I stared out with materials I found in the junk bin. I was very lucky to find a battery enclosure hooked to some light strings already in tact. I originally though to have a wooden housing cut on a lathe, but Ben advised me against it as the lathe is an advanced tool. He suggested a tube…
So I found a thick sort of cardboard roll in the junk pile along with a slider switch. My idea was to cut a hole in the cardboard for the slider and glue it on the underside, not a reliable method I would come to find because when it came time to mount the switch, I was trying to use hot glue, slide the switch down the tube and hold it in place with a screw driver - not ideal.
The thought occurred to me to use the band saw to cut the tube in half which would allow me better access and then just tape it up when done. This was a much easier solution especially because it took a few rounds of gluing to get a good hold on the round tube with the flattened angles of the switch.
For a cap, I used a plastic end I found in the junk with some cardboard taped to the inside for a snug fit around the tube.
I wasn’t sure what to do with the limp light strings hanging awkwardly out of the top, but I went to the junk pile again and saw some long, clear tubing and the idea of a PKE Meter from Ghostbusters sprang to mind! Perfect! I slid the strands into tubing and taped them so they would sit at the proper angle for detecting ghosts - watch out Slimer, here I come!!
If I had to do it again, I would have planned out exactly what I was making first, maybe made some drawings. This would have helped me document each step more closely and clearly. But improvising is fun still :)
