Maglite Lamp

Earlier this week I was at ikea and like always I was trying to find something that I could tinker with. On Pinterest and on here as well I had seen lots of tutorial on making different lighting fixtures and pipe lamps and they all used a lighting kit. After making my way nearly through the entire store I hadn't found anything until I got into the lighting showroom. There I found lots of different LEDS I could mess with but they were a little expensive for just a day project. I found a pendant lighting kit that came with a long cord that has a braided casing around if and a few eye hooks to hang it from the ceiling. The best part was it was only $8. I picked it up and after taking it home I couldn't decide what to do with it. I searched high and low for something to mount it on and also online on how to make something for it. It was to no avail. I sat the parts aside and figured something would come to me. So after a few hours I was sitting at my desk pursuing the Internet like always and I checked in my drawer and found something. A small pocket mag light. Then with a little more searching I found the much larger brother that ran on D cell batteries. I never use this light anymore it's more of just a large blunt object rather than a light due to new led models coming out. I figured it would be a neat housing. I tested to make sure it fit and started hacking away. Just a few hours later I was able to create, the mag light lamp. I hope you enjoy! (this is one of the few projects I make and remembered to document and take pictures as I went along)

Step 1: Gather Materials

Materials list:

Pendant lighting fixture (mine was from ikea) Large maglite (older style with d batteries or equivalent size)

Tools: Wire strippers Wire nuts/electrical tape Drill, appropriate bit

Optional: heat shrink tubing Soldering iron, solder

Step 2: Disassemble

Remove the front assembly and the rear plate and also the batteries. So basically anything that can be unscrewed, do so. Also remove the battery. You can save the parts such as the batteries bulb and possible the clear plastic piece from the front end for other projects. Upon taking the light apart I found a spare bulb In a peace of foam in the base, that can also be put aside and saves. Not that you have all the parts out of the way you want to keep anything that is metal. Then to remove the electrical " guts" of the light you'll need to hammer them out with a large screwdriver and a mallet or hammer. Also to keep it looking like a flashlight remember to save the rubber button from the side. You'll need to glue that back in later to keep it looking clean.

Step 3: Assembly

Gather all your parts to a clean workspace so you can see what you've got. You should have a body, end pieces, fixture, a threaded piece to tighten the fixture in place and if you haven't already glued it in place a button. Start by cutting your wire at a length that the splice will be hidden inside the body of the light. I chose about 3 or four inches from the fixture. Then drill an appropriate sized hole in the end cap. Mine was a little to large, I used small bits and stepped up till I got to a half inch. Just start with a small bit and work your way up through bits till your wire fits through with ease. Stepping through the bit sizes will give you a cleaner cut. Once you have that test the fit of your fixture. Mine was a little to large so I sanded it down. The part wear the bulb screws in should be placed between the body and the front assembly. Then the threaded plastic piece then the metal ring. The light looks great without a dome or shade. It would look really good with an Edison or other decorative bulb. For mine I used a shade from an ikea desk lamp that I had. It scares between the plastic piece and metal ring.

Step 4: Hang

Using the eye screws I hung the lamp in a corner over my bed. I hope this can inspires you to build one for yourself or something similar or just gets you in the mood to create something! Happy building!