How to Make String from Plastic Bottles

I saw a video last year on YouTube where a Russian maker built a rather elaborate rig to turn PET plastic bottles into a flat, very narrow noodle-like “string” that proved to be surprisingly strong. In subsequent videos, he lashed together some crude furniture and showed some other useful things that could be made from the material.

I was intrigued by the idea. I don’t know that it has much utility for most of us, but as a form of low-tech re-purposing, for survival applications, village tech, and just because it looks kind of fun, I’ve been looking for an easy how-to.

This video, posted yesterday on Boing Boing, does just that.

[youtube=https://youtu.be/7v-FlEx1_EM]

While the above rig is very simple, the original Russian design I saw was adjustable (with three different widths of string available for cutting) and was designed so that you could very quickly break down a bottle. It looks like this French maker saw that same video and recreated the design exactly.

[youtube=https://youtu.be/-zqp_zA6m-w]

After showing you show to make the device, he also demonstrates the strength of the resulting material. He pulls a small car with some and even hoists himself up with a strand.

If you’ve made one of these devices or have seen other videos of string-from-bottle rigs, especially with people doing something useful with the resulting material, please post in the comments.