Steampunk Plasma Candle

Intro: Steampunk Plasma Candle

I send you greetings from Helvetia, a small country in Europe with the World's Best Chocolates.
People call me "The Chocolatist" and I'm a creativ Steampunk. Visit me on www.thechocolatist.com.

Today I present you a small and simple Steampunk Gadget which I made with my two little boys. It should be possible to finish this project in 60 minutes, depending on the parts you use.

STEP 1: What You Need

First a short list what you need for this project:

- a used disposal camera with flash
- a wooden box or something you can use as a base
- a neon filled bulb. I used a small "Candle-Bulb" because it's the cheapest one
- some copper wire
- some brass screws and nuts
- a power switch

A really great tutorial from Junophor how to prepare the high voltage power supply from a disposal camera you can find here.
So I don't explain this step here.

STEP 2: Prepare the Box and Mount the Bulb

I got my wooden box from a second hand shop. I think it was a box for cigars. The size was perfect.
After you checked the position for your bulb, drill 4 holes into the box and mount some brass screws and nuts to build something like a base for the bulb. Then drill 4 very small holes for the copper wire which you use to mount the bulb on the base. Check the picture to see the details. Don't tie too much with the wire, the glass of the bulb is not too strong...

STEP 3: Mount the Copper Wire in "Steampunk-Look"

To create the typical "Steampunk" copper wires I used 0,8mm copper wire and rolling it up around a pen. Then I soldered the ends to the contacts of the bulb. After that I drilled again 2 small holes into the wooden box to connect the copper wire to the high voltage device in the box.
To save time I used a simple powerswitch for my Plasma Candle. Maybe I will change it later to a brass switch...
For the power I used one 1.5V battery. That's enough for the flackering light in the bulb.

So, that's it. I hope you enjoy this tutorial and sorry for my bad english.

Sincerely yours

"The Chocolatist"

Comments

[Grunambulax]

Did you just solder wire onto the bottom of the bulb? Is there risk of electric shock if someone touches the contacts?

[thechocolatist]

Hi
Because there is no capacitor there is no risk of electric shock. But when you touch the wires, you will feel some prickling... ;-)
Sincerely Dani aka The Chocolatist

[tfrost1980]

So you're from Switzerland?

[Winged Fist]

Chocolatist - What a great looking steampunk candle! I'm glad I came across this, as I've been thinking about doing something like this.

You might want to consider re-classifying this from the "gadget" section to the "steampunk" section, so fellow steampunk enthusiasts here on Instructables will be sure to see it!

And welcome to instructables! I see you are already familiar with the work of Aeon Junophor, so you are inspired by one of the best;-)

[thechocolatist]

Hi
Thanks for your comment and suggestion. I not even realised the section "Steampunk" - so I moved the article to this section.
Soon you will be able to read more about my work - I'm currently working on different Steampunk gadgets.....

[Winged Fist]

Chocolatist – Looking forward to seeing more projects! Maybe you can show us how you made the "Das USB Speichergerät Nummer 1" that you have on your website?;-)

[Aeon Junophor]

Hi Chocolatist

Great work indeed


I love it and the Chocolate made in Suisse too;-))

Let´s meet in the "Rauchersalon"
Cheers Aeon Junophor