Giant Lite Brite
- Step 1: Gather Materials. If you can get your hands on some Devcon Industrial Rubber Adhesive 14900, go fir it, it seems...
- Step 2: Cut Your Acrylic. I started the project at the hardest part - figuring out how to create over 1,100 holes in two...
- Step 3: Build a Frame. The sheets need to be held in place somehow. For that, I built a frame out of 3/4"...
How do you make a DIY Lite Brite project?
When I was starting this giant DIY lite brite project, I ran into a problem right from the get-go. My original plan was to drill holes into a large rectangle-shaped piece of wood, string LED lights behind it, and then put the colorful acrylic rods I found on Etsy in place.
What is the size of the giant Lite Brite?
The Giant Lite Brite is made from: two 40" x 40"panels of clear acrylic 1/8" sheet one 40" x 40" panel of black acrylic 1/8" sheet one 37" x 7" panel of orange acrylic 1/8" sheet
What can I use instead of a Lite Brite bottle?
Kelly, that sounds like a great spot for a giant Lite Brite! Acrylic pegs are a great alternative when your budget supports it. Please note that the diagram and measurements we provide are specific to the hole size required for the bottles we used. If your pegs are a different size, you will need to adjust the measurements to suit.
What size do Lite Brite pegs come in?
The trickiest part was finding affordable giant Lite Brite pegs, but we figured out a clever solution that worked great. Note that our project measurements are specifically designed to suit the size of our pegs, which are 1-1/4" in diameter, so our holes are 1-3/8" to accommodate them.
What are light bright pegs made of?
The Giant Lite Brite is made from: one 40" x 40" panel of black acrylic 1/8" sheet. one 37" x 7" panel of orange acrylic 1/8" sheet. many feet (over 100') of colored acrylic rod (fluorescent colors work best)
How big are Lite-Brite pegs?
Product informationProduct Dimensions13 x 2 x 11 inchesItem model number02215Manufacturer recommended age4 - 15 yearsBatteries3 AA batteries required.Best Sellers Rank#298 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games) #2 in Electronic Learning Systems #12 in Preschool Learning Toys9 more rows
How many holes does a Lite-Brite have?
The original Lite-Brite design used a pair of matching black panels punctured with a series of evenly spaced holes arranged in a grid of 39 rows, which alternated between 44 and 45 holes per row, resulting in a hexagonal (“honeycomb”) layout containing 1735 holes.
How do you do Lite-Brite?
0:191:23Lite-Brite Ultimate Classic from Basic Fun - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipTell you what color peg to insert through the paper and into the holes in the peg screen. Once you'MoreTell you what color peg to insert through the paper and into the holes in the peg screen. Once you've completed the image turn on the light bright to light it up.
How much is a Lite-Brite worth?
Lite Brite, a backlit grid covered in black sheets of paper that kids could poke colorful pegs into to create designs, debuted in 1967. It's still available today and retails for around $15 to $20, but an original Lite Brite set is currently up for sale on eBay for $329.72.
How do I print a Lite-Brite template?
To download a template, determine which version of Lite-Brite you have by selecting the Product Info tab below. Click the Downloads tab below to download available templates. For best results, download the template to your desktop first, then print.
Can you reuse Lite-Brite templates?
Templates Are Reuseable And Are Labeled With Letters Of The Colored Peg To Be Inserted In Each Hole. These Party Refill Packs Are To Be Used With The Lite-Brite Ultimate Classic Main Unit (Sold Separately).
Does Lite-Brite need paper?
Lite-Brite is a toy that was originally marketed in 1967. It consists of a light box with small colored plastic pegs that fit into a panel and illuminate to create a lit picture, by either using one of the included templates or creating a "freeform" image on a blank sheet of black paper.
Why does Lite-Brite turn off?
We have to either use a screwdriver to unscrew the back, then pop the batteries out, or wait for the Lite Brite to automatically shut off. It takes 3 D batteries, and since you cannot turn it on or off when you want, it costs a lot of money to keep it running.
How do you remove pegs from Lite-Brite?
Keep the picture in place by poking any colored pegs on each corner. Poke pegs through depending on the letters representing different colors. The first time you get Litebrite, poke the pegs softly, but not loosely, or it won't be easy to take out when doing another picture.
What year did Lite-Brite come out?
1967The original Lite-Brite produced in 1967 came with 400 plastic pegs in eight different colors: green, blue, red, yellow, orange, pink, purple, and colorless (clear).
What company makes Lite-Brite?
HasbroLITE BRITE ULTIMATE CLASSIC | Hasbro Classics.
How many layers of acrylic are in a giant lite brite?
The Giant Lite Brite has three total layers of acrylic inside. The first and second layers have holes cut in them and are spaced 1 inch apart from each other. The third layer of acrylic is just a solid sheet which acts a backer board to stop the pegs from pushed in too far. The first layer of acrylic is black, and guides the peg into place.
Where was the Giant Lite Brite tested?
Giant Lite Brite v1.0 (not shown in this Instructable) was field tested at Yuri's Night at the Nasa Aims Research Center in California It fared pretty well there where it got steady use, but only for one day, and by only a couple hundred people. By the end of the event some of the foam (only v2.0 used rubber) was coming away from the acrylic front and so some slight modifications were made in order to improve performance for the Maker Faire.#N#Before the Maker Faire, Mitch and I added on some small nuts, bolts and wide washers to mechanically hold the rubber in place. This was done before the event right outside the exhibit hall in a moment of haste and didn't really do much to help the rubber stay in place since it was so elastic. I can't recommend this as a solid method for holding the rubber in place, but at the time, it was all we could do.#N#Although the Lite Brite provided hours of fun entertainment for people attending the fair, its rubber backing suffered quite a bit from all the use and came completely off in many spots.#N#Plans are in the works to waterjet a permanent solution: a steel sheet bolted directly behind the santoprene that holds all the sheets of rubber in place. The sheet will be thin gauge steel that is cut using the same file that the front panel of acrylic was cut with. Except for one change - the steel rubber backing plate will have just a slightly larger hole diameter then the black acrylic to allow for the santoprene tabs to fold back easily when a peg is pushed through.#N#Updates to this Instructable will follow once the sheet is fabricated.
What is the first layer of acrylic?
The first layer of acrylic is black , and guides the peg into place. The second layer is clear, so that light can pass through it, and is an exact copy of the front layer, just set back a bit so that it can lock the back of the peg into place on each and every hole.
Giant DIY Lite Brite That Anyone Can Make
Okay, getting this project on the blog has been a long time coming. I just had to share the details of this super fun giant DIY lite brite I surprised my kids with last Christmas.
How to Create Your Own Giant DIY Lite Brite
Before you get started creating your own giant DIY lite brite, you’ll need to gather your supplies. The supplies aren’t too hard to find, but to help you out, I’m going to link to where I found everything I used for this DIY project for my kids.
Getting Things Set Up Just Right
There’s one thing you need to know about DIY. You can create beautiful things but the process isn’t always pretty. DIY is just a bunch of problem-solving. When I was starting this giant DIY lite brite project, I ran into a problem right from the get-go.
Figuring Out Acrylic Rod & Light placement
Now that I knew I could create holes the right size, it was time to decide how I wanted to place the colorful acrylic rods. The big decision was between a grid pattern or an offset design. After laying both of these options out on my garage floor (and with a little help from my Instagram followers), I decided to go with the offset pattern.
Building The Frame & Taping Up Lights
Once I knew how I wanted this to look in the end, it was time to put everything together. In our house, we have a closet under the stairs. I thought it would be the perfect place for a fun little playroom for the kids. So that’s where the giant DIY lite brite was going to go.
Attaching Plexiglass & Drilling One Million Holes
After taking a minute to bask in the glow of the LED lights, it was time to attach the plexiglass. I found the perfect milky plexiglass from a local glass shop, and I’d recommend doing it this way so that you don’t have to worry about cutting it to size. Before taking the paper off the glass I first very carefully drilled a hole in each corner.
Giant DIY Lite Brite That Anyone Can Make
There it is! Project giant DIY lite brite is complete. I’m not going to lie, partway through this, I was thinking, “what did I get myself into.” But guess what? I love it! The first time seeing all this glowy magic left me speechless. My kids loved the Christmas surprise too. It’s still up for debate if my kids or I enjoy this more. I love DIY.
Step 2: Drawing the Grid
I got my plywood from Lowes and had one of the employees help me get the wood down since I was so short. Once I brought it home it was time to draw out the grid for the 500+ holes (this was such a crazy project) I didn't want to have to measure the whole thing out so I cheated a bit and printed out the template I had made in Illustrator.
Step 3: Drilling All the Holes
This part took forever! Once I had all the spots I was gonna drill marked at the center I could use my forstner bit to drill the holes. This took me roughly 13 hours and i couldn't stop. I had to push myself to finish it and I got a crazy blister on my hand from the drill. After the first few holes are done it gets boring really fast.
Step 4: Building the Frame
I cut some 2x4's on the table saw to act as the frame for the lite brite. I cut some strips and then ran them through the planer to get rid of the rounded edges. I then glued and nailed/screwed the frame to the front piece of plywood. I also cut some smaller pieces to act as supports.
Step 5: Adding the Acrylic Back Panel
In order for the pegs to not fall out the back I got a 4x8 sheet of acrylic to hold them in place. This was attached to the frame and the little supports i made. This allowed the pegs to sit out about a 1 1/2 from the front. Obviously, I couldnt put anysupports for the acrylic behind the holes so they went all around the frame.
Step 6: Lighting
This wouldn't be a Lite Brite with out leds. I cute a bunch of strips of led lights and soldered all of them together. my power supply wasn't enough and it would only light half of them. Since I was out of time I went and got some cheap led lights to compensate for the missing lights. This ended up working out really well and was super bright.
Step 7: Cutting the Acrylic
I had to cut over 500 of these pegs, but this wasn't as bad as drilling all the holes. I put a piece of tape on the miter saw so that all the pegs would be the same shape and I wouldn't have to measure each one. Be careful though cut some of the chips of the acrylic will fling back and cut your hand. I had a friend end up help me cut the pegs.
Step 8: Painting Acrylic
This part was cool. I used a few different spray paints to achieve the color that we wanted while still letting light pass through them. I used a sea glass spray paint that worked out the best. It was the perfect balance of light to color ratio. I then used regular spray paint for the other colors and just sprayed it from far away.
How did you determine how big to build the game?
Well we first sat down and looked at an original lite-brite. We then measured the game for the length, width, and height of the game. Then our designers figured out how many holes that we wanted by counting how many holes the game had and multiplied it by our scale size for how large we wanted the board to be.
How about the pegs! How many pegs came with the light bright?
Our designers calculated how many pegs the original game had of each color and the number of holes the game had. We then took the ratio of how many pegs the original game had and divided it by how many holes our giant Lite-Brite would have.
