How can I attach to Christmas tree lights?

[Dee Gallo]

Hi everyone,

I've had a request to make something I think everyone can make and sell: little plexi shapes with designs rastered on them to somehow attach to Christmas tree lights. Any ideas about a way to make a clip or anyone know of ready made clips? I wonder if they would slip in between the "flower" petal things?

Thanks for any suggestions, dee

[Margaret Turco]

Could you glue them to something like this, that would fit around the base of the light?

[Stephen Beckham]

I like this piece for attaching to round objects. I throw the wheel part away and use the clip only. I'm not sure of a supplier where you can buy only the clip - looked a bit and then settled. They run $.75ish a pack, so it's not cheap by all means for this use (within respect of hardware, it's not bad actually).

I use them mainly to attach survival knives to plaques... So for use on $150 plaque, they work just fine...

Steve

[Doug Griffith]

Those bulbs don't get that hot. How about something like this that you cut from acrylic and glue on the back. You may need to sand the glue surface a little to avoid crazing.

http://www.dogcollarlabor.com/smc/IMAGES/xmas_clip.gif (http://www.dogcollarlabor.com/smc/IMAGES/xmas_clip.gif)

[Dee Gallo]

Okay, thanks, several good ideas! I especially like the acrylic/band idea. But now I have a question - doesn't the light have to shine directly at the edge of the acrylic to show the engraving well? Or maybe I'll have to think about using colored/opaque acrylic.

Thanks for jump-starting my brain, dee

[Grant McFarland]

If you put a hole at the top of the ornament and fold the wire a couple of inches back from the light, you can use a twist tie to anchor the wire to the ornament. This should place the light in the middle of the ornament to backlight it.

[Scott Challoner]

I just cut a .200" hole and hang it directly on the light. This works for the mini lights. Use the green edge acrylic.
Sorry the picture is so bad. Acrylic is hard to photograph. (For me anyway).

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[Dee Gallo]

Scott, so the lightbulb is sticking halfway through the ornament hole? That sounds like a plan!

Thanks, dee

[Scott Challoner]

Yup. Just slides right on. I discovered this trick about December 24th last year.:( Could have used it a little earlier.

[Dee Gallo]

Elegant, simple, effective... I love it, Scott! I'm new at working with acrylic, so now tell me what thickness acrylic you find works best? What does "green edge" mean?

Thanks again, dee

[Scott Challoner]

Dee

You'll love working with acrylic. Endless uses. It can be engraved, cut, bent (after heating) and painted (among other things.)
The green edge has a little bit of green tint in it so it still looks clear from the front, but the edge looks green just like glass. I get the cast green edge from lasersketch.com
There are basically two types of acrylic. Cast and extruded, both available in many colors. The cast turns a frosty white when you engrave it while the extruded stays clear. You can get extruded at Home Depot, Menards, etc.
I would suggest searching this forum for a few hours for acrylic applications. You can PM me for more too.
I mainly use 1/8" for ornaments and card/brochure holders and 1/4" for signs (see attached photo.)
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[Nick Napier]

Hi Scott, That's an excellent Christmas tree ornament. How do you keep the ornament on the light without falling off. Will any clear acrylic work or do you need special. I really appreciate your posting.

Nick Napier Napier's Laser Engraving

[Dee Gallo]

Scott-

Thanks for the info on the green edge - I went to the site and it does look like glass! Do you make your own bases? They are very different from others I've seen.

I spent a lot of time searching this forum before I tried to do one, and found loads of help from lots of different perspectives. That's what makes this place so great!

Here's a picture of one I made so far. I'm having fun with it!

cheers, dee

[Jim Huston]

I would be very concerned about using wire, metal or any conductive material at all for this. Xmas lights + wire + Short = lawsuit!

[Scott Challoner]

Thanks Nick.
They aren't very heavy. They stay on just fine. Depending on how they hang, the ornament acts as a lever and "clamps" istelf onto the light (No. Not enough prssure to break it.) If I do make heavier ones that tend to make the light droop down, I'll make it an oval instead (still .2" wide). That way the ornament hangs straight up and down and still "clamps" on. Any acrylic will work (remeber that extruded doesn't engrave very well) but I use the green edge since there is a higher percieved value. Glass looks nicer than plastic. One thing to keep in mind though... You need surface area for the edge effect. If you make a lot of intricate cuts, you lose the green edge effect. Same holds true with flourescent edge acrylics.

Nice work Dee.
The base in the first photo was just a led light bar I got from Menards. I made a couple of brackets to hold it and the piece of acrylic for display purposes. The attached photo has a base I made from 1 inch acrylic tubing and painted. It still needs some work as it's not totally opaque.97065

[Nick Napier]

Sorry Scott one more question. How do you make the snow look and then shape the letters to match. If it's just a matter of reshaping the letters with the shape tool after changing to curves I can probably, but if there is another way, I'd appreciate the revelation.

Thanks Nick

[Scott Challoner]

I started with a font called snowcaps which I got here http://www.webpagepublicity.com/free-fonts-w.html#Free%20Fonts

From there I converted to curves and inverted the black and white.

[Nick Napier]

Thanks Scott, I really appreciate this. I do mostly silicone wristbands and dogtags with pictures on them. If anything in that arena interests you let me know and I'll help if I can.

Nick woodworknick@yahoo.com

[Steven Wallace]

Scott if you don't mind, where did you get the light for the base of your sign?

[Scott Challoner]

The light is a LED unercabinet strip made by Zilotec that I got at Menards. If you don't have a Menards in your area, you may be able to find them elsewhere, but I haven't seen them at HD, Lowes, etc. They are $20 so I'm trying to find a cheaper option. They are currenty on sale for $13 so I need to stock up.
The rest of the base was just an acrylic square tube from McMaster and some brackets made form 1/4" acrylic. It's still basically a prototype. I think in the future, I may just make a box out of 1/8" colored acrylic, although I like the seamless look of the tube.