Down and Dirty Halloween Prop Cane

This is a quick down and dirty How-To.

I needed a cane for my Halloween costume this year, so - I made it myself.

Sorry for any Miss-spellings, I think I corrected them all now.

I'm a maker Bee not a spelling Bee. - HA!

I took the battery springs and Switch from an old VCR remote. The switch was 3 position so I decided to go with a 2 different colors for the LEDs.OFF - WHITE - BLUE.

Solder a wire lead to each spring. The Positive lead goes to the common on the switch, then one output is left open for OFF, the second output is connected to the Anode of the white LEDs and the Thrid output is connected to the Anode of the Blue LEDs. The Negative spring is then connected to the Cathode of all the LEDs.

I purchased a 3/4" dowel rod from a local hardware store.

Bore a 7/16" hole down the center of the dowel. Be sure to go deep enough to accommodate 2 "AAA" batteries and the Battery Plug. Keep in mind you need enough spring to keep everything tight so don't go too deep. I used a 7/16 spade bit to do this.

After drilling the hole, carefully cut a slit on a table saw down the center line of the dowel just past the base of the battery bored hole,and only about 1/4" deep. NOTE: doing this might be tricky for those not skilled on a table saw so use extreme caution.

Down load the STL files here:

http://repables.com/r/637

I printed the Battery cover and the battery plug with black PLA. The Crystal was printed in glow in the dark PLA.

Insert the bottom (negative) battery spring, the 2 "AAA" batteries and then the top (positive) Battery spring.

I painted my rod black first, then used blue painters tape to wrap a spiral. Then painted it white.

Stuff the wires into the slit along with the switch. Note you may need to make the notch a bit wider depending on the switch. You can do this carefully with a hobby knife.

Also, use hot-melt glue and glue the LEDs into the end of the battery plug.

Slide the sleeve over the dowel to hold it all into place. You might need to enlarge the notch to fit your switch.

After the sleeve goes on, there should be about 1/2" to 3/4" of dowel and the battery plug sticking out the end of the sleeve. The Crystal should slide over the LEDs and on to the Dowel for a snug fit.

If it is too loose, drill a hole in the side of the Crystal and use a #4 wood screw to secure it to the Dowel.

The white LED energizes the Glow in the dark filament nicely. No picture of it, sorry about that.