How to Make Wooden Garden Pinwheels

Decorative garden pinwheels lend an air of whimsy to a home garden and also help to let you know if there is breeze outside. Although garden pinwheels are frequently made of plastic or nylon, you can also make a pinwheel from lightweight bendable plywood. Leave the pinwheel a natural color, or paint the plywood before fashioning it into the pinwheel. Consider painting one of the plywood one color and the other side another color, or paint each triangle piece a different color.

20-by-20-inch piece of Bendable plywood
Pencil
Compass
Table saw
Drill
40-inch-long wooden dowel
Wire
Wire clippers
2 wooden beads with a hole through the center
Wooden washer

Instructions

- 1
  Draw an "X" on the sheet of bendable plywood, connecting the top left corner with the bottom right corner, and the top right corner with the bottom left corner. Where the lines intersect use a compass to draw a circle 3 centimeters in diameter.
- 2
  Cut along the lines with the table saw until you reach the outer edge of the circle.
- 3
  Drill a small hole in the center of the circle on the plywood.
- 4
  Drill a hole into the bottom right corner of each the triangle cut on step 1; pivot the bendable plywood for each triangle section. Set aside.
- 5
  Coil the wire around the top few inches of the dowel, leaving a few inches of length sticking out. Slip the wooden bead through the wire so it is snug against the dowel.
- 6
  Place the bendable plywood on the dowel, with the wire through the hole in the center the sheet.
- 7
  Fold each of the corners with the hole toward the center of the plywood and slip it over the wire.
- 8
  Place a small wooden washer over the wire and plywood, and then place the wooden bead over the top. Use the wire clippers to bend the wire into a downward loop. The pinwheel should now be ready to use in the garden as a decorative element.

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