Make a Homemade Flashlight

There are plenty of flashlights on the market today - models that you shake, crank, twist, click, and more. If none of these flashlights tickle your fancy or you don't want to pay lots of money for unneeded bells and whistles, you can make your own flashlight from a toilet paper tube and other basic supplies you can find in your home.

Steps

Quick & Easy Method

  1. Gather your supplies. Clear an area to work in and invite the kids and family to come watch you manipulate electricity with your bare hands. You'll need:
    • An empty toilet paper roll (or lightweight cardboard rolled into a small tube)
    • 2 D batteries
    • Tape (electrical tape works well)
    • 5" (12.5 cm) long piece of wire (if you're using a speaker wire, use the copper kind)
    • 2.2 volt light bulb (different bulbs are an option, but it may or may not work as well. A bulb from a string of Christmas lights works quite effectively.)
  2. Tape the wire to the negative ( - ) end of one of the batteries. Make sure it's snug and not going anywhere, or your light will end up flickering.
    • You could use tin foil instead of wire, but it's a little less dependable and harder to work with.
  3. Tape the bottom of the toilet paper roll/cardboard well so that it is completely covered. You don't want any light to sneak through, dissipating its strength -- that would be one poorly working flashlight.
    • If you didn't have reason to use black electrical tape yet, now you do.
  4. Insert the battery, wired end first, into the toilet paper roll. Even though the wired end is facing the taped bottom of the roll, the other end of the wire should be sticking out of the open end.
    • If the wire isn't sticking out enough to come around the edge of the battery, you need to shorten your tube.
  5. Insert the next battery, negative side first. Its negative side will meet the positive side of the battery, which is already inside. This connection continues the flow of electricity from back to front, ultimately lighting up your device.
  6. Tape the bulb to the top of the battery. Be confident there's an adequate direct connection between the two surfaces (basically, make sure it's sturdy). Make sure you can still see the bottom half of the bulb.
  7. Light up your flashlight. With the wire, touch the silver part of the bulb. If it doesn't light up after a few tries, check the tips below for troubleshooting. If it does function, now you have a working flashlight with an on/off feature.

Alternate Method

  1. Gather your materials. It's time to beckon the MacGyver within you and get started. You'll need:
    • 2 D cell batteries (separate)
    • 2 5" pieces of number 22 insulated copper bell wire (1" of insulation stripped off both ends)
    • Cardboard tube cut to 4" in length
    • PR6, or number 222, 3-volt flashlight bulb
    • 2 brass fasteners (brads)
    • 1" x 3" cardboard strip
    • Paper clip
    • Tape
    • Bathroom-size paper cup
  2. Attach a brass tab to the end of each wire. Wrap it around to secure it. Punch the tabs through the same side of the cardboard tube, but with the wires coming out of different ends. The pointy ends should be sticking out of the tube. This'll be used to serve as part of the on/off switch.
  3. Tape your two D batteries together. Make sure the positive of one end is on the bottom of the negative end. Your battery should double in length, not width. Make sure they're firmly attached to each other and slide the batteries into the tube.
  4. Tape the wire on the negative end to the battery. The negative end is the flat one. Masking tape is sufficient for this.
  5. Cut a hole in your small cardboard strip. Place the wire on the positive end through that hole and wrap that wire around the bulb. Place the end of the bulb into the hole so it can be supported by the cardboard.
    • Place tape around the base of the bulb and cardboard to keep it secure to the wire. It should start flickering on at this point.
  6. Cut a hole in the bottom of a paper cup just large enough for the bulb. Place the bulb into the hole and secure the cup to the cardboard base with more tape.
  7. Insert a pop tab in between the two brass tab ends. When the pop tab is touching both, it conducts the electricity and turns your flashlight on. If the pop tab is moved, your flashlight turns off. Voila!
    • You can use a paperclip instead of a pop tab, too!
  8. Finished.

Tips

  • Want to make the flashlight look cool? Draw something on a piece of paper and tape it around the toilet paper roll/cardboard. A ghostly face, for example. Or, you can cover the end in masking tape and then draw on that
  • If the light doesn't light up check for the following:
    • Is the light bulb burned out?
    • Is the bulb a 2.2 volt bulb?
    • Is everything connected?
    • Do the batteries still have power?
    • Are the batteries in the correct position?

Warnings

  • Be careful; the wire will get moderately hot.
  • Always do this with adult supervision.

Things You'll Need

Quick & Easy Method

  • Empty toilet paper roll, or lightweight cardboard rolled into a small tube
  • 2 D batteries
  • Tape (works better with heavier duty tape)
  • 5 inch long piece of wire (if you use speaker wire, use the copper variety)
  • Desk, or a working space
  • 2.2 volt light bulb (you can try different bulbs, but it may or may not work as well. A bulb from a string of Christmas or festive lights works quite well.)

Alternate Method

  • 2 D cell batteries (separate)
  • 2 5" pieces of number 22 insulated copper bell wire (1" of insulation stripped off both ends)
  • Cardboard tube cut to 4" in length
  • PR6, or number 222, 3-volt flashlight bulb
  • 2 brass fasteners (brads)
  • 1" x 3" cardboard strip
  • Paper clip
  • Tape
  • Bathroom-size paper cup

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

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