Save our earth!

How to Make Lamps and Vases From Bottles

Posted on 23.44

All you need to convert an old bottle into a lamp is a bottle adapter lamp kit which you can find at your local hardware / lighting store, and a lamp shade. The easiest method is to leave the lamp cord running from the socket instead of being concealed in the base.

Your kit should include drilled corks in different sizes, a spindle, harp, sock with cover, lamp cord with plug, and nuts and washers to put them all together. If the bottle is tall and slender you'll want to fill it with marbles, small stones, shells, sand, etc., to give it some ballast. Another option is to detach the harp from the socket assembly and use a lamp shade that will snap directly over the light bulb. That will the lamp's center of gravity.

Select the drilled cork that fits your bottle neck. Insert the spindle and secure washers and knurled nuts on both ends. Then twist the cork into the bottle.

Place the harp cradle over the spindle. Screw the socket base over the spindle and tighten the setscrew. Insert the cord through the socket base and strip the ends.

Attach the wire ends to the socket connections, wrapping clockwise before tightening the terminal screws. Install the socket cover and snap the assembly into the socket base.

Unscrew the finial on the harp, place a shade over the spindle, and replace the finial.

To hide the cord inside the bottle:
With a hacksaw, cut a 4" length from the threaded part of the spindle. Screw it into the hole in the metal arm attached to the socket, leaving enough room for the wires that will pass through.

Push the bottom of the spindle through a 1" washer, the drilled cork, and another washer. Secure with a nut.

Drill a hole in the base of the bottle. Push the sripped end of the electric cord through the hole and up through the neck of the bottle, then through bottom of the spindle and out the top. Connect the wires to the screws on the socket. Pull the wire taut and replace the socket cover.