That is gorgeous
So many steps above and beyond your inspiration!
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That is wonderful! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your process!
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Wow. That has to be one of the most comprehensive writeups I have seen. Also an amazing project! I love the thought process behind it too. Fantastic.
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Greetings -
Thanks all for the kudos. I enjoy doing the write-ups, as another form creative exercise. It also helps me recall all the steps, including those I should have done in a different order, or which saved time later. That sort of thing.
But it’s also cathartic. This was a large project (for me), and when I spend that much time on something I get a kind of emotional attachment to it. AS talks about it occasionally on his podcast. So finalizing the write-up, along with cleaning all work areas, and (re)organizing the tools used as I’m putting the final touches on a piece, gives me a real feeling of closure to a project.
Other lessons learned -
Doing this project, along with The Aquarium, is also helping train my mind to visualize additive or assistive 3d printed elements as I work through a project. Although, I still absolutely love the challenge of making something complicated entirely with the GF. I mean, designvh619 completely blows my mind with his purse designs such as Winter is Coming
Lastly, RIP imperial measurements for GF and 3d projects. Doing just this one, completely in metric, while slow to start, was simply a no-brainer. I was getting fairly comfortable using .125" or .875". But working in mm, oh man, that just makes life so much easier when you have a crap ton of separate components that all have to work together. So I guess you could say I’m now metric-flexible. 
At any rate, thanks again for the feedback and kind comments.
Much appreciated!
HL
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Now that is something I’d keep in my living room and have on all the time! I actually keep our electric fireplace going all day/evening, just because I like the look of it, even in the summer! Thank you for showing us all your steps. It’s way, way above my paygrade and skill, but love seeing what you do.
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That is an exercise I need to commit to.
A great project there, very inspiring!
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Just wow! That’s amazing!
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You had a vision, and totally achieved it. Loved the write-up!
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As others have said, great write-up! It’s always nice to get a view of someone’s process. Are the lights constant or do they flicker?
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Wow that is awesome.
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Greetings - Thanks! And, since you made it this far, I’ll give you the long answer. I typically use three different LED strips, and choose which for a project depending on the needs / budget.
Even this small 240mmx240mm base needed about 8’ of strip. The cheapest ‘globe’ brand ($10) was out as it’s only 6.5’, and not the brightest anyway. I went with the Honeywell at $15 (local price - Amazon is only $10), since the base strip is 8.2 foot and it’s my go-to for most usb powered lighting.
It has nice fade and color cycling modes, and also a sound reactive mode, which is cool for my living room since I crank up music on a regular basis. And that’s what the Ghost table and Aquarium projects use, so that’s how I setup the Fire project. And then I also only need one remote, for a bunch of different lights.
However, for the higher end projects I use the WIZ led strips - they are very expensive. For this project a 6.6’ and a 3.3’ foot are $42 on Amazon. Whoa. But it does offer a very nice and dynamic ‘fireplace’ mode. Which I had in mind when I made the Fire.
The Wiz strip is 12v powered through a wall-wart however. But I did make a 12v battery supply using an Amazon adapter and a standard 12v barrel plug.
The Wiz strip is WiFi enabled, and can get really bright, so the battery life may be shorter than desired in super bright applications. It doesn’t ‘need’ wifi though, and once you set up a strip in the app, when powered on it can go to the last known light setting, fireplace for instance, so it still works remotely the way you want.
One other issue using the Wiz is that the LED strip is thick and not terribly flexible, in comparison to the cheap strips. It is however weather resistant, if that makes a difference. But knowing this Fire project was going to be a higher end endeavor, I did specifically make the final base reflector corner pieces with a big enough slot to pass the Wiz strip through.
Bottom line. If I give away the Fire project I’ll just leave the Honeywell strip in it so someone can use any USB outlet or power brick and the simple remote control. But if I end up keeping it, or I suppose someone wanted to buy it, I would change out the strip to the Wiz and set it up for the fireplace effect. That was my original intent, and likely where it’ll end up. I’m thinking it will ultimately live on my bedside table, since the fake fireplace is in my bedroom as well and is usually on when I’m in there. So the Fire would be a nice companion piece.
Thanks again,
HL
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Thanks for the extra details! Very sensible.
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Wow, what a project! Thanks for the written details, this will be sure to be an inspiration to me in the future (bookmarked for future reference).
Did you envision this at the start, or did it flare up and take off like a wildfire?
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Greetings kelley1 -
Thanks! 
. Most of my projects start off based on something I want to learn or a new material / technique I want to try, and a loose kind of feature set / theme I want it to have, like the Aquarium project. Then I just start, and let it grow organically until I run into some limitation, be it in cost, materials, physics or my skill set (usually).
Sure, sometimes one will burn whole in my pocket, or end up going down in flames 
and I write it off as a learning experience. But occasionally one becomes a real barn burner, like this one. It becomes so satisfying to see it form, I’ll even burn the midnight oil working on it.
HL
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I’m so glad you are part of the forum. Can’t wait to see what you make next.
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And now I have learned even more. Thanks.
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You should win a design award for this thing, seriously. It totally looks like real flames, and the whole thing is just so elegant.
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Fantastic creation, I absolutely love it!
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It’s a shame — sometimes I don’t comment on the coolest and most impressive projects, because I know I won’t be able to come up with a comment that adequately conveys my respect. All I can say is: very nice!
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You can do my write ups for me! I HATE them! I think the process of getting something into the catalog is so involved I don’t even try anymore.
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