Beaded Christmas tree update

Tis the season to bring the Christmas tree out.  Since I live in a small unit, a big tree is not going to happen so for the last few years, since I made it, I've had my beaded Christmas tree.

But see that ugly wire down there?  This year I decided to hide it away.  Now I could've just put stuff at the bottom to hide it but that wouldn't completely hide it as the lid would be problematic.  Instead I've gone a bit more posh and cut the wire to let me thread it where I would.

Step one was to make a hole in the box so it can be turned on/off from the outside.  I had a new box I was going to move the tree to as part of this process that was a bit taller so the battery pack fit in well.  A bit of scrap paper to rough out the shape of the end of the battery pack and the location of the switch and I had a template.

The template is upside down in the photo relative to the pack but oh well

The template then let me draw where I wanted the switch hole to be easily.

The final spot is on the left- the bottom is where I tried to freehand draw it and failed.

Using a craft knife I cut out a hole for the switch, making sure that it was long enough to let it be turned on and off.

Next step is the lights.  LED stands for Light Emitting Diode and the diode part of that means that they only work when the current is passing through the correct direction. If you have the poles around the other way nothing will happen.  So I used a black marker to colour one of the wires in so when cut I could tell which end went with which.

The wire is coloured in so I can identify it later- I'm using a different set of lights for this part to make it easier to follow

Then cut the wire using wire cutters and strip the ends.

Wires cut and stripped- note the bottom two are coloured black for easy identification.

Before doing anything else, checking things are still good is useful- just hold the bare metal of each wire together and see if it lights up (note- this should ONLY be done for low powered battery lights, not something running off mains!)

Yep, still works

I had to remount the tree into the box so that meant making four holes for the trunk of the tree (four rigid metal wires bound together with florist tape) and an extra hole near the trunk for the lights wire to pass through).  Once things were stable in the box lid it was time to fix the base up.

Place the battery pack into the box so the switch is in the correct place.  I used tape initially but will go back later with hot glue as I am finding the pack is moving just enough to make using the switch annoying.

Interior of the box showing the battery pack in location and my lovely wire connections (real electricians should probably turn away here)

Inside, check that you have the wires around the correct way again (it's only paranoia if the universe is NOT out to get you!) and then join the wires- a light twist then lots of electrical tape is my method of choice.  Just a light twist mind you- too much and you'll break the individual wires.  And the tape is important as it will prevent any short circuit occurring which could kill the lights, tree or batteries or all of the above.  You should also check that there is enough length in the wire to allow you to place the lid on a table next to the box easily.  Otherwise you'll be trying to hold the tree while also replacing batteries and that's just annoying.

That's pretty much it.  Not fancy but it does make for a nice tree.

Look at that base- isn't it nice with no wires!

Happy Christmas everyone.