the ends of the pen bodies. I made sure that the aluminium extended straight from the handle and that it didn't wobble when I held it.

For some tools, I slightly folded the base of the aluminium around the end of the pen. This gave the attachment more surface area and made it easier to secure. I then wrapped thin aluminium/wire strips around the connection to hold the pieces firmly in place. The exact attachment method can be adjusted depending on the pen and the shape of the tool.

And that's it!

From a couple of things that were basically headed for the trash, I ended up with a complete set of handmade sculpture tools. Each shape has a slightly different purpose, and I can choose the one I need depending on the detail I'm working on. The best part for me is that I didn't have to buy a new set of tools. The main material came from an empty soda can, and the handles came from old pens.