This little project has been on my to do list for months. Now I’ve completed it, and it took about five minutes!
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you click on these links, I may receive a small commission – as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It will not cost you anything. I only share products and services that I truly believe in and think are great.]
Last year I wired my dad’s old cornet from high school band to be a lamp. I got the wiring kit from The Home Depot. It was a pretty easy project after I drilled a few holes, engineered a way for it to stay standing on its bell with the added weight of the lamp shade, and learned how to tie an Underwriter’s knot.
This time, I had an empty Jim Beam bottle from a few Christmas Eves of making my great aunt’s famous eggnog. I got a lamp wiring kit from Amazon (it happened to be specifically designed for lamps, and it also happened to be a two pack). It made the wiring of this lamp so easy. There would have been no need for a drill except for the fact I thought it would look better with the lid on – so that the rubber stopper part doesn’t show.
I started by drilling a hole in the lid with a 3/8” drill bit.
After that it was merely assembly. I used a rubber mallet to tap the threaded tube into the correct sized rubber stopper (the kit comes with three for various sized bottle mouths). After that I stuffed the rubber stopper into the bottle (this took some patience and determination). I added the lid back to the bottle, then ran the washer and little brass plate and onto the tube. The next step was simply screwing the pre-wired light socket onto the threaded tube. The last step in making the lamp was to tighten down a tiny screw on the neck of the light socket – this screw helps hold the socket from spinning or becoming loose.
The final step and crowning glory of this project was an Edison style bulb I picked up at Batteries + Bulbs.
Like I said, easy peasy – done in 5.
I have a bottle collection that I started as a child. I think it might be really cool to wire them all and use low wattage bulbs to make a lamp instillation. If I organized them on a bookshelf or side table, then plugged them into a serge protected power strip I would turn them all on (and off) with the flip of a switch.
This looks so cool!