Black Iron Pipe Light

I saw a lamp made out of iron pipe designed in the shape of a person a few years ago. I finally got around to attempting to make one and decided I also wanted to incorporate a touch control circuit. My original concept was along the lines of "The Thinker" sculpture; however, when I started assembling the parts, I couldn't get the geometry to work out like I was wanting. I played around with different positions and configurations until I got something I thought looked good.

Electrical Supplies:

• 2-wire lamp cord (12 feet)
• GU-10 lamp base and LED bulb
• 2-wire plug
• In-line lamp switch
• Heat shrink tubing
• Wire strippers
• Rosin core solder
• Soldering iron
• Wago clips or wire nuts

Pipe (1/2 inch unless otherwise specified):

• 10 x 2 1/2 inch nipple
• 5 x 1 inch nipple
• 1 x straight connection
• 7 x 90° elbow
• 2 x 45° elbow
• 1 x 3-way connection
• 1 x 4-way connection
• 2 x end caps
• 1 x 2 1/2 to 1 inch female to female reducer (This part was 3D printed to ensure proper fit)
• 1 x 1 to 1/2 inch male to female reducer
• 2 x flange

Wood for base:

• 2 x 5 1/2 inch x 5 1/2 inch x 3/4 inch (I used oak, but the species doesn't matter)
• 4 x 1 1/2 width x 5 1/2 inch length x 3/4 inch thick ( 45° miter cuts on the ends)
• Wood screws
• Miter saw
• Wood stain/sealer
• Wood glue

Misc:

• 2 part epoxy
• Drill bits
• screw drivers
• clamps

I started with the electrical wiring since it would have to feed through the pipe.

1. Remove the plastic base, wire covering, and connection for the GU10 base
2. Strip back the insulation on the base wires and the electrical cord
3. Put a piece of heat shrink tubing onto the base wires
4. Solder connections
5. Slide heat shrink tubing over connections and apply heat. A lighter, heat gun, or even the stove can be used

I fist secured the lamp base into the 2 1/2 inch x 1 inch reducer using 2 part epoxy. The bulb was installed to allow be to center the base in the reducer. Tape was used to hold it in place while it cured. I moved on to assembling the rest of the piping while it cured. After the epoxy cured, I disassembled some of the pipes to feed the wire through.

I drilled a 1/4 inch hole in the center of one of the 5 1/2 inch pieces of wood. Then placed one of the flanges over it and traced the four mounting holes. 1/4 inch holes were drilled to match up with the flange. Mine ended up being a little off center. Four holes 1/8 inch holes were drilled in the other piece of 5 1/2 inch wood along the edges. the holes were then countersunk to recess the screws. A 1/4 inch hole was drilled in one of the side pieces to feed the wire through. The four side pieces were glued to the top piece of 5 1/2 inch wood and weighted down. The glue was left to dry overnight. after the glue has dried, stain/sealer can be applied.

Feed the wire through the hole and mount the flange to the base using 1/4 inch pan head sheet metal screws. Leave the nut off one of the screws for wiring later. Cut off the wire from the base, leaving about 3 to 4 inches.

The touch module I choose had a wiring diagram on it, so it was easy to install. For reference, the smooth wire is the grounded neutral (N) and the ribbed wire is the ungrounded hot wire (L). The ribbed wire coming into the base was attached to the black wire. The smooth wire was attached to the white wire and the smooth wire going to the light. The red wire was attached to the ribbed wire going to the light. The final blue wire was attached to the screw and the nut tightened. The control module was secured to the bottom piece with 2-sided tape.

A knot is tied in the cord before feeding it through the hole in the side of the base to prevent the wires from pulling loose from the connections if the cord is pulled. About 2 to 3 feet from the base, separate the two wires for the length of the in-line switch to be installed. The ribbed wire is cut and trimmed to fit in the switch. When the cover is screwed onto the switch, the prongs should pierce the wire completing the circuit. If not, you may need to cut through the insulation. To wire the plug, the smooth wire gets attached to the silver screw and the ribbed wire gets attached to the brass screw.