Introduction: Team 20 "Infinity Box"

For this activity you will be creating an infinite box under $100 (US dollars). Through this activity there is a lot of chances that you are able to put your own little touches throughout the project. It might seem like there is a lot of restrictions but there is also a lot of freedom. You are able to have a lot of creativity, you can change some of the dimensions of where you want the LEDs and top mirror, you can even decorate the box anyway you want. There is no limit to your inspiration.

Supplies

The supplies that will be needed for this activity includes:

Note: In the instructable for the process of cutting the wood, we did not use a hand saw. We used a band saw that we had access to. If you do not have access to a band saw that is alright, a hand saw works well or any type of wood saw. If you do not have access to any type of saw you can always check with your local hardware store to see if they will cut the wood to the sizes you need.

Also if you do not have access to wire strippers you can always use your scissors to cut the covering around the actual wires. You just need to make sure that you do not cut the wires.

Step 1: Measuring the Material

For the first step after gathering up all of your materials, you will need to grab your tape measure/ ruler, a pencil, and the 1/2x2x2 inch ply wood. Once you have these materials you are going to want a clear flat surface that you can place the ply wood on. You will then you take your tape measure/ruler place on side on the edge of the plywood to measure the different walls of the box, the battery holder, and the little squares that would be used to hold the two-way mirror.

1.      You will need to measure 2 walls that have the dimensions on 6” (inches) x 7”, another 2 walls that are 6” x 8”, and the final 2 walls will have the dimensions of 7” x 7”. You will need to make sure that you have a total of 6 boxes.

2.      After making all of the measurement for the box, we will need to do a few more for the side compartment that the battery will sit in. For the side compartment you will need a total of 4 pieces. There will need to be 2 piece that will have the measurements of 1.5” x 1.5”, another piece will be 1.5” x 3.75”, and final piece is 1.5” x 2.75”.

3.      The final set of measurements that you will need to make is the ones for holding the two-way mirror. You will have a total of 4 small pieces that will be created. These will just be 1" x 1" because they do not have to be that big. If they are to big then they would be in the way of seeing the illusion.

Step 2: Cutting the Material

Once you have all the dimensions drawn, you will start the cutting process. For this process you will need access to a type of wood saw and you will also need your piece of ply wood that has the dimensions marked. The wood saw can be a hand saw, band saw, or if you do not have access see if your local hardware store will cut the pieces for you. The hand saw might not be the fastest way to cut the wood but it gets the job done. When cutting the wood, you need to make sure that you keep in mind safety. Safety is the most important things. You need to make sure that you are wearing eye protection, your fingers are clear of the blade, you are not wearing lose clothing or have anything that is dangling that could potentially get caught in the saw. [14]

For the actual cutting the ply wood you will place your saw on the dimension line that you have created. Also, when cutting the ply wood you will need to make sure that the saw is also placed on the edge the ply wood, because you can not start a cut that is not on the edge.

Make sure that after cutting each of your piece of wood you know which piece is what.

Step 3: Painting

Once all of the pieces are cut you are going to grab all of the pieces for the walls of the box. You are going to have to decide which side you want to be the inside of the box. When you decide the inside of the box you are going to want to grab your black spray paint. You are going to need to make sure that there is a good layer of paint on the piece of ply wood. When the box is put together the black spray-painted walls will help with the illusion. 

Disclaimer: We do not have a picture of this and our box is not painted because we wanted to see if it really needed to be painted. As we could see when finished that the black walls would make a huge different on the illusion. 

Step 4: Glueing/Nailing the Box Together

After everything is cut and the wall are painted, we are going to start building the box. The first thing that we did was put a little bit of wood glue on the end of one of the 6” x 7” pieces. The glue will go on the side that measures 6” x ½” and then place it on the side that measures 6” on one of the pieces that is 6” x 8”. You will need to let that sit until it is somewhat dry that it will be able to stand up kind of on its own. You will then take one of the 7” x 7” pieces and add a little bit of glue on two of the ends that are 7” x ½”. You will then place that on the place the piece on the 6” x 8” and the 6” x 7”. After you have both of these walls on you will need to add the other 7” x 7” piece on. You will not add the last wall on yet because you will need to attach the battery holder on the wall first.

For the battery holder you will need to take one of the 1.5” x 1.5” add some glue and attach it to the piece that is 1.5” x 2.75”. You will need to do this twice since there is two 1.5” x 1.5” pieces. You will need to add the final piece that is 1.5” x 3.75”.

After everything is glued and somewhat dry you will need to grab your drill and the 3/32” drill bit. You be using the drill to predrill holes that you while put the nail in. This will make it easier for the nail to go in easier. For the walls on the box, you will need to put about a total of 4 screws on the on each wall. Before adding the final wall, you need to attach the battery holder. For the battery holder should be 1” from the base of the final 6” x 7” piece and 1” in from the side of the piece. After adding the battery holder, you while attach the final wall.

The final product from this step there will be one big piece of ply wood left that measures 6” x 8”.

Step 5: Installing Hinges

The hinges were installed towards the top of the box. We predrilled these holes so that the screws wouldn't have to work so hard to go in. This was done on the back panel and the long side of top panel. Make sure that you alternate the screw that you work on so that the hinge is mounted in it's proper position.

Step 6: Installing Crank/Eyelets

The eyelet screws were installed in the same manner that the screws for the hinges were. Make sure that you don't screw them all the way through the board so that the tip is protruding out the other side of the board. Once the eyelet screws are in the wood the screws should positioned so that the holes are facing each other. The crank was mounted on the back panel of the box with two screws, the holes for these screws were predrilled as well. Place the crank so that the rope travels perpendicular to the ground, this allows the entire crank system to operate with less force.

Step 7: Installing the Bottom Mirror

For the mirror on the bottom of the box you will place a piece of the two way mirror film. Even though this is a two-way mirror film it will still produce the same outcome as a regular mirror. For the mirror at the bottom you will need to measure a piece of film that is 4 ¾ x 7 inches. Once you have measured the piece of film you can use scissors to cut the film that will be placed at the bottom of the box. We taped the mirror down at the bottom of the box because the film kept rolling up at the bottom because when receiving the film it comes in a round tube. If you really want you could try and make the film flat before placing it into the box. We recommend that you do not glue the film to the bottom of the box because the film becomes wavy and the reflection is not as clear.

Step 8: Installing the LED Strip

When installing the LEDs into the box you will not need the entire strand of lights, you are more than welcome to cut the extra off or just to continue to wrap it around the box. Before even placing the LEDs into the box you will need to drill a hole for the wires to come out of the box to connect to the battery pack. For drilling the hole we placed it about an inch above the top edge of the battery holder. We did this because the wires are close together and you won’t need as much extra wire. We placed the LEDs about 4 inches from the top edge of the box, which is pretty much how where the wires from the LEDs leave the box. The dimensions of where you would like the LEDs is not mandatory. You can put them as high or as low as you want them, they just need to be under the top two-way mirror. When placing the LEDs into the box you might need to use tape to secure them to the sides of the box because the adhesive on the LEDs is not that strong. You can just use scotch tape to secure them. 

Step 9: Installing the Battery Pack

To install the battery pack, the battery pack compartment would need to be installed first. Going back to steps 1 and 2 where you measured and cut out pieces of plywood for the battery pack compartment, that compartment will need to be installed to the frame following the instructions in step 3. When the compartment has now been installed to the frame using nails/hammer/glue, test that it is stable by placing the battery pack in the compartment. If the battery pack fits and holds, the wires will now need to be connected. To connect the wires of the battery pack, join together the battery pack GND(Black) wire to the LED GND(Black) wire, and connect the battery pack Power(Red) wire to the Nc switch. Once correctly installed, the battery pack will be held by the compartment and connected to the Nc switch and LEDs.

Step 10: Wiring of the Box

For the wiring of the box, the wires from the led connection are to be cut and stripped to allow for a connection to the battery pack as well as the switch. Once the wires have been stripped, the wire connections are able to be made. The first connection made is between the power cable(red) of the battery pack to the switch within the box. The switch that is used must be normally closed. This means that when the switch is closed, the circuit is open and will not power. These connections are labeled on the switch itself. Once the wire is in the correct position, the connection on the switch can be soldered. The second connection that is made is between the power cable(red) of the LED strip and the switch. This allows for the power to be delivered to the LED strip once the box is open. Once the connection has been made it can be soldered into place. The final connection to be made is connecting the ground wire (black) of the battery pack to the ground wire (black) of the LED strip. Once these wires are connected, they can be soldered into position. With these connections made, the circuit should be complete and should illuminate when the box is open. Instead of soldering you can also just twist the wires together and them taping them together.

Step 11: Implementing the Two-way Mirror

For the mirror we cut little squares of the left over 2x2x1/2 inch plywood. With each of the small squares were about 1x ¾ inch pieces. To attach the pieces to the rest of the box we added a little bit of wood glue to two of the edges and then placed them about 2 inches from the top edge of the box. Once the blocks were placed and steady we cut the piece of the two way mirror film to 4 ¾ x 7 inches to place on the blocks, just like we need for the mirror at the bottom of the box. We just added a little bit of tape to each of the corners of the mirror and the walls to make sure that the film did not fall into the box. If you want you can glue the corners down but if you do that the mirror will look like a little wave/ not a smooth surface.

Step 12: References

[1] Menards.com. [Online]. Available: https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/panel-products/handi-panels/ac2-reg-2-x-2-green-pressure-treated-ccx-plywood-sheathing-handi-panel/1233980/p-1444431331657-c-13337.htm?tid=5895780915423666754&ipos=1. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[2] “Colorplace gloss spray paint, black,” Walmart.com. [Online]. Available: https://www.walmart.com/ip/ColorPlace-Gloss-Spray-Paint-Black/35521858?athbdg=L1200&from=searchResults. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[3] Robot or human? [Online]. Available: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gorilla-Wood-Glue-Natural-Wood-Color-4-ounce-Bottle/52552281?athbdg=L1200&adsRedirect=true. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[4] Menards.com. [Online]. Available: https://www.menards.com/main/hardware/fasteners-connectors/nails/flooring-nails/grip-fast-reg-ring-shank-underlayment-nails/229-5978/p-3289655538555662-c-8758.htm. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[5] Menards.com. [Online]. Available: https://www.menards.com/main/hardware/door-window-hardware/door-hinges/national-hardware-reg-2-x-square-door-hinge-2-pack/n146-159/p-1444448906361-c-9687.htm?tid=a823cf4f-9c0b-4c3d-a78b-c8ed1e46beb4&ipos=7&exp=false. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[6] Menards.com. [Online]. Available: https://www.menards.com/main/hardware/utility-hardware/hooks-screw-eyes/national-hardware-reg-zinc-lag-screw-eye-5-count/n118-828/p-1444448885503-c-9709.htm?tid=8cfdf1f8-5f5d-43b1-995d-92d68543fe39&ipos=6&exp=false. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[7] “Amazon.com : Scuba choice scuba diving compact finger spool with ...” [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/Scuba-Choice-Diving-Compact-Plastic/dp/B005179GQ6. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[8] “GP,” Amazon, 2011. [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08VN9XFZ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[9] “Amazon.com: 2Set 8 x AA Thicken Battery Holder with I type wired ...” [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/Thicken-Battery-Holder-Standard-Connector/dp/B07WP1CYYW. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[10] “Amazon.com: Duracell Coppertop AA batteries with power boost ...” [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/Duracell-Coppertop-Alkaline-AA-Batteries/dp/B003CZX4A8. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[11] “GP,” Amazon, 2011. [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X142VGC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[12] “Two way infinity mirror film 20’ wide x per foot reflective window tint ...” [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/INFINITY-MIRROR-REFLECTIVE-WINDOW-INFINITE/dp/B06Y2C79FC. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[13] “Scotch magic tape dispenser, clear, 3/4’ x 650’, 1 Dispenser,” Walmart.com. [Online]. Available: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Scotch-Magic-Tape-Dispenser-Clear-3-4-x-650-1-Dispenser/45913250?athbdg=L1600&from=browseResults. [Accessed: 03-May-2023]. 

[14] “Hand saw safety - west virginia university.” [Online]. Available: https://www.ehs.wvu.edu/files/d/3a967185-e57f-4f6d-988c-423bfc27e1ce/hand-saw-safety.pdf. [Accessed: 03-May-2023].