Design a 'Moon Mountain' Fountain

The serenity flows freely with this do-it-yourself project. Learn how to create a 'Moon Mountain' fountain for your home.

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Materials and Tools:

water pump*
1/4-inch-outside-diameter copper tubing
8-gauge bare copper wire
4-by-10-inch glass-bowl water container
2- and 3-inch PVC pipe
12-inch-square stone and 6-inch-square stone
extra stone for the mountain
river rocks
glass marble
small UL-approved light
E6000 glue
spray adhesive
plumbing supplies for soldering copper
pipe cutter
flux copper sanding paper
copper-cleaning supplies: steel wool, etc.
spray sealant
small piece of 16-gauge sheet copper
angle grinder cutter and diamond blade
rotary tool
copper stand
tape-covered pliers
wire cutters
drill press or hand drill with a 5/8-inch bit
masonry hammer
metal cutters
safety glasses
clamps
permanent marker
adhesive-backed weather stripping
scissors
paper template
*Water pumps are usually rated at 79 gallon per hour and will only push water up a foot or so--more than enough for this project.

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Step 3

Step 3

Steps:

Copper Base Ring (make two rings—a base ring and a moon ring)

1. Cut two pieces of ¼-inch copper tubing about 25 inches long using a plumbing pipe cutter.

2. Bend each piece into a circle. Sand, flux and solder the ends together with a torch to create two copper circles.

3. Divide the copper base ring for the copper stand into thirds to mark the fountain’s feet position.

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Step 6

Step 6

4. Cut three pieces of the bare copper wire about 30 inches long for the feet.

5. Bend the copper wire into a long “U” shape around a ¾- or ½-inch copper tube.

6. Wrap both ends of the “U”-shaped wire around the stand ring, leaving the bottom of the “U” shape about 4 inches from the ring. Repeat with all three pieces of wire for the copper feet. Apply flux and solder the copper wires to the ring.

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Step 7

Step 7

7. Wrap the copper feet around a 2-inch piece of PVC pipe to shape the feet into a desired curved structure.

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Step 8

Step 8

Fountain

8. Cut a 3-inch piece of PVC pipe ¼-inch below the bowl’s edge so the inner stone will sit below the outer stone. Cut a quarter to a third of the side off the 3-inch PVC pipe to form a “C” shape for the pump housing. Glue it into the center of the bowl.

9. Cut rubber-foam weather stripping to fit around the inside top of the bowl. Glue the weather stripping along the inside edge of the top of the bowl. Align the seam with the open part of the PVC pump housing.

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Step 11-13

Step 11-13

10. Place the pump, with ½-inch OD plastic tube cut 1 inch long to fit on the pump outlet, inside the PVC pump housing. Cut a 1-inch piece of ½-inch copper tubing to fit over the plastic tubing on the pump.

11. Cut a 12-inch-square stone with an angle grinder and cut a 4-inch square in the center of this 12-inch square.

12. Cut a 3½-inch square out of another piece of stone, and drill a 5/8-inch hole in the center of this square.

13. Place the small square stone over the pump, placing the hole over the copper tubing on the pump output.

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Step 14

Step 14

14. Place the large stone with the square opening on the bowl with the interior square surrounding the small stone.

15. Place the bowl in the copper stand.

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Step 16

Step 16

Mountains

16. Break two pieces of stone into a rough mountain shape with a masonry hammer. Keep one edge flat to stand when glued together. Glue the stones together, clamp and let dry.

17. Cut a 3-by-1-inch piece of copper sheeting. Bend it into a three-sided square shape so it will fit snugly on the stone. This copper piece is used to clamp the moon onto the stone.

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Step 20

Step 20

18. Cut an 8-gauge piece of wire about 14 inches long. Wrap the copper wire around a ¾-inch piece of copper tubing two or three turns - similar to a coiled spring.

19. Bend the wire at the spring at a right angle. This will be the light holder for the moon.

20. Roughly position the height of the spring part of the wire below the center of the ring and bend into a L-shape. Solder the copper ring to the top of the three-sided, square-shaped copper piece. Solder the square to the outer edge of the second copper ring made in step 2.

21. On the front face of the copper ring (for moon), glue a selected piece of art tissue paper. Let dry. Trim the excess tissue paper close to the copper ring.

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Step 22-23

Step 22-23

22. Add water to cover the pump and adjust the pressure so it comes up only about ½-inch above the tube in the bowl. Drape the electrical cord over the edge of the bowl, pushing the cord into the seam of the rubber foam.

23. Clip the moon on the back of the larger stone. Set the mountains on the larger stone near the square opening.

24. Add polished river rock around the copper tube opening on the smaller square stone. Do not cover the copper tube opening—this is where the water flows.

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