Make an LED light tube to brighten any occasion. This LED light tube will work from a wall socket and can also plug into a car's cigarette lighter. Use these tubes for parties, on car camp-outs, or for emergencies. Customize the color of the tube and even the length of the cord to fit your needs.
Purchase a baton tube case (see Resources) custom cut to 1 foot. Remove the end caps.
Slide the tube over the dowel rod. Tie a piece of dental floss onto the dowel rod at both ends to hang the tube up from a rafter in the garage or other suitable place.
Spray paint the tube lightly with an even coating of white paint. To get the even coating, turn the tube carefully using your finger on the inside of the tube. Allow the paint on the tube to dry.
Cut the wire of the interconnect cable in half between the plugs located at either end. Strip the ends of the wire you just cut.
Plug the cut and stripped interconnect cable plugs into the plugs at either end of the light strip.
Solder the wires together at one end and cover the expose part wire with electrical tape. Coil up the wire. Use a hot glue gun to glue this wire under an end cap.
Insert the light strip into the tube and put on the end cap, sealing it in place with a hot glue gun. Be careful not to melt the tube with the heat.
Drill a hole into the end of the remaining end cap with the ¼-inch drill bit. Cut a length of extension cord to the length that you desire.
Strip the end of an extension cord and strip the wires inside at both ends. Thread the positive and negative wires from one end through the hole and solder them to the leads on the interconnect wire (except for the ground wire which is left free).
Tie a small overhand knot into the cord above the hole and glue the knot and extra wire to the end cap. Glue the end cap in place.
Strip wires leading to a cigarette lighter plug and solder it to the end of the wires coming out of the other side of the extension cord.
Paint the connection with liquid electrical tape to hide any exposed wires. Buy a universal AC to DC converter that will allow you to plug in the cigarette lighter plug into the wall.
