Gandalf's Magic Staff
Introduction: Gandalf's Magic Staff
Who wouldn't want Gandalf's Magic Wizard Staff?
Turns out <PERSON> had various staffs and either lost, broke or upgraded them frequently! This provides us with multiple staff designs and there are plenty of methods of constructing your own Magic Gandalf Staff depending upon your resources and skills.
In this Instructable, I will show you how I split the wood, made a removable extension, hid the electronics, and used FIMO clay to set the crystal onto the staff. A magic ring controls the audio and lighting of the staff as well as streaming audio to an external Bluetooth speaker for that ultimate crack of thunder !
What's in a Magic Staff like <PERSON>'s?
* Crystal - Every good Magic Staff needs a big crystal. (though not all <PERSON>'s did)
* Light - Like, serious light. A job for a NeoPixel something.
* Sound - Kids said "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" and requested a thunder hack.
* Magic - Only works in your hands! Control crystal's light with hidden switches.
The supplies for your Magic Staff will depend on a few things;
* Which steps you want to complete,
* which style of staff you use,
* and which specific components you prefer.
For an overview of this Instructable, check out the List of Steps after Supplies below.
Supplies
Crystal - See "Choosing a Crystal" in step 2
Staff - See "Choosing a Staff" in step 3
FIMO Clay. - See Hardening Clay in step 4
Electronics
* Basic Build Items
* 6 x or more magnetic Reed switches to make the magic happen.
* 2 x small Rare earth magnets - (1mm x 1mm) for power switch
* 1 x medium rare earth Magnets (1mm x 5 mm) for the ring(s)
* 1 x Pixel Ring to light up the crystal - 16 NeoPixel Ring.
* 1 x Rechargeable battery - 3.7v Li-Poly battery.
* 1 x Arduino compatible microcontroller - Pro Trinket 3 volt , (or Feather, Nano, Boron ).
* 1 x Battery Charging system - Li-Poly Backpack - ( sometimes integrated in board above).
* 3 x Transistors - 2N4401 NPN - (only 1 for basic build).
* 2 x Relays - HK23f 5vdc 1A - (only 1 for basic build).
* 4 x Resistors - (only 2 for basic build)
* Advanced Build Items
* 1 x LED Cluster (the insides of an LED flashlight)
* 1 x MP3 Sound Device - MusicMaker Featherwing, mp3 device or Thor's Hammer.
* 1 x Blue Tooth Module - I used this one.
Electrical Tools and Consumables:
* Soldering Iron and solder
* Wire cutter and/or stripper
* Shrink tube for wire
* Wire - some different colours is handy, Ribbon cable is tidy.
* Needle nose pliers. (2 pairs is handy.)3rd and fourth hand. (Stand, magnifying and helper hands)
* Glue gun and glue sticks
Shop Tools and Consumables: (depending on staff construction Step XYZ)
* a vise, drill and drill bits
* some carving tools for digging into the wood
* Saws (hand and hacksaw)
* 2 part epoxy (love this stuff)
* propane soldering torch and solder- for staff extension
* scraps of metal, brass or nail for staff extension(see section XYZ for more info on staff construction)
Software
* Complete software is just below...
Step 1: Steps in This Instructable ( Table of Contents )
Getting started - Some people may use different materials, or not want sounds in their Magic Staff. So I have included notes and diagrams to cover variations wherever I can.
1. List of Steps
2. Choose a Crystal
3. Choose a Staff - Link to section.
4. Make Fake Branches
5. Make the Ring
6. Electronics Overview
7. 267
Arduino Setup
8. Magic Buttons and Software
9. NeoPixel Lighting
10. Relays and Transistors as switches
11. Battery, Charging and On/Off Switch
12. Center Light aka LED Array
13. Prep and Place Music Player
14. Bluetooth streaming device
15. Staff Construction Part 1
16. Staff Construction Part 2 - Extension
17. Prepare and place relays
18. Prepare and place switches
19. Tie Up Loose Ends
20. Final Software notes. 33