The Sol Rod (A torch for the modern steampunk)

So I was taking the three hour drive back from my girlfriend's house when I got the idea for the Sol Rod. I had this little green glass bottle in the car that I didn't know what to do with, and it seemed too nice and shiny to just throw it away. So after mulling it over on the road, an old leftover idea I've had an idea in my head collided into my current thoughts- and I sped home to start up the new project.

After giving up on the original green bottle, learning how to solder, and finishing two prototypes- I present to you, the Sol Rod.

P.S- This is my first instructable, if anything's confusing or whatnot, comment on it! I could use some pointers.

Step 1 What you're gonna need...

The body-

- A 3/4th diameter copper pipe (The length is of personal preference- I just used what was on hand)
- A 3/4th Female adapter
- A 3/4th Copper cap

The electrics-

- A Ultraviolet LED
- A 470ohm resistor
- A A23 Battery (They're usually used in cameras and garage remotes- if you can't find any in the battery section of your Target/CVS/Whatever, look in the photo section.)
- Spools of electrical wire (Red and Black are helpful)
- A switch (Radioshack calls it a SPST Mini Toggle)
- Electrical tape
- A dollar store door alarm (To be torn apart for parts)

The lightbulb-

- A small glass bottle
- A bottle of Tonic Water

Tools-

- A hot glue gun
- Power drill (I don't know what kind of drill bit I used- the wording is etched out :()
- A Soldering Iron
- Solder
- Wire cutters
- Wire strippers
- A Propane tank (With a torch attachment)
- Plumber's solder
- Flux
- Hammer
- Nail
- Sandpaper

The odds and ends-

- Your favorite epoxy (I use Gorilla glue myself)
- An Altoids Smalls tin
- Legos (Yes, Legos. specifically a flat 2x6 piece and two 1x2 pieces. The battery holder step will clear this up.)
- About 4 hours worth of free time.

Comments

[anbu94]

finally finished my version

[anbu94]

i think this is pretty cool and im going to make one tomorrow with some slight changes. im going to cut a hole in the pipe and in the back of the tin box and have the wire go through that. the the tin box mounts ontop of that hole, that gets rid of the exposed wires and the tape which makes it look less steamy.

[Oliveman]

Cool! Glad to see somebody using my instructable. Post a link to some pictures when you're done, won't ya? ^^

[anbu94]

yea for sure, i would be happy too ^_^

[alumcrafter32]

Wouldn't club soda work as well?

[Oliveman]

Unless club soda has Quinine in it, I don't think so.

[cdousley]

I think you should go incandescent for this since it is steampunk but i love this project

[Culturespy]

Does the size of the jar/amount of tonic seem to make a noticeable difference in how bright your light is?

Just curious as I'm working on something vaguely similar.

[Oliveman]

Filling up a smaller bottle to the brim seems to get the best results for me. I think it all has to do with how much power you put behind the LED though.

[PKM]

 

P.S- This is my first instructable, if anything's confusing or whatnot, comment on it!

OK- no, nothing is confusing, this is an excellently written Instructable. My two minor suggestions would be:

1- you don't need to number your steps within the "steps" of the Instructable. Having Step 4 contain steps nine, ten and eleven is a little odd, though you've clearly grasped how each step of the 'ible should be a section of making the thing, so that's only a stylistic suggestion.

2- beware of holding up items for photography in front of a cluttered background. Your camera sees the contrast in the background and tends to focus on the far end of the room, not the thing you are holding up (the first images for steps 3 and 5 show this up). Try to hold things up on in front of a neutral background (white wall?) or photograph them on the tabletop.

Otherwise, great work, and if you keep up this standard I'm sure you'll find your Instructables being featured before long.

[Oliveman]

Cool, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks man. ^^

[spacepirate04]

I like the 2.0 with the smaller bottle but they look good.