Cheapy Lighter Laser Burner by Kipkay
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LaserLighterThumb2.jpg
Here is the world's first BIC style laser lighter! Butane is outdated. Time to use blue burning lasers!
Watch the video and then build your own!

WARNING: This kind of laser can cause permanent damage to eyesight in less than a second. NEVER look into the beam or reflection of ANY laser including this one


 
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Step 1: What You Need

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1. BIC lighter. (The non-electronic, standard version) You may want to get two in case you crack the first one.
2. Blue Laser diode and mini-housing
3. Mini-driver circuit
4. (2) 1.5V button cell batteries
5. Mini Momentary switch
6. (1) 4 to 4.3 ohm resistor
7. (2) small magnets
8. Assorted wire
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JeanTheDuke says: Feb 21, 2013. 4:23 PM
this is hard
qlocs says: Jan 28, 2013. 3:46 PM
It's funny that the comment about never pointing the laser at someone's face was followed by the beam lighting the cigarette inches away from the smoker's eye. Even the scatter from such a laser can give you "artifacts", little annoying marks on your retina that you will see till you die. Remember the old joke: "Don't look into laser with remaining eye!"
camping crazy says: Dec 1, 2012. 8:07 AM
I love this! I've watched everyone of your videos on you tube and just found out you had an instructables account.
kurlie says: Sep 17, 2012. 3:43 AM
also the wiring diagram is a little unclear. How is the switch attached to the rest of the circut?
kurlie says: Sep 17, 2012. 3:06 AM
Can someone please post a reliable seller for the laser diode needed for this tutorial? Thanks
colehard says: Aug 17, 2011. 6:30 PM
will a Mini Blue Laser 405nm 5mw 8x13mm work
mvtrumpetgeek13 says: Aug 11, 2012. 11:09 PM
no, its gotta be like 150 mW or higher... it doesnt have to be blue either. the wavelength is the color and the mW number is the power. so the higher that is the more power you will have. i made the mistake of buying the 5mW one before i researched it more.
apalma1 says: Jun 17, 2012. 4:52 PM
some people said to use a diode from a old dvd burner laser diode ,but right now i only have CD Reader laser and would like to ask will it work?
dczupik says: Jul 24, 2012. 8:19 PM
nope, wont work. its not the right type
maxpower49 says: Jun 20, 2012. 6:19 PM
I have a question hopefully someone will be able to answer, I bought a board that didn't have an on board switch so my question is where is the best place to install a switch, should I put it on the positive or negative on the battery side or should I install it after the driver board inline with the diode on the postive or negative side. Thanks in advance....
epskoh says: Jun 18, 2012. 7:52 AM
How much would it cost to make one of these?
sparkyuiop says: May 2, 2011. 1:23 PM
Did you focus the diode? Is that a blu-ray laser diode? Where did you get the driver from? What was the total cost?
curious youth says: Mar 3, 2012. 7:08 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5erjj6aS5Ws

watch that.
james1214 says: Feb 8, 2012. 2:17 AM
My 2 cents, for what its worth.

Regarding the parts, I believe Kip was giving ideas where you could procure the parts, if the vendor has changed what they have in stock, it isn't necessarily the responsibility of the author to check up on that. It is your job, as a consumer, to make sure you do business with a reputable company, do some research and be smart. If a company (which other commenters have made abundantly clear) has a reputation for not fulfilling orders.... don't buy from them, they won't be in business much longer if that's how they do things.

Also, I believe "cheapy" was a reference to the lighter being used, not the project as a whole.

All in all, a neat project and a great video.

Greasetattoo says: Feb 7, 2012. 3:20 PM
Is this a scam?
Kinda like the mountain dew that glows?


Hmmmm.....
solomonhorses says: Jan 30, 2012. 10:13 AM
Instructables community Be Warned! I ordered the parts for this laser kit from LaserDIY.com and it was a total scam. I never recieved the goods, I attempted to contact them, and they do not even have a listed phone number for the company, and the credit card company didn't even know how to contact the merchant. I have contacted the BBB, and hopefully not too many more people will be suckered into this classic internet scam. good instructable, though.
dangerD says: Jan 29, 2012. 7:01 PM
Is there a cheaper diode and driver that i could buy?
astchur says: Oct 12, 2011. 6:19 PM
I bought the laser driver in the link provided but its different than the one shown in the pic. Any one have any idea how to hook it up with the new one?
ski539 says: Jan 20, 2012. 8:47 PM
this is a little late. but im having the same problem. i just ordered my parts and they appear to have changed slightly and im not exactly sure how to wire the new on... the diagrams weren't to clear to begin with. has anyone figured it out? any help would be appreciated! itd be a shame to have ordered these parts and not use them.
lizardosanwen says: Oct 18, 2011. 5:18 PM
how can I make this driver circuit
jpoopdog says: May 4, 2011. 12:40 AM
what the hell, the laser and housing alone costs more than $40!

in what universe is that cheap?
mondeluz says: Oct 5, 2011. 8:16 AM
it is cheap in universe where i live called europe
jpoopdog says: Oct 5, 2011. 4:26 PM
i agree, but only because you are European. to me, everything in Europe is super expensive!
mondeluz says: Oct 9, 2011. 2:38 AM
got that right and might i say that it sucks
The nerdling says: May 24, 2011. 9:06 PM
man, use a laser from a disk player
yorniloc says: May 10, 2011. 8:16 PM
Actually that is rather cheap. You also seem to be rather cheap
jpoopdog says: May 11, 2011. 12:52 AM
seriously i do not understand how that is cheap.
yorniloc says: Jun 14, 2011. 2:09 PM
How isnt it cheap? your making a laser lighter. you expected it to be free?
Landon Sullivan says: Jun 14, 2011. 1:12 PM
How is that NOT cheap? I'm out of a job and I'm willing to shell out 40 smacks for something this arbitrary.
jpoopdog says: Jun 14, 2011. 8:16 PM
i remember when i had a job, and shortly after i quit, i still did not respect my money enough to not be wasteful with it, and properly conserve it. once i had run out, i did, as i am now!

$40 is not cheap consideing it costs $15 for a 500mw green laser diode or $22 for a blue diode( pointer), and $8 for a colimating lense that can be used to invert the beam so that it is useless for anything other than a flash light beyond 5 cm of the lense.

i do not consider it to be cheap.
keep in mind that the majority of people who are interested in burning lasers for fun, are ages around 12-16, and im certain few of them have bank accounts ,let alone enough money to buy the things required for this instructable, nor parents willing to use their credit cards to buy things for them online. take in these factors, and the amount of money it costs, i think Ive made my point.

though from the perspective of someone who has an income of over $200 per week, and as i stated before (i) , do not value money as much as someone whose only source of money is their $10 weekly allowance, this would be worth wile paying for.


also, yorniloc, i would actually expect it to be free, or near free.
mrxavia says: Sep 16, 2011. 3:00 AM
I think $40 is fairly cheap for this, its 2011 and $40 isn't much anymore, well at least not where I live, but then again the UK is an expensive place to live!

But are you serious that only a few 12-16 year old's have a bank account?
I thought pretty much all 12 year old's had a bank account in the western world?

jpoopdog says: Sep 16, 2011. 3:41 AM
Im in australia,


few 12-16 year olds know how to link their bank account with their paypal. many of my friends (17yo) , still ask me to buy stuff online for them, because they dont know how to, or think they are taking a risk, linking their paypal to their bank account.
if not that, they ask me to move some of their money, into my bank account, then into my paypal, and then into theires. i dont mind though because they give me a few bucks for doing it, though i am immediately giving them money in my paypal before thiers gets into my paypal, since it takes 4 days on average to get in there.

And i completely agree, the UK is real expensive, from what i know, you buy the same things there for 1 pound, as you do for $1 here in australia, same thing with the euro, and this is from personal experience.
$40 there is what, 25GBP?
if it were $25 i would gladly pay for it, but alas it is not :(
mrxavia says: Sep 16, 2011. 4:32 AM
$40 usd is about £25, so in the grand scheme of things not much..
London is very expensive...

When I was 12 there was no Internet, but I thought most kids nowadays have debit cards anyway...
jpoopdog says: Sep 16, 2011. 5:33 AM
alas, debit cards will only go so far. debit cards will only work on paypal if the recipient of the money has a bank account linked to that paypal account, because the money is directly transfered.
Ironically, there are MANY people out there quite a few who sell things, that dont have their paypal linked to their bank, either because they dont need to, or dont want identity theives to clean out their bank if they hack the paypal account.
In which case, like me, when they want to put money into the bank, they move it to a second account which is linked.

Its a shame you cant go and buy paypal debit cards ey!

Once again though, i am in australia, i dont know what goes around in that twisted fun fair known as america!
mrxavia says: Sep 16, 2011. 6:15 AM
I have no idea what happens in America either, and the few stories I've had told me by expats in America are not good..

I prefer to pay by credit card anyway over Paypal unless its a tiny amount.
jpoopdog says: Sep 16, 2011. 6:26 PM
no arguments here!
ALogan97 says: Aug 15, 2011. 2:52 PM
Just use a diode from a broken/old dvd burner...
weswert says: Jul 11, 2011. 4:18 PM
wow that is very cheap...just wondering but where could you find a deal like that?
jpoopdog says: Jul 11, 2011. 6:38 PM
this for instance once the housing is removed, is a 250mw laser, though the beam is red and weak, it burns all the same
http://www.dinodirect.com/infrared-laser-module-250mw-808nm-currency-AUD.html?d=58585804
jpoopdog says: Jul 11, 2011. 4:31 PM
http://www.dinodirect.com/?d=58585804

and occasionally on ebay
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