Old Tyme Glass Lights...

I inadvertently stumbled on this while making a Newton's Cradle.

LEDs fastened to marbles create wonderful illumination...

Step 1 Answers and Challenge

1: I dislike blue LED simply for the fact that they hurt my eyes at night.

2: I use them because I have a surplus of 200 of these demon lights and I do not want to waste something that I like on an experiment. OH... and they tend to photograph really well.

3: You cannot drill a hole deep enough into a glass marble to accept an LED! They always crack at less than 1/8 of an inch

4: the interface between the cut LED and Ground Glass is optically good and gives excellent light transfer to the Marble.

5: The Glass marble is a lens which diffuses the light.

6 This is an LED modification and is used wherever you would use a standard LED. You will connect it as you would any other LED.


CHALLENGE!!!

So certain I am that you cannot drill a hole deep enough into a glass marble to accept a 5mm LED... that I will gift the first person that can show me a picture of 2 working drilled glass marble LEDs, drilled using supplies available to a regular person at a minimal cost... a 1 year PRO membership to Instructables ( if that is acceptable to the overseers of this excellent site)

Comments

[nope_unintended]

@Random, Thanks for turning this into a challenge. I'm somewhat new here, but have a few ibiles coming soon. However, I couldn't help rising to the challenge, so this is my grand entrance. Here are some pics, as requested, of LEDs in 2 marbles I "drilled". So you know, I don't think drilling ever would work...but grinding will sometimes give you better results, if you're patient (extremely patient) -- I just used my dremel with a round grinding head and some water. Patiently start your hole, holding the marble in your fingers the whole time. Two reasons -1) I think that holding it with a vise or other mechanical means might place too rigid a frame on it. When you hold it, there's a LOT of vibration, so let your fingers absorb some of it. And 2) when you can feel the heat through all that glass, you KNOW it's time to let it cool a bit. I'd never tried this before, but I work with a lot of different materials all the time, and glass is one of my favorites. I love working around corners, especially to accomplish a near-impossible seeming task. Here's a link, too, to the last moments of my very first attempt to drill a marble. http://youtu.be/QmATMHFX8kM I figured "wth"..may as well go all the way. Both marbles have held up now for 5 days, and I've even dropped one of them twice from a few inches onto a glass table and they're both intact. I used some marbles left from my childhood...the ones with the twisty colored designs through the middle, and started at the tip of one, drilling straight through the design. I did crack the second one, however, and after success on my 3rd one, tried a few much larger, completely clear marbles, and cracked every single one of them, so I'm sure that smaller ones will give you a much better chance of success. The rest of my "techniques"... not so much...I pretty much went on determination and intuition, so I'm sure there's room for clarification and improvement... but hey, it worked!! I don't mess around with LEDs much, so I just popped the bottom off of a solar light for these pics. One more thing - this takes quite a while to do. I have a cheap dremel, and can only get about 20 minutes or so of use before having to recharge, so these two marbles took me 3 days to do, between other things (total work time was probably around 3.5 hours) Good Luck, and Peace out. PS- I see that you've awarded the prize already to the "best answer"...I hope this qualifies to settle your challenge and puts me into the elite rank of a pro member, but either way...I got 'er done.

[Random_Canadian]

Excellent Work!!! Seriously!

PM me for your reward.

[nope_unintended]

meant to say also that the one that appears brighter was not drilled completely through. Oh, and for cooling, I would just blow on it a couple of times and just dipped it into the water..probably around once every minute or two, and when it started getting hot

[boondocker]

You're just not going to drill into a glass marble. If you look at the manufacturing process, it's the best tempered glass around. The outside of the glass cools before the inside, creating a hard shell, and when the inside cools it contracts against that shell creating crazy high tension. It will shatter almost every time. For fun, look up Prince Rupert's Drops for a more dramatic version of the forces at play.

[Random_Canadian]

Best answer yet. PM me for your reward...

[Josehf Murchison]

When you drilled the glass ball was it in a vice and did you cool the glass as you drilled?
In a vice the pressure on the glass ball will increase at two focal points as it heats up from the drilling.
I am going to try to drill a glass ball and see what happens.

[Random_Canadian]

I lightly clamped it between 2 pieces of soft wood. I tried to spread the pressure out evenly. The spruce wood wrapped around the glass slightly.

I drilled one about a 16 of an inch deep without it cracking then let it cool for a couple of hours. It seemed fine but the next morning it too cracked exactly the same as the ones pictured.

Good luck and keep me posted on your progress.

[fsfshsyhh]

Can you help me please? i want to have LED lamps in serial

power supply 3V
forward voltage 3.2-3.4
20mA

How many leds can i light up with 3V? Do i need a resistor for that, and how many OHM? Im a really beginner and i need help.

[cobourgdave]

You may find that diamond drill bits available at Home Hardware are just what you need. I used three sizes when cutting through 3/8" tile and 1/2" marble. The smallest I had was 10mm, but they may have smaller available. The hole is very smooth, no cracking or chipping. It is hollow so you will have to snap off the centre.

[shorepatrol]

When I was a machinist we had a project that req'd. drilling into glass, after many failures we contacted the drill manufacturer and were told, although it is not a common practice to drill the glass under water. What we found was that the use of a small (please use a quality HSS bit not some hardware store junk) 1/64" bit running around 3000 rpm. under water did actually work. We went progressively larger to 5/16.Also be aware that this was a large shop with professional equip. and very skilled people.The glass we drilled into was flat so a good idea to use a center drill and as we all know power tools and water don't. mix.Good Luck

[Random_Canadian]

I regularly use a roto-zip tile cutting bit for drilling into glass. I drill bottles and plate glass all the time with very few failures.

I have tried both fast and slow speeds in addition to numerous types of bits and techniques for drilling marbles but there seems to be an internal stress that fractures the glass marbles in the exact same manner every time.

I have tried many different methods and bits with the same result every time.

[shorepatrol]

Hey, I spoke with some other retired machinists and one suggested using oil as the submersible medium another said to anneal them similar to"needs-more-to-do" said. I believe that the internal stresses may cause them to crack due to the vibrations caused by the drill hence the medium. My father reminded me that he used to hunt squirrels with marbles and they would boil the marbles then drop them into cold water to cause them to fracture,then (they used slingshots) use them he said it was much more deadly.Have you tried to heat them and poke a hole in them? It sounds like fun if nothing else. I will try it and report back. Here's to more fun.

[needs_more_to_do]

Have you tried everything yet? Im being serious though.
Marbles of larger and smaller diameters? Marbles by other manufacturers? Using water like shorepatroll suggested? Using a drill press (if you aren't already)? Torching the marbles enough to melt them then cooling them over a really long time period (hours maybe?)

I dont recognize your picture as a glass cutting bit. maybe try this kind: http://www.xenostone.com/xenostone_store/images/uploads/ceramic-glass-bit-set.png

But you've got it working the way it is so do yo thang

[Random_Canadian]

I think that the time consuming methods like slow cooling may defeat the purpose for most but give it a try and report back to see if it works...

I am sure there is still more methods to try.

For regular glass, as I said the tile cutting bit works more reliably for me than any of the glass bits that I have tried . It also has the added benefit of being able to enlarge a hole as needed.

I have repeatably been able to put 1/2 inch holes into glass bottles without failure with this bit. I am just shy of 20 bottles in a row without fracture.

[tmuck]

by the way, just wanted to let you know that this idea inspired a huge project for me. thanks for taking a way a large chunk of my life and giving me a million ideas for art projects :)

[Random_Canadian]

happy to be of assistance...

[tmuck]

so about how big were these marbles? an inch or two?

[Random_Canadian]

the blue ones were about a half inch and the ones I used in the Newton's Cradle were an inch.

[pdionne]

Why just glue the led to the marble? I would think you could use a glass drill and place the majority of the led inside the marble. Wouldn't that also work and give off a more equal amount of light almost all the way around the marble?

This also got me thinking about using an LED with plexiglass...where I drill a hole in the side of the plexiglass and then mount the LED in the hole. Has anyone ever tried that? I need to make a panel that will light up so the people operating it at night could see what they are doing without emitting too much light to the surrounding area. The project is a manually fired fireworks display unit.

[ripit]

i've done it a few times and the best light transfer has been to go thru the edge of plex at least in my exp.great for making signs an such! will make every scratch in the plexi glow bright.

[Random_Canadian]

I have added a new step 1 to this instructable which may be of interest to you.

There are many excellent projects which illustrate the side lighting of Plexiglas. you typically do not have to drill the plastic. You just need a light source that clamps to the edge of the plastic so that the plastic is the only outlet for the light.

try http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Reading-Pad-1/


There are several signs available that are for writing on with non-permanent markers as well as ones that are etched so that the etched parts glow brighter than the background.

[The Dalai Farmer]

I would just like to say that I know why you don't like the blue lights because you told me in the FIRST SENTENCE you wrote. Do people always just look at the pictures and not read the captions?

[electfire]

oh...ah... pretty! I have a similar idea - after I found some nice flat green marbles... I had two ideas when I saw these cool marbles... one was to make myself a set of runes...and then with the rest use as indicator lights in my steampunk stuff.... - anyways it looks like you beat me to posting a 'ible on it! - I did notice though in my testing of my marbles, that the LEDs seem to not light them up evenly unless the LEDs were farther from the marble.... - maybe yours light evenly do to their spherical shape... I will have to do some testing it seems!

[Random_Canadian]

You need a good light interface. Try using a flat tipped LED and a drop of mineral oil to test the lighting effect. The oil goes between the tip of the led and the marble. A rounded tip will scatter the light too much.

[tcarney57]

Very nice! I'm with Random_Canadian . . . . . I don't like blue! In particular, I really dislike those cheap blue tarps. Among natural colors they're a real eyesore.

I like what Kasm279 pointed out about blue light. It reminded me of my mystification every time I see a car with those bright blueish headlights. When I took physics, I learned that blue light (shorter wavelength) scatters more by particles (like fog droplets) than longer wavelength light such as yellow. That's why the sky is blue and the sun is yellowish: its blue light is scattered by atmospheric particles (filtering a lot of it out) and leaving the remaining light yellowish. The effect is more pronounced when the sun is lower in the sky because sunlight passes through more atmosphere. The scatter effect is also why foglights have always been yellow--it punches through the fog much better than any other color (except, I guess, red). Blue light doesn't light up the road, it lights up the fog! Sooooo . . . . aren't the blue headlights just a sales gimmick and there's a placebo effect on people who swear by them???

Oh, that was kind of a rant. Sorry. Peace to those offended. Again, nice project.

Todd

[Random_Canadian]

Thanks! And I do so enjoy a good rant! :-)

[nerd12]

i agree with most comments. drilling a hole in the marble might cost you a few marbles but it will look a lot better. also much stronger.

Ps why do you hate the blue leds? the only bad ones are green, red and yellow.

[Random_Canadian]

I have added a new step 1 to this instructable which may be of interest to you.

[FrozenIce]

so wat r the... uhh.. differences or uses and like... well what is this certain glue, and can a substitute be used?

[a2e]

And in Mexico you can find it by the brand "Kola Loka" with the slogan "¡Pega de locura!" Ha ha!
C'mon man. put some effort into it. It is a very common adhesive.

[Random_Canadian]

This is standard super glue or Krazy glue if you prefer. You need a thin fast acting adhesive to fill the scratches made by the cutting and grinding.

[Kelticpaddler]

In the UK it is called "Superglue"

[waynesl]

The generic name for the adhesive used here is "cyanoacrylate," often abbreviated to "CA." It is a very useful but often misunderstood product. The reaction by which it hardens is facilitated by moisture (water vapor in the air around the joint) and mechanical pressure, or by a catalyzing agent known as "kicker" which can be bought from the makers of the adhesives.
There are many brands selling cyanoacrylates, but the Superglue Corp. sells a wonderful line of Zap products http://http://www.supergluecorp.com/zap-brand-products to both the hobby and industrial communities, and practically owns the market.
As a guy who has used this stuff for over 40 years, I take my hat off to Random_Canadian for showing me that CA could adhere to ground glass.

[ripit]

may i ask? why the hatred of blue ==þ< s? i almost freaked the first time i seen a real blue led.

[Random_Canadian]

I too liked the blue initially but as I mentioned previously they hurt my eyes at night...

[cheesphht]

The blue light does hurt your eyes and also I think recently, someone said that they inhibit sleep - as all lcd screens do.

[ProCactus]

Yes, Blue will keep your brain ticking

[Kasm279]

Blue light hurts your eyes because it is much more energetic than red or green light. Red is on the opposite end of the spectrum with green somewhere in the middle.

[donsgal]

ok, chalk this up to my adult onselt ADHD, is it just me or is there nothing about a battery here?

[Random_Canadian]

In the simplest of terms, this is just an LED modification. You use this in any circuit that is designed for LEDs. for example check out my lighted Newton's Cradle instructable

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lighted-Newtons-Cradle/