{"id":9873,"date":"2014-08-25T22:01:17","date_gmt":"2014-08-26T05:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rustybolt.info\/wordpress\/?p=9873"},"modified":"2014-08-28T20:27:19","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T03:27:19","slug":"2014-08-25-mini-fluo-light-and-another-use-for-epoxy-resin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rustybolt.info\/wordpress\/?p=9873","title":{"rendered":"2014-08-25 Mini Fluo Light And Another Use For Epoxy Resin"},"content":{"rendered":"

I found some soda straws that are thin and about the same color blue as the blue LEDs I got from goldmine-elec.com.  I got the idea of using a soda straw from Quantsuff at quantsuff.com.  He used two white LEDs in the ends of a short length of white translucent (semitransparent) soda straw to give the effect of a mini fluorescent lamp.  I thought it might look good with blue LEDs in a blue soda straw.
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I cut off a 1-3\/4 inch (43mm) length and glued one LED in with clear nail polish.  I let it dry but when I handled it, the straw flexed and the LED came loose and was no longer straight.  I pulled it out and put more nail polish on it and put it back in the straw and let it dry.  Later I again had the same problem, so I decided I needed a stronger glue.<\/p>\n

I bought some two part epoxy glue and mixed up a small amount of each part on a piece of paper with a toothpick.  I applied the epoxy to the inside of the straw and to the LED, and put the LED in the straw.  A few minutes later it had cooled off and hardened. No more loose LED; it was held in solid.<\/p>\n

I’m going to connect the LED up to a power supply to see how it looks, and then if it’s okay I’ll epoxy another LED to the other end.<\/p>\n

I picked up the paper with the spot of epoxy on it and noticed that the spot got lighter and darker as I moved it around.  This is the same effect that I saw when I put a drop of oil on a piece of paper to make a grease spot light comparison meter<\/a>.  I brought the paper close to a light and put a flashlight behind it.  the spot became nearly invisible when the light levels were the same. Looks like I’ve found another use for clear epoxy resin: making a “grease spot” photometer.<\/p>\n

I thought the single LED looked good so far, so I mixed up some more of the epoxy glue and filled the straw up to where there was just enough room for the second LED. After letting it cool and harden, I glued the second LED in with a small amount of epoxy. A few tens of minutes later I had the two LEDs connected to the power supply and it didn’t look too bad. But it didn’t look that good either – see the eery blue photo. The bubbles in the epoxy should not be there. I think the reason is that the epoxy is quick hardening and hardens before the bubbles have time to rise to the surface. Slower hardening epoxy might be better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I found some soda straws that are thin and about the same color blue as the blue LEDs I got from goldmine-elec.com.  I got the idea of using a soda straw from Quantsuff at quantsuff.com.  He used two white LEDs in the ends of a short length of white translucent (semitransparent) soda straw to give <\/p>\n

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