Beats a 40 dollar wand!

[Hexnan]

Its dark, rainy, and real windy. I was really wanting to do some yard work but the weather isnt going to let me. My wife had mentioned that my 4y/o wanted a little light up wand from the Harry Potter movies.

I looked it over in the garage dumbfounded that it was 40$ w/o shipping, when out of the tree close to my house fell what would soon save me a little cash....a stick.

Out came the gardening sheers to trim the stick up a bit, then i sized up a LED I had lying around from a previous project and drilled a hole in the top of the soon to be wand. I crammed the LED into the aforementioned hole and broke out the dremel. Next i made wire channels down the edge of the stick for a pair of stripped cat5 cables. I then soldered the bare wires to the LED and ran the wire down the length if the stick with about 2 inches overhang for my new battery pack. Grabbed 2 1.5v watch batteries and carefully taped then together and touched the wires to the batteries! TADA! my very own magic wand.

Ill update the pics if anyone cares to see it finished. These pics are of what I have done, now I just want to grab a momentary switch of some sort and attach it to the bottom.

enjoy

http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e222/dg7391/Wand/?sc=1&multi=5&addtype=local&media=image

 

[Son1990]

Hahaha I hate to admit it but I love HP. Iv read all the books and would love to see this done cleanly! Subscribed.

 

[grumperfish]

Not a Harry Potter fan, but this is very cool. I think a blue led would look more 'magical'

 

[Dukeman]

I definitely want to see it lit up!

 

[ghettocomp]

That looks like fun. great job! light it up!!

 

[damarble]

Awesome dude! Way to save $40! Do the Harry Potter wands look like sticks though?

 

[Flip-Mode]

You do understand that if you little girl ever becomes a stand up comedian shes going to have a "When I was growing up my day was so cheap..." bit?
J/K
Great job.

P.S
I don't think you are cheap.

 

[Hexnan]

Awesome dude! Way to save $40! Do the Harry Potter wands look like sticks though?

They look just like a little stick, maybe a bit more pointed than the one I used but a stick nonetheless.

Right now my son loves the wand Ill throw some pics up of it lit after I get dinner cooked.

I still want to paint it brown to hide the copper wire and the solder i used to keep the wire in place or perhaps some wood putty. Ill finish it up here in a bit.

I would of tried red but im not sure what voltage the run at ( somewhere between 9v and 3v ) Mostly this is just stuff I had lying around the house so it will be green unless I run across some blue LED's.

 

[Hexnan]

OK here's the quick finish on it http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e222/dg7391/Wand/

I wanted to show it lit up so i taped it up a bit. Still want a switch on it which may take a bit more tinkering and clean it up some more with putty and paint.

I googled around a bit and seen some different types of wands, theres apparently a huge selection of them....I may have to get to a lathe and see if I can one up myself.

 

[princeofdarknes]

oh, what you should do instead of an accual switch, you should put a sensor so when its held it lights up, and only when its held, either pressure or skin contact kinda thing, that'd be awsome

 

[twoeyes]

oh, what you should do instead of an accual switch, you should put a sensor so when its held it lights up, and only when its held, either pressure or skin contact kinda thing, that'd be awsome

But a bit on the complicated side eh?

Nice job btw

 

[Hexnan]

I was thinking maybe a mercury switch would work, if the wand was held upright the light would be on, while at rest it would go off

 

[princeofdarknes]

But a bit on the complicated side eh?

Nice job btw

Maybe, but what's to complicated for your child it'll be like wow that's so cool priceless

 

[sunrunner20]

FET+2wires= hand activated switch. Lemmie find exact schematics.
and a Hg switch is a big no no! won't do what you want and is poisonous.

 

[Hexnan]

He loves the thing to death, he slept with it for the last 2 days and wont play with anything else.

Whats this FET??

 

[sunrunner20]

http://www.fairchildsemi.com/pf/ND/NDS351AN.html
is a FET (Field effect transistor)

Search around the internet for "touch switches" and you'll come up with a circuit you can use.

 

[ThePCGuy]

Or a simple paper sensor (light sensor) from a copier would work too . hand covers light, = switch on :-D.

- Jim

 

[Electron Chaser]

Nice Job there dad. Stay away from the mercury switches though. Mercury filled switches and kids do not mix well at all. Though you could look at a magnetic reed switch instead.

 

[n0aH]

Im not a Big HP fan either but that looks awsome!

 

[Shoeby]

LOL that is pretty awesome. and you can put that 40 bucks to good O/C'ing use. =D