Have fun transforming junk into distinctive lamps
By Coen Smit
Photographs: Coen Smit
If you are interested in adapting and using discarded bits and bobs to make something useful, then building lights, table lamps, and the like, offers an endless source of relatively inexpensive projects to amuse you. What’s more, they make unique gifts and nice conversation starters for visitors. Lamps are also a good way of supporting a decorating theme. Whether you are into an Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, modern or industrial look, it is nice to enhance your chosen theme by constructing a light from an object that is reminiscent of it.
Of course, you are dealing with 240-volt electricity, which is potentially lethal, so it is essential that you use common sense and particular care when wiring up lights (see the safe wiring tip box). The advent of 12-volt downlights powered by small transformers has also made the construction of lights much safer. Lights can now be wired in such a way that the 240-volt transformer is remotely located or secured and independently earthed. There is no electrocution risk posed by the 12-volt wiring in the rest of the light.
Endless possibilities
The fun is in selecting something that can usefully be turned into a light. As you can see from the accompanying photographs, there are a host of objects that lend themselves to being transformed into lights. You might even consider using existing lights, but in a different context.
A nice glass ceiling light can serve as an exotic table lamp, or the face plates of an old gas pump can be carried aloft by an Art Deco figurine which will give a soft corner light. Two damaged safety lights, their glass inserts replaced with copper sheet to soften their intensity, can be joined to make an unusual standing lamp. Automotive parts can also make interesting lights. They can be used in a variety of ways, such as a discreet bed light for those who want an intense light that will allow reading into the night without disturbing their companion, or those who want a good source of light at a work desk.
Here are two lights I have made – a 240-volt shovel standing lamp, and a 12-volt, inlet manifold work desk light. Hopefully, they’ll give you inspiration for a project of your own.
Shovel standing lamp
The head of an old shovel makes an interesting backing for a low-wattage bulb, which will give off a soft, warmly glowing, fire-like light. The light can easily be made in any of three configurations – as a table light on a sideboard, as a hard-wired wall light, or a free-standing lamp. Because we are dealing with an almost completely metal lamp, you will need access to a welder, angle grinder, and other metal-working tools.
In this instance, I decided to make a standing lamp and used an old disc brake as the lamp’s base. They are heavy and make a good solid base that will stop the lamp falling over if it is accidentally bumped. Retired ones are readily available. The stem of the lamp is made from a section of 25mm steel pipe, welded at the base to the disc and holding the shovel at the top. A short section of similarly sized pipe is given a slight bend to position the light bulb in front of the head of the shovel.
On one side of the bend, cut the water pipe at an angle so that it can be welded onto the main stem to make a smooth branch out. Prior to welding, cut an elongated hole in the main stem. Before welding the branch onto the stem, run a length of wire through both parts of the lamp. You will need this later to draw the flex through the lamp when it comes to wiring up the light.
I cut a circle out of a piece of scrap timber the same size as the base of the light fitting, with a recessed hole in the centre. I then glued it onto the top of the branch and ensured that it was large enough to allow the flex to pass through. (Note: if you opt to weld a steel base for the light fitting, insert a circle of Perspex of 3mm thickness or similar insulating material between the light fitting base and the metal to eliminate any chance of an accidental short circuit occurring between the live wires and the base.) When you have everything assembled and cleaned up the welds and metal work to your satisfaction, I recommend that you spray it with cold galvanising paint, before applying a finishing coat in the colour of your choice.
Underneath the disc brake base, I welded a short piece of flat bar with three holes in it. This is the earthing point for the light as well as a secure fixing point for the flex running to the wall socket. Between two of the holes in the flat bar, thread a Jiffy strap to secure the incoming flex, cut and strip the flex back a short distance and crimp a ring terminal to the green earth wire. Do the same for the section of flex coming down from the lamp. Then connect the two remaining wires from each section of flex using insulated joiners rated for 240 volts. Connect the two ring terminals with a small bolt to the third hole in the flat bar.
At this point, you can choose to put an on/off switch in the flex at a point close to the lamp, or rely on the switch at the wall outlet to turn the light on and off. I fitted a simple 240-volt on/off switch on the lamp’s base and wired it in as per the accompanying diagram.
It’s now time to connect the three-pin plug, following the instructions on the packet as to how much to remove of the outer sheathing of the flex and which colour wires to connect to the plug’s terminals. I am not a qualified electrician, so if you have any concerns about doing the electrical wiring yourself, I suggest that you have someone qualified to do it for you.
Having said that, wiring up a lamp is not one of the dark arts, and the accompanying diagram shows what is required. Just remember green is always the earth wire and should be connected to the earth terminal of the plug and the metal body of the lamp. The red or brown is normally positive, while black or blue is negative. The polarity of these two wires in this application is not critical, as long as the green wire is always connected to the earth pin and the green wire is connected to the metal parts of the lamp.
Manifold light
For this light, I used an old dual carburettor inlet manifold for a 186 cu-inch Holden engine, which has moved house with me over the years, but never had the opportunity to reconnect with a motor. As it turned out, it was just the right piece to make a novel desk or bedhead lamp.
I mounted the inlet manifold on a 10mm diameter rod and used a section of thin, round tube left over from the foot of an exercise machine as the base. It was also the exact size to locate the 12-volt transformer. These little transformers normally power downlights and are therefore ideal for this application. The halogen globes fitted neatly into the manifold’s inlet ports and are held in position with washers turned up out of some nylon stock. I used small nuts and bolts to hold the nylon washers in place to continue the “automotive theme” of the lamp.
On the carburettor inlet ports, I mounted switches in some additional nylon washers to enable each of the two outer lights to be switched on individually or together. On the side of the base I mounted the main on/off switch that controls power to the transformer which immediately turns on the centre light.
As you can see from the accompanying photos, a variety of objects can be repurposed to make unique and different kinds of lights. The overall cost of making them is not exorbitant and as long as you are careful when wiring them up, they are quite safe.
Making sure your light is safe to use
Before testing your new light, use a multimeter on its ohm setting and check that it is functioning properly by touching its two probes together. A digital multimeter should go from 0L to 00.03 to indicate a ‘dead short’. Note the meter will never read zero – it will be a low figure, perhaps 0.3 ohms. The legal requirement is that it is less than 1 ohm, not a ‘dead short’ as the termination, wiring, and contact resistance will actually add up.
A ‘needle’ multimeter when shorted should show a significant movement in the needle to indicate the presence of a circuit.
- Touch one probe of the multimeter to the earth pin on the wall plug and the other to an unpainted steel part of the lamp. The multimeter should show that a ‘dead short’ exists between the two, which means the lamp is properly earthed.
- Hold one probe of the multimeter in contact with the metal body of the lamp, and touch the other probe to the positive and negative terminals of the wall plug, in turn. Your multimeter should show that there is no circuit with either of these pins and the lamp. If, however, your multimeter detects one, you need to find the short and eliminate it before testing the lamp again.
