Hey guys...

I had the idea to make a little gimmicked Sharpie marker, but need your guys' help with the construction...

Well, the basic thing I would like to make is a Sharpie marker that when you have a flame touch the tip of it (the part where you would write something from), the tip of the marker would turn into kind of a wick of a candle, and would hold the flame there, and allow for it to touch some flash paper, or whatever, and would be able to light something...

I have already pulled the black body of the Sharpie out of the hollow grayish tubing, but don't know what to do next...

I would like the actual ink thing to be removed, and replaced with like a cotton or somehting that can hold lighter fluid, and the tip of the marker will be removed, and replaced with a Lighter wick that is black... And, the housing of the marker could of coarse be pulled out of the body to refil with lighter fluid when your all out... Now, how would I do that sucessfully, and by not getting marker ink all over the place? LOL!

Also, another factor of having the flame on the tip of the marker is that the plastic surrounding the wick would be melting; so any help on how that could be prevented?

Thanks a bunch guys, and any help is well appreciated!
-Vinnie

This already exists actually http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php......p;page=1 Its a very good idea!

LOL, how did I know someone would dirrect me to this product?

This is not what I am looking for! The gimmick linked above is one that if you touch the bottom of a Sharpie to flash paper, it will ignite it...

What I am looking to make is something that when you touch a flame to the writing end of the Sharpie (the tip where the ink is at), it looks like a Sharpie candle, and the fire stays on the tip so that you can light something else on fire...

-Vinnie

Sharpie now makes a retractable marker, you might have a look at one. Also lopping two regular pens in half clearing out the guts and rejoining the top and bottom with a length of brass tubing.

Depending on the amount of time you need it to burn, have you tried just soaking the tip in a vial of lighter fluid?

How about using the wick chamber from a Fantasio candle? It already has a metal tip, so that would also take care of your melting concerns. I've got one in front of me and am comparing it to a regular fine point Sharpie marker. Colored black, the Fantasio chamber could pass as the Sharpie tip. The main part of the chamber is slightly smaller than the corresponding part on the Sharpie. (In the case of a black Sharpie marker, I'm talking about the black plastic part.) It should be a fairly easy thing to marry up the Fantasio wick chamber with the gray plastic handle portion of the Sharpie.

Ross Hironaka

Thanks Ross, I understand your suggestion, but I don't think I wanna sacrafice my fantasio candle for this. Haha...

Thanks for the suggestion though!

Any other help? =]
-Vinnie

Vinnie,

Okay, I wouldn't want to sacrifice my Fantasio Candle, either... <g>

Perhaps you can make something similar to the Fantasio wick chamber. I'd try epoxying a length of 1/8" diameter or so aluminum tubing (look for the K&S tubing display at any good hobby store) into the tip of the Sharpie, then load it with a wick like the Fantansio Candle. For access to the wick chamber, I'd try slicing the Sharpie with a razor blade then rejoining the sections back together with a solid plug connector. The plug would seal the wick chamber as well as provide a way to hold everything together. Pack cotton around the wick for the lighter fluid like the Fantasio Candle.

Depending on how long you need to let this burn, the orientation of the pen during use, and how far the aluminum tube sticks out of the pen, you may or may not have an issue with the plastic pen melting. Prior to installing the aluminum wick tube, I'd drill out the tip of the black plastic part a bit oversized so that the protruding aluminum tube does not contact the plastic. To center the aluminum tube within the black plastic, I'd use rings of an insulating material, like thin plywood (also from hobby shop). That way the heat from the aluminum tube doesn't get directly conducted back to the plastic. If the flame is going to come into contact with the black plastic, perhaps you could protect the exposed plastic by sticking on protective foil, like plumber's tape inked black.

I'd make the plywood rings on a Dremel. I've made these by mounting plywood to a cutting tool mandrel (the plywood replaces the abrasive wheel) and then sanding the plywood down with a sanding block. Quick and easy. Be sure to rough up the aluminum and plastic with sandpaper before epoxying things together.

Good luck,

Ross