Futuristic Drum Major Mace

The futuristic drum major mace is made to fit in the world of a celestial marching band. It has a glowing blue crown to represent the moon in the reference picture which was generated by Midjourney AI with a black staff wrapped in colored duct tape. The staff was made from PVC piping with a paper mache crown wrapped in LEDs light strips.

Credits of the AI-generated picture: https://midjourney.com/home/?callbackUrl=%2Fapp%2F

Tools

• Scissors
• Small Hack Saw (Optional)
• Wire Cutters

Supplies

• Newspaper
• 36 in. Chicken Wire
• Wood Glue
• Epoxy
• 6.5 ft LED Light Strip with Wireless Remote Control
• Cylindrical Portable Power Supply (Micro-USB Cable Needed for charging)
• 1-1/4 SCH 40 PVC Pipe
• 1-1/4 SCH 40 PVC Pipe End Cap
• Double Sided Tape

Decoration Supplies

• Glitter tape
• Laser Tape

Supplies:

• Newspaper
• 36 in. Chicken Wire
• Wood Glue
• Pliers
• Wire Cutters

Cut the chicken wire into six 18-inch strips that are an inch wide and then form a sphere. It is helpful to use pliers to tuck the ends of the wire into itself so it can keep its shape.

To make the paste, mix together one part of warm water and one part of wood glue. It should have a thick, creamy soup-like texture to it.

Tear the newspaper into strips and dip them into the paste to get a thin layer covering the entire strip. Place the strips onto the chicken wire until it is fully covered.

Supplies:

• 6.5 ft LED Light Strip with Wireless Remote Control
• Cylindrical Portable Power Supply
• 1-1/4 SCH 40 PVC Pipe End Cap
• double-sided tape

First, make sure your LED strip is working properly by plugging it into a wall outlet or any 5-V power source. Next, confirm that all of the lights are turning on and that the remote is functioning. Finally, make sure that your power supply can power the led strip you purchased. Once the power supply and LEDs have been tested and work properly move on to the next step.

As for the power supply, use double-sided tape and tape it to the inside of the end cap.

Supplies:

• 1-1/4 SCH 40 PVC Pipe
• LED strips
• Cylindrical Portable 5V Power Supply

To achieve the desired height for the mace you will have to cut down the PVC pipe. For our project we were shooting for a finished height of 58". With the diameter of the paper mache moon coming out to 6" we need the final height of the moon to be 52" for this we will cut 8" off of our 5-foot section. To do this you will need a small hacksaw or can cut your PVC with the in-store provided cutters. After it is cut, you can feed the LEDs stripe through the body to reach the bottom of the pipe where the power supply will be located.

Supplies:

• Epoxy Glue
• Double-Sided Tape

From the paper mache moon, locate the flattest part of the sphere. Make sure to mark that part down with a marker. Then use your finger to apply pressure to the side of the marked location. Once pressure is applied, it is going to dent the moon and create a little hole so the LEDs stripes from the PVC will be able to be wrapped around the moon. Then use double-sided tape or if the stripes come with double-sided tape use it to make the stripe attach to the PVC. Make sure that the USB connector is long enough to connect to the power supply. Once the stripe is attached to the PVC, put the marked part of the Moon onto the hole of the PVC and pull the attached stripes so that the extra parts are slit through the dented part of the moon. Then wrap the LEDs around the moon using double-sided tape. Then apply the epoxy glue around the moon, and wait for 5 minutes (this depends on the type of epoxy used). To make sure that it is well attached, use a hand and play around with the moon. If the moon is loose, apply extra epoxy and repeat this until it the moon is still. Once the moon is strongly attached to the moon proceed to the next step.

Supplies:

• Laser Tape
• Glitter Tape
• Scissors
• Any decoration material: Spray Paint, Stickers, Fabric, Ribbons

Once, the moon is well attached to the mace. Use any decoration material around the moon and the mace. In the picture, we used blue laser tape to wrap around the moon giving it a fluorescence effect when the LEDs are on. Then around the mace body, we used silver glitter tape. The glitter tape made the mace look futuristic and metallic at the same time. The tape can be applied both vertically and horizontally which will create different artistic effects. If you were wondering how to apply tape, a good way is to pull the tape long and wrap it around the mace. Then use scissors to cut them. The same decore was done with the end cap. A gentle reminder, make sure when you decorate leave space on the PVC so the end cap can still be removed and attached back easily.

Additionally, the project can be expanded much more. A good start would be playing around with the LEDs light strip with an Arduino. By controlling the LEDs with a microcontroller, it creates infinite possibilities to make the mace much cooler.

Here is a good instructable we found: https://www.instructables.com/Control-a-LED-light-strips-color-via-an-Arduino-an/

Finally, this marks the end of our Instructables for our Futuristic Marching Band mace. Enjoy and play with that in the dark!!! That actually looks awesome. Have fun!