Project Information
I had an idea, and the only way to get it out of my head was to do it. I'm both happy and disappointed with this. It looked better on paper than it does as a finished piece, though I did stick to my planned dimensions and proportions. And it doesn't put out as much light as I had hoped. I'll probably try something similar again, with a few changes.
I purchased 12" x 3 and 1/4" of UMHW-PE rod for the bulb and used 3 and 1/4" of it for this.. It is some weird stuff to work with. Cut for about 30 seconds, stop and clean it off so you can see where you're cutting, over and over.
I didn't hollow it, it has a 1" hole drilled. The thickness doesn't seem to effect light passing through it, but a clean cut does. Sanding and scraping makes it cloudy and darken a little. Where the side rounds into the top I have some of that. I might put it back in the chuck and do some more there, but oddly, the forstner bit I bored it out with doesn't effect the light. Go figure.
I had planned on using a battery box that had a built in switch. The wires broke off inside the box when I was wiring it, and it's superglued together. Plan B meant that I had to cut out some of the inside of the base , and this was after paint and finish.
Basswood. 17" tall x 5" wide at base. Ten 5mm clear LED's and a 9v battery with a push button ON/OFF switch.
Acrylic paints and rattle can spray lacquer.
As usual, my photography sucks. I couldn't get a pic of it in the dark. All I got was white dot on a black background.
I purchased 12" x 3 and 1/4" of UMHW-PE rod for the bulb and used 3 and 1/4" of it for this.. It is some weird stuff to work with. Cut for about 30 seconds, stop and clean it off so you can see where you're cutting, over and over.
I didn't hollow it, it has a 1" hole drilled. The thickness doesn't seem to effect light passing through it, but a clean cut does. Sanding and scraping makes it cloudy and darken a little. Where the side rounds into the top I have some of that. I might put it back in the chuck and do some more there, but oddly, the forstner bit I bored it out with doesn't effect the light. Go figure.
I had planned on using a battery box that had a built in switch. The wires broke off inside the box when I was wiring it, and it's superglued together. Plan B meant that I had to cut out some of the inside of the base , and this was after paint and finish.
Basswood. 17" tall x 5" wide at base. Ten 5mm clear LED's and a 9v battery with a push button ON/OFF switch.
Acrylic paints and rattle can spray lacquer.
As usual, my photography sucks. I couldn't get a pic of it in the dark. All I got was white dot on a black background.