LED Gloves : 18 Steps (with Pictures)

Before i start with this LED instructable you should know that these gloves are a part of my RedBullGuard project, a suit, made out of Red Bull Cola cans. Perhaps you have seen it already, if not, have a look here:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Can-Suit/

In that CAN SUIT instructable i descriebed how to handle with cans, how to cut them and how to connect them. I used the same materials and procedures in this GLOVES instructable so i won`t describe it very detailed again. If you want to have more information about working with cans, try to find them there, or ask me.

In this GLOVES instructable i will focus more on the way i tryed to insert the LEDs in the gloves.

Step 1: Can Gloves

At first i bought some cut-resistant gloves in the building center. They are flexible but also relative robust and they hold the shape even though you connect the can pieces, the led-holder and the insulated cables with them.

The size of the gloves should be larger than your normal size. Otherwise you will have problems by taking the gloves off after they are laminated with the cans.

I cutted some cans and connected the pieces with the gloves. As you can see on the image i copyed the number of human joints with the can pieces so the mobility of the fingers is not limited.
My first idea was to connect the bulb sockets (step3/nr.:6) with the can piece at the front of the glove but it did not work so i removed the pieces at the front and choosed another way.

Step 2: Inner Surface of the Can Gloves

Here you can see how i connected the cans with the gloves.

For the fingers i used grommets to build a "can-ring". After that i cutted a small hole to the glove and used a blind rivet that is putted to the core of the grommet and the hole in the glove. On the inside of the glove i fixed the blind rivet with a flat washer. At the other parts of the hand i din`t use blind rivets. Grommets are satisfactory to connect the gloves with the can-pieces.

The big holes you can see at the fingertips are necessary to connect the socket with the glove (step 10).

Step 3: Tools/materials

1: soldering gun
2: insulated pliers
3: solder
4: insulating tape
5: battery holder ( to connect 2 x 1.5V AAA batteries in series ---> we need operating voltage of 3.0V)
6: old bulb socket
7: resistors
8: LEDs:

The red LED (2.0V) needs a series resistor! Therefore use ohm`s law!

R=U/I ---> R=3.0V-2.0V/30mA=33ohm ( i choosed the next bigger one i could find ---> 47ohm)

After using ohm`s law for the blue LED you will find out that there is no resistor necessary. But you shouldn`t run LED`s without a resistor so i used the smallest i could find and connected each blue led with a 10ohm resistor.

9: M3 bolts with nuts and flat washer.
10: grommets (5mm) and blind rivets with a smaller diameter.
11: tinplate
12. thin cables
13: led holder

Step 4: Bulb Socket

This image shows 2 very old bulb sockets.

The right one still has a ceramic cap. I took 10 of them, removed the ceramic caps and drilled two holes for M3 bolts to the sides.
On the left you see a tinplate ring. Sold this ring from the inside to the front of the socket where the ceramic cap was.

Step 5: Bulb Socket

After solding it should look like that. The quality of the picture is not the best but i think you see how it can be done.

Step 6:

The brass look of the sockets didnt really fit to the rest of the gloves so i decided to give them a chrom look.

Step 7: Drilling the Tin Plate

Here you can see the piece that connects the sockets with the gloves. I used tin plate.

The dimensions of each piece are different depending on the size of the fingers so you
have to adapt them to your needs.

With the 3mm holes you connect this piece to the sockets. The holes for grommets will
help you to connect it with the gloves.

And yes, there is a mistake in this picture... NEVER use gloves while using a drill
machine!!!!

Step 8: Soldering the Resistor

After you have prepared the sockets you can start soldering and connecting the
cables, resistors and LED`s. Before that, you should make a plan where you want to place the batteries for the LED`s otherwise the length of the cables could be to short.
The white plastic cap behind the head of the led is part of the led holder i bought
(step3/nr.13). We will need it in the next step.

Step 9: LED-holder

This step shows one preparated socket.
The LED-holder (step 3/nr: 13) is moved from the front of the socket through the tin plate ring (step4). On the inside the holder is fixed with a nut bolt. The LED is pushed from the inside to the LED holder and the white plastic cap (step8) ensures a safe connection between the holder and the LED.

Step 10: Connecting the Holder With the Glove

Here you can see how to connect the prepared socket with the glove.

Put a grommet through the hole in the tin plate and a small hole in the glove. Connect it with a special rail for grommets. Now you understand whatfore the holes in the fingertips are (step2). You need it to get with the rail to the inside of the glove. Be careful with the cables and the LED. All these things are lying very close to each other and can be damaged.

Step 11: Switch

If you want your LED`s not to run continuous you will need a switch. I decided for a selfmade "contact-switch". At first i connected all (+) cables and all (-) cables of the LED`s so they were parallel to each other. Now i had two cables, one (+) and one (-). One of these cables can be connected with the battery. The other cable (doesn`t matter if +/-) is connected with a bolt in the socket of one finger (doesn`t matter which finger you choose). The bolt is connected with the tin plate which conducts the current. The finger that is lying next to this finger should be treated the same way. Now connect the cable of the second finger with the battery. If you now put these two fingers together at the places where the tinplate and bolts are fastend, the LED`s should glow.This picture shows an ear that can be used to connect the cables with the bolts.

Step 12: Switch

The rail to connect the cable with the ear.

Step 13: Switch

Bad quality picture but i hope you see where to put the bolts for the ears!

Step 14: Inner Surface of the LED-glove

After a few hours of work it should look like that from the inner surface.

Step 15: Connecting With the Batteries

I decided to place the batteries at the shoulder-component. Therefore i prepared a cable long enough to lay it through the arm-component. The one end of the cable has connectors that fit to the connectors i used for the gloves. That makes it easy to change
the "clothes".