Success-ish!

So I got the UV LEDs and a new tiny battery than can power both of them without much trouble. I'm hoping that it'll last a long time since the LEDs pull so little power. I'm definitely setting it up so that I can change the battery, though. Not putting this much work into it to have it not work later on.

I've decided that I don't want to sink the Maglite into the handle. That's too much work and too little control. I got super ultra mega bright white LEDs from RadioShack and I'm going to power two of them with the same little battery, and see if they have the same effect as the Maglite. It would be nice, since I already have a nice little pocket dug out where all the wires and everything would fit. I also really want to have the switch so I'm not wasting power with it. Having to open the thing up just to turn it on and off isn't cool. I think I can make it all look cool, too. I'll put some metal piece of the plastic switch to make it look better. Maybe a big round head from a stainless rivet or something.

The UV reactive ball has an eerie glow to it. It isn't as bright as the other, but it's definitely cool. Right now I have an issue with the LEDs focusing up through the ball and projecting tiny UV spots on the ceiling. I'm hoping to line the inside of the copper collar with some reflective tape and a few little structures made of cardstock or something to help reflect the light around inside. I'm hoping that will help to keep from projecting beams through the ball.

I really want the light to get into the ball and stay there. That's easy with the white ball, but the clear one is posing an issue. I'm going to get the materials for the white one ready, since the ball is way cheaper, and use my current contact juggling ball as a tester for the UV LEDs. I'm planning to get them both built and see how I like them before really deciding between them. This is the nice thing with doing this so far in advance.

I also checked out the sample copper collar piece with the lacquer on it yesterday and it's looking very good. The wood is gorgeous with the stain and the clearcoat on it. It really has a great grain to it and the stain I found brings it out beautifully. The clearcoat is also protecting the finish on the copper. It isn't quite keeping a mirror polish, as the lacquer probably isn't as smooth as the metal, but it's definitely keeping it looking nice and keeping it from tarnishing. I'm still working on how I want to get the whole thing put together, but I think it's going to be amazing when it's done. I'm just hoping it lives up to the image I have in my head.