I recently took apart an old computer, and from the whole mess, i had about 5 huge ribbon cables.

Of course, i couldn't just leave them there, so i had decided to make use of them.

You only need four things

Enough LED's to fit your end of your cable
Battery Pack
Ribbon cable
and some common sense

if you want, i used a 3v button cell battery to test every LED out as i go.

I want to explain something, as you see here, there is no resistors, i believe the cable i used had some built in, so check around, if you want to be safe, go out and by some 1k ohm resistors

Here's what it looks like after it's done.

Step 1: Gathering Your Components and Tools

What you will need
Tools
Solder iron and solder
Crimps, or you can use your teeth, like i did
Conductive glue(i picked some up at a local hardware store

Components
LED's(i used about 17)
Computer ribbon cable
4.5 Volt battery pack (i used one from salvaged K'nex roller coaster speed booster)

Thats it.
(sorry for that blurry picture, i promise that will be the last one)
(as you see there is unessential items here, forget them, i had to use them to make an external hook up)

Step 2: Insert the LED's to the End Ribbon, and 'split Your Ends'

If your LED's are like mine, positive is the shorter lead, so that's how we are going to label them.

With the cable facing you, positive will be first (if your confused, look at the first picture)
Insert them in,and alternate the position, but not changing the leads(look at the second picture if your confused)
Now keep doing this until you filled the full thing

In the middle of the clip, there is only one prong, skip that one

After you finished, cut the other clip off.
When you look at it, you will see one red wire, and the rest gray. the first one (red) is positive, and the one next to it is negative.
Each one is grouped, one pos. one neg. (look at the third picture if your confused)

Step 3: Group All of Your Wires.

Now, after you finished will your LED's, continue grouping your wires, keeping in mind, negative on the left, positive on the right.

continue doing that, checking each connection using the button cell

after your done, and you checked all your LED's, solder the negatives together, and the positive together

Step 4: Hook Up Your Battery.

Solder your connections to your battery (pack) or what ever you have set up.

now you have a really bright LED torch

you can add the option of a switch, but i didn't