David Findlay

a man, a plan, a cake: nirvana

Wand

My wife has been reading the Harry Potter books to our kids. So, naturally, my son wanted the $30 crappy plastic officially licensed wand when he saw it in the book store.

Rather than buy it, I made him one from a stick that he picked out in the yard:

Carter & Wand

Construction

I dremeled a channel to run the wires from an LED at its tip to a switch and power at the base. Initially I used a 3V coin cell because it was light and not bulky. Then I remembered I had a pager motor lying around, so I added that into the mix at my son’s request. Unfortunately the coin cell wasn’t able to drive the LED and the pager motor so I switched to a 9V battery instead. (Also, I couldn’t find the coin cell holders that I know are around here somewhere…)

The 9V is a bit bulky but I think we’ll be able to fashion a housing that isn’t too obtrusive.

Power Closeup