Flicker Candles for Forever Plaid. Start date 10/10/2013

All righty.  So on Thursday Jim said, "These are flicker wicks.  Make 5 candles.  Here's how the circuit will need to be soldered.  They need to be hand held, look like church/ choir boy candles, have a kill switch and a 9v battery affixed to the bottom of the bobeche (new word for me) It's the wax drip catcher on a candle.  Look at what's here in the shop and come up with a plan and do it. Don't want them to be too brittle, and needs to be able to be unassembled after the run. Cool.

Day 1. Thursday 10/10/2013

Flicker wicks.  Have a circuit board and run on DC power.  Newer models have micro switches to adjust the chase of lights inside the wick.

Different products to test for candle body.  We want there to be a glow in the top inch like in a real candle.  Wick will be hidden inside.  Experimented with PVC, UHMW, clear acrylic, candle sheathe.

UHMW was perfect but very expensive.  Decided to go with candle sheathe. It's a brittle product so dowel will be fitted inside and also be the lower half of the candle where it is held under the bobeche.  Total end length around 11 5/8".  Cut a groove in the dowel with the table saw to make room for the wick wiring.

 Today I also mocked up a bobeche out of plastic board and cut a groove in a dowel. Got proportions and process approved. Then cut out 5 bobeches from a plastic board on the band saw for the outside and drill press for the center hole. Sanded the edges smooth with 80 grit sandpaper.

Spray painted a length of dowel flat white to let it dry over the weekend. This will be then groove cut on the table saw and cut to length.

Project container

 Day 2. Monday 10/14/2013
Further assembly...

Mock up version.  Grooved dowel with wick installed. Candle sheathe and Bobeche mock-up on.  Used this to determine any design changes.  Talking with Anna and Jim, we decided to shorten it by an inch. Plans and notes on the paper to the right.

Wick all the way out and on.

Wick further in to see the glow and how distinctive the dowel light line may be.

Layout of readied components.  Dowel, sheathe, bobeche, wicks.  Now it's time to start soldering.

Soldering in dead switch.  You have to press this button to complete the circuit to make the wick turn on.

Soldering in switch and connection to the battery socket.

I forgot to put shrink wrap on the red wire connection side so I used brush on electrical tape to coat this connection end. The black wire solder connection I remembered to put the shrink wrap on first.  When using this product you need to wear gloves, a respirator and work in a ventilated area.  You open and close the can with a pliers.

Coated connection.  No shorts in our future.

The tops of the candle sticks need some sort of melted wax dripping.  Not too crazy.  I'd not personally done it before so I practiced with old hot glue ( that's why it's yellow) and a spare chunk of the candle sheath product that will be used on the finished pieces.

I also built up hot glue on the inside to give the effect of a pool of wax.  this will also keep the flicker wick in the center without it being permanently attached.

 Video of the wick in action in my hot glue practice tube.

 

Coming up this week: figuring out circuit board attachment and protection, battery attachment, switch installation along with final assembly and finishing touches.