A Terrace Wooden-base Pole-mounted Glass Jar Light

As I mentioned in another Instructable of mine (A Terrace Compost Bin), I have a large terrace.

On this terrace I have a 3 x 3 meter wooden gazebo, designed and built by myself, under which I spend many evenings with friends, having dinner or talking about this and that, perhaps sipping a good glass of wine. In the internal vertex of the gazebo I have installed a LED lamp that gives a lot of light, maybe too much, and also attracts a multitude of different insects, making it unpleasant to sit and chat.

This year I want to replace that light with others that are not too strong or blinding, not a lighthouse effect on a stormy night, but something soft, to create a nice atmosphere (and maybe to reduce mosquitoes).

Material for each lamp:

• A 1/2" diameter conduit 1 meter long threaded at both ends
• A threaded lamp socket with two socket rings
• A glass jar (known also as a Mason jar) big enough to accommodate lamp socket and bulb
• A metric M10x1 threaded tube 20 mm long
• Two M10x1 nuts
• One E14 LED bulb max 4W
• A round bamboo base with a diameter of 28 cm (at least 1.5 cm thick)
• A 1/2” floor flange
• A 1/2” threaded cast iron female cap
• Three rubber feet
• A drill with bits
• An electric plug
• A few meters of electric cable
• A can of matte black spray paint

After looking for some suggestions in that huge source of ideas which is the Instructables site, I read "Pole-Mounted Mason Jar Garden Lights" and loved it. So I bought everything I needed to make those lamps, trying, as my habit, to adapt the project to my specific needs and maybe improve something.

The biggest difference with that project is that I can't insert any part of the lamp support pole into the ground, just because I don't have any ground. This is why I looked for a 1/2" diameter conduit, only one meter long and threaded at both ends, also thinking about a suitable base, perhaps made of wood, on which to fix it.

I found a 28 cm diameter round bamboo cutting board as a support base, where, with four screws, I fixed the 1/2" floor flange. Pay attention that the thickness of the base must be at least 1.5 cm to have a really solid support. Mine was 1.7 cm thick.

Then I screwed one conduit pipe end into the floor flange. Three rubber feet under the bamboo base to increase stability (three are better than four on not perfectly flat surfaces) and that's it: I had a stable terrace pole for my lamp.

I made a hole in the conduit tube at 25 cm from the bottom end and passed the electric wire internally.

I bought also a 1/2” threaded cast iron female cap for closing the conduit tube top end. Making a 10 mm hole on top of it I was able to insert a metric M10x1 threaded tube, the one used when restoring lamps, 20 mm long with its related nut, where I could screw my new E14 lamp socket. I preferred this way instead of fixing that nut to the conduit tube with epoxy adhesive (it's a good idea anyway).

Then I connected the lamp holder I bought with a threaded lamp holder rings. I used an E14 amber LED bulb in the shape of a candle flame with 4W vintage filament and a very warm 2700K light. This is a really beautiful light bulb and its light is really warm and soft.

I then bought a Mason jar with a high screw lid and with embossed decorations and then drilled a hole the outside diameter of the bulb holder in its lid. I then placed this lid between the retaining ring and the bulb holder ring. Just as I was trying to screw the jar upside down on the lid, my wife suggested covering the outer surface of the jar with lace. This would have avoided seeing the bulb's filament, improving the spread of its light.

Can you picture me drinking wine or beer with my friends, rough, almost savage men, surrounded by fluttering white lace ... So I told her it would be too frivolous and, oddly enough, she agreed. Certainly this last modification would not have allowed the terrace lamps to be left outdoors. In case of rain the water would have completely unglued the lace, ruining everything.

But it was still a good idea.

Another piece of advice my wife gave me was to paint all parts of the lamp frame a nice matte black. And this time I did, or rather, I obeyed. I can't contradict my wife twice in a row.

I repeated the various steps to get three lamps (four lamps would create a morgue atmosphere only good for Halloween) and when they were completed I just had to call my friends and look for a good bottle of red wine in the cellar.

One last tip: If you like, try using different types of jars.

I hope you enjoyed my Instructable. Feel free to leave your comments and feedback in the comment section.