Art Spinner Battery Interrupter

What You Need:

• 2 C Batteries

• Battery Interrupter

• Drill with a 5/32 drill bit

• tin snips of a hand file

• a switch

Test The Toy…

Always test the toy before adapting it. There is nothing more frustrating than adapting a toy and it not working because you did not test if first. Then you don’t know if it’s the adapting or the toy that isn’t working.

Remove the Battery Cover

Unscrew the batter cover

Cut a Notch or Hole in the Battery Cover

Use tin snips or a file to make a notch.

If you are using tin snips, the easiest way to create a notch is to cut a corner off. Alternatively, you can make 2 small cuts about 1/2 to a 1 centimeter apart, then use pliers, or the top of your wire strippers, to bend the piece of plastic in between the cuts back and forth. You will have to bend it several times until it snaps or you can use the tin snips to cut it when it’s bent. I used the second method for this toy.

Note: you want the notch to be big enough that the wires easily exit the battery compartment but small enough that the copper plate does not come out.

Note: This was one of the first projects I adapted, which is why there are two notches/holes. Since I used a DIY battery interrupter that lives in this toy, it uses a thicker circuit board. As a result, it may be hard to fit the batter back into the place. Originally, the notch/hole was on the side of the battery WITHOUT the spring, this made getting the battery back into place very difficult.
If you are using a battery interrupter with a thicker circuit board, you will want to put the copper plate on the side of the battery with the spring. By placing the copper plate on the side with the spring, you can set it inside and then use the battery to push against the copper plate and spring allowing you to pop the battery into place.

Place the Battery Interrupter

Place the battery interrupter in the battery compartment.

If you are using a thicker circuit board you are going to want to put the copper plate on the side of the battery with the spring. (See note above)

Before re-screwing the battery lid on, be sure to check if the battery cover will fit with the battery interrupter. I hold the cover in place and see if it looks like its bowing.

If it is bowing, you may need to cut down the copper plate, especially if you are leaving the battery interrupter in the toy.

Drilling a Hole

Now find a flat surface on the toy. Since this toy is curved in many areas I found a flat surface on the side of the toy. If the hole is on a curved surface, the piece, described in the next section, that secures the jack into place will not have a good enough grip and will fall off. The Jack may then get pushed into the toy or in this case under the toy.

Drill a hole in the toy using a 5/32 drill bit.

Placing and Securing The Jack

Remove the small metal ring that is on the female jack. Make sure you hold on to this!

Now that you have the hole drilled, fit the female jack through the hole until it sits flush against the toy and the metal part of the jack sticks out on the outside of the toy.

Now you want to put the metal ring back onto the jack as this is what secures it into place. You are going to want to hold the jack on the inside of the toy and using your fingers twist the metal ring on to the outside of the jack. In order to make sure it’s extra secure, you are going to want to use the tip of your wire strippers, which have a plier, to finish twisting the ring into place.