Saber Cue

In this instructable I am going to show how to make a rechargeable battery operated pool cue that lights up, glows, and also has a laser pointer inside of it to help aim.

https:youtu.be/giUO06IR9uc

1. Exotic hardwoods
2. Epoxy
3. Leds
4.Glow powder
5. Battery
6. Laser
7. Cue jointer
8. Ferrule
9. Switch
10. Wire

Your going to need a picture or idea of how the cue is designed. With this one I wanted it to have strips down the middle that lit up. Instead of just strips I wanted something more futuristic looking so added a bend in them. I then had the idea of having it glow the opposite color when the leds are powered off.

The middle strips of wood are made of hickory.
Cut 8 strips that are 1/8" by 3/4" by 29".
The rest of the butt is made of African blackwood, ziricote, and cocobolo.
Cut 4 strips Blackwood and ziricote 29" by 1" by 1". I only had so much of this wood so I cut my 1" pieces in half diagonally.
Cut 4 pieces cocobolo 2" by 1/2" by 1/2".

Starting from the middle and working outwards glue woods together around LEDs in the chosen design.

Be sure to clamp all woods together to get a nice tight smooth finish.

At the butt of the cue solder all the positive leads of LEDs together and all negatives together. The positives then straight to the battery. The negatives of the LEDs go to one end of the switch, and other switch end to the negative of battery.

For the shaft I used an old hockey stick. Cut it down the middle, made a 1/8" groove on each half with table saw, and glued back together. The grooves are for wiring in the laser. My lathe wasn't big enough to turn this so I made an extension from angle iron that worked quite well.

Drill hole 1/4" wide and 2" deep in tip of cue. At the other end of the shaft, drill hole 1/2" by 1". Drill hole 1/8" through ferrule. Drill hole 1/8" through cue jointer. Run 2 wires through the shaft and connect to laser at the tip. Insert laser into the tip and cover with ferrule.

At the other end of the shaft, run one of the wires through cue jointer with tip of wire just extended past metal and glue around the wire. Solder the other wire to the threads of the jointer. Do the same thing with the butt of the cue except this part of the cue jointer with used as the female end. When the shaft and butt are screwed together, the connection is made with the wire in the middle of the cue jointer being the negative, and the cue jointer itself being the positive. This way the cue can be broken down for carrying convenience.

The battery will be stored at the butt of the cue. First tape it to hold it's position. I then wrapped it with self adhering silicone tape.

Mix glow powder with epoxy and fill in the strips on each side allowing each side to cure before doing the next. I used blue powder with green led on one side, green powder with blue led on the opposite side, and mixed blue, green, and purple powder with red LEDs on the other two sides.