Tag: make yourself

DIY Dental Light with Elastic Headband

Created and updated 2/26/2023

What: Dental light worn like a headlamp with no loupes or safety glasses or face shield. Dental light mounted to elastic headband.

Why: For those who don’t have or don’t want to use their loupes plus light. Suitable for those who wear glasses. When operatory lights fail. Power outage. I personally have trouble with loupes when I suffer from sinus issues (makes me nauseous), but find I want the light, so this is a workaround to that. Plus, it costs 4x less than my loupes + light.

Supplies: Dental Light system (with battery pack), elastic headlamp strap, mounting kit (came with system), drill, drill bit, ruler, clamps, safety glasses, marker, cord ties (opt)

Cost: Light system ($595) + headlamp strap and bracket ($11.70) = $606.70

Time: 30 minutes

*Note: Not intended for dogs!*
*But they do look cute wearing it!!*

Process

  • Acquire supplies
And safety glasses!
Mounting kit/hardware
Elastic, adjustable headlamp band with plastic bracket
Backside. It’s decently thin
Used a 5/64″ bit

  • Measure and mark drill holes. Be aware that if there are nuts to secure the screws, then to leave enough room on the opposite side for them
Marked midpoint and holes
Dry test. Looks good

  • Clamp, wear safety glasses, and then drill (be careful, I managed to make mine lopsided)
Don’t clamp too tight that it breaks
Twisted the bit in to help the drill find footing and not wander
It’s drilling time!
One down!
Uhhhh…how’d it get lopsided…
Oh well. Tightening the screws
Nice
Oops…didn’t take into account the nuts. Would drill lower next time.
Solid in there, even without the nuts
Ready
Set
Boom!

  • Optional: Use cord organizing ties to secure the cord to the side of the elastic headband
Although the light comes with a clip for your clothes, a second one in the back works well to keep the cord out of the way

  • Done! Test it out!
Unwilling demo patient
My loupes with light is better, but also costs 4x as much.
It’s pretty comfortable. Made sure that the fuzzy side of the cable ties faced my skin

DIY Simple Dog Urine Collection Stick (No Bending Down!)

Written June 2022, updated 7/2024

What

Pole for collecting dog urine for sampling

Supplies

Any stick or pole, hose clamps, collection container, screwdriver

Time

10 Minutes

Materials Used

  • 25-38mm Hose Clamp (x2)
  • 10-16mm Hose Clamp (x1)
  • 48 in x ⁷⁄₁₆ in (L x W) Garden Stake (x1)
  • Sterile Collection Cup (x1)

Cost

ItemAmount
48in Powder Coated Metal Garden Stake$2.33 (1 qty)
60 pc Assorted Hose Clamp Kit$12.99 (1 kit)
Sterile Collection Cup$7.99 (5 qty)
Total$23.31
Total per Collection Stick$4.59

Process

  • Make a ring to place the collection cup in without it falling through all the way
  • Use a smaller clamp to connect the pole to the large ring
  • Place collection container of your choice into ring
  • Make sure your pet isn’t afraid of it before using to collect
    2 clamps together
    smaller clamp
    pole connected

    Notes

    • Used a plastic garden stake because: it’s rigid, has ridges on there to prevent the clamp from shifting, easy to clean, resist rust with plastic coating
    • Any width garden stake or pole can be used. I just happened to have the ⁷⁄₁₆ inch one
    • The largest hose clamp available was the 25-38mm, but the nice thing about them is that you can just connect smaller ones together (by feeding the ends into the neighboring tightener) to make a larger one
    • Adding a non-slip handle is as easy as wrapping vet wrap which can therefore be changed out when you want to. Or whatever you want to wrap it with