Has anyone in here ever made a rainstick?

1

Use a pencil to draw a spiral beginning at one end of a cardboard tube and ending at the other. Don't follow the natural seam.

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Step 2

Hammer nails that are 1/4 inch shorter than the tube's diameter at 1/2-inch intervals along the spiral.

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Step 3

Cap one end of the tube. If it didn't come with caps, cut a piece of cardboard the same size as the hole and hot glue it securely to the end.

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Step 4

Put some unpopped popcorn, beads, dry beans, pebbles, seeds, gravel, rice or other dry filler into the tube.

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Step 5

Cover the open end with your hand and test the sound by turning it upside down.

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Step 6

Experiment with the amount of filler for a sound you like. When you're satisfied, put a cap on the open end.

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Step 7

Cover all of the nail heads with contact paper or masking or duct tape.

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Step 8

Decorate your rain stick. Try paints, torn paper or corrugated wrapping.

Man, that's a good question. I see "Alien" in the list, but I think the sequel, "Aliens" -- is better. Then again, I might call "Aliens" the best action movie ever, too. Not sure if it's sci-fi or action. Pure sci-fi gems: + 2001 Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick) + Blade Runner (??) + Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg) + Planet of the Apes [the original] (??) Sci-Fi / Action: + Anything by James Cameron (The Abyss, Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2) + Star Wars Episode 5: Empire Strikes Back + The Matrix + The Thing