"Static Grass Applicator - DIY" Topic

Hi Folks

I finally got round to building my own Static Grass Applicator – cost £3.50 GBP and excluding shopping time time less than 15 minutes to build…

full tutorial here
link

this…

produced these…

Super Nice Eric, thanks for the info and tutorial.
Cheers happy gaming

I agree, nice work! I made one of those a couple years back. It still works well. Although not as powerful as the manufactured ones, it works great for the things I do.

Great post – thanks.

I am mystified though …. how does it work since there never seems to be a time when the circuit is actually complete?

That is so mad scientist, you should take out a patent.

I have been mystified at the high cost of manufactured applicators. Even more so now that you have provided a clear tutorial on how to build an applicator. Thanks, Eric!

Thank-you. I will try that.

Hi Ditto Tango 2 3

The idea is to make the tufts on paper and then lift these to stick on your bases.

The applicator could work on larger pieces but you would need to connect the cable to an iron nail and periodically stick this in the foam hill.

So… which static grass do you guys prefer? I have a pair of tall woodland scenic shakers from years and years ago but I find them somewhat too glossy.

Mine doesn't work :( – I must be an idiot.
Does it matter which wire you cut off? Mine had a red, green and black wire (rather than two black wires), I cut off the green wire – was that right?

Hi Lord Hill
Did you cut one of the pair of wires that runs from the same point on the circuit board??

Otherwise are you getting any current? Was the zapper working when you started? Is the battery charged? just thoughts..hope it works out

Hi Eric, thanks for your help
I cut one of the wires and soldered the other (black/green) one onto the metal sieve handle.
Then I attached a crocodile clip to the red wire and the other end of the crocodile clip to a metal biscuit tin lid.

The zapper seems ok – when I press the button the red light comes on and there is a very faint whine sound, so it seems to be fine.
I'm using Duracel batteries because I read somewhere that cheap batteries wouldn't produce enough static charge.

I've tried different types of glue (because I read that might be the issue) but also no change.

So I've tried everything – I've tried two zappers now, but the same disappointig results for both of them – the grass just falls through the sieve and lands flat on the glue, as if there were no electricity at all!

Any suggestions would be very welcome from anyone – it's been a miserable weekend! :(

So it sounds like the zapper is working…

The glue should make no difference…

Apologies if this sounds stupid but are you placing the paper (with glue spots onto a metal tray and conneting the spare cable.

As you shake the flock through the sieve you should have the zapper switch pressed to the on position…

- if you were to press the sieve against the metal tray do sparks start flying (the switch must be on) – if you get no cracks of electrical discharge /sparks then it is something to do with the zapper…

The picture below shows the connection – white crocodile clip attached to tray…

Finally – is the static grass you are using nylon/man made fibres? I would assume it is but just in case…

Some other thoughts

Should have added that if you were to touch the loose cable to the sieve (this must have the other cable attached) you would also get an electrical discharge…this would be a quicker test than setting up glue paper etc…

PS the electrical discharge will give you a shock ! If you feel it then the zapper is working.

In which case maybe your tray does not conduct electricity – steel will work – aluminium will NOT

good luck

just one final thought…is the sieve made from steel??

Eric, thank you so much for your suggestions, it's still not working but I'm getting closer I think.
Ok, so I thought your tray suggestion was a good idea – not sure if my biscuit tin is aluminium – so I just tried using the face of a saw from the garden shed (which I'm sure is steel!)
Sure enough, there were big sparks when I pressed the sieve too close – so the fundamentals seem to be working. However, the grass still shows no sign of standing upright, or of being charged in any way.
So now I'm wondering about your other suggestion, that the actual grass is not made of a suitable material. I bought three bags from ebay from a seller here auction

Maybe it's not appropriate for applicators – I can't think what else it could be.

I'm happy at least that the zapper applicator seems to function as it should, even if it's not currently any use!

Is the paper underneath baking parchment, wax or just plain printer paper? I'm wondering which would allow the tuffs to be remove the easiest or do you find the paper type does not matter.

Hi SM – I use baking paper and the tufts peel off fine.

I have to say, I'm still baffled as to why my applicator doesn't work.
The zapper works – it will spark if I hold the sieve too close to a metal surface (I'm now using a steel saw as my "tray")
But fibres don't stand up when I hover the sieve over them – there is no movement.
I've checked the vendor of the static grass and it says "suitable for applicators" and I've even checked with some nylon strands from a feather duster, and they also refused to stand upright.
I just can't work out where the problem is. When I watch demo vids on Youtube the grass all stands up neatly, but I get nothing – it just falls through the sieve and lies completely flat, the same as if there were no static charge at all.

Lord Hill, I'm sorry I cannot help with the building portion as I received mine as a birthday gift already built. The following questions may sound silly, but here goes.

(1) Are you pressing the power button down while dispensing static grass from the sifter?

(2) What is the length of the static grass you are using? I have been able to make 4mm stand up, but too short. I've recently purchased 6mm and 12mm static grass. To help you out, I will gladly share some with you as I have plenty just so you can test to see if the problem is with the grass/grass length. If you would like some static grass for free, drop me an email at camaraderiegroup at hotmail dot com.

Nina