Floss Container Fishing

This is an idea I had when looking at one of the little floss containers I always get at the dentist but never use. I saw that it was actually a neat little setup and realized that I could easily modify it to become a nifty little fishing setup. It only uses basic materials and takes very little time to create. Enjoy!

Materials:
-Mini flossing pack. I use a Oral B Glide package that is about an inch wide and tall. Others might work as well, but will need some adaptation.
-Fishing Line. You'll need a good amount, more than the amount of floss on the spool. You probably could use the floss instead of fishing line if you wanted to make it easier, but I'm not sure it would be as effective while fishing.
-Paper clip
-Small scrap of sheet plastic. I'm not fully sure what else to call it but you can find it on a lot of products. What I used came from a plastic box of salad from the grocery store.

Tools:
- Glue
-Scissors
-A nail or another sharp pointed object that can make a small hole about the thickness of your paper clip through your plastic floss package
-Marker
-Possibly a knife or something else that can cut a hole in the side of the plastic floss package

Remove the floss from the small spool. Also trim the height of the axis-circle that the spool spins on. Make it about 3-5 millimeters or so shorter.

Find the middle of the 4-pronged circle-axis that the spool spins on in the container. You can trace lines between the gaps between the 4 parts of the axis with a marker or something and find the middle where the two lines intersect. Then poke a hole in the middle spot. I used a small nail.

Next, take the marker and color one circular end of the plastic spool. Then, put the spool back onto the axis with the colored side facing up. Then close the flossing pack and shake the kit, so that the spool makes a circular mark on the plain side of the inside of the floss kit. Now cut a hole inside the circle you made with the marker and the spool. The hole you cut doesn't need to be an exact circle and it should be a couple millimeters smaller than the marked circle in diameter. Later on you may want to make it larger but you can figure it out as you go.

Cut the plastic into a circle with a diameter of 1.5 cm. Poke a hole in the center of the circle of plastic. Again, I used a small nail because you want the hole to be about the same thickness as your paper clip. Next, poke another hole, the same size, one or two millimeters away from the center hole. You do not want the distance to be large at all, but you also want the plastic in between to be enough that it is strong and the two holes won't merge. In fact, you can put some glue on the small amount of plastic to strengthen it.

Now, it is time to glue your plastic spool, that formerly held the floss, to your plastic that you just poked holes in. Line the circular top of the spool with glue and place it on the plastic circle. Make sure that the center hole is in the middle of the spool so it stays central. Make sure that you are not confusing the center hole with the other hole when you are positioning it. Also make sure that you second hole is inside the circle of the spool and that neither hole is covered up by glue.

First straighten out the paper clip into a line. Next, bend around 4 mm of one end backs it's parallel with the rest of the paper clip. It is important how you bend it the long end so it fits. The long end will go through the middle hole on the plastic circle, and the hooked short end will be able to slide into the other hole in the plastic circle. Now, with the paper clip hooked to the plastic circle and spool, insert the long end of the paper clip through the small hole and have the spool on the 4- pronged axis thing that it spins on. Now, bend the paper clip 90° where it extends one centimeter outside from the container. Now, as the rest of the paper clip extends parallel to the square side of the box, bend it at 90° 2.5 cm from the first 90° turn so that the long end it pointing away from the box, in the same direction as the piece of the paper clip that extends directly from the container. Cut the paper clip 1.5 cm from the second 90° turn in the paper clip. You won't need the rest of the paper clip.

Take one end of the line and glue it to the spool. Be sure to glue it the right way with which way the rest of the fishing line goes. Make sure that the line will go down on to the spool well when the spool turns counter clockwise. Now with the line glued, you can close your container, with the line coming out the slot on the top, and reel in the rest of your fishing line so it is on the spool.

Now you having finished your mini Floss Container Fishing kit! You may want to glue the container closed for added sturdiness, but it isn't necessary. If you have any suggestions or questions, just go to the comments section. I have also entered this project in a few contests, so it would be much appreciated if you took a second to vote. I hope you enjoy this!