DIY Piston Lamp: Creating Lamp From Car Piston

Design items in the steampunk style are enviable among connoisseurs, many of whom are willing to pay any money for another unique little thing. But is it so difficult to do something of its own, for example, a lamp from a car piston? What will be needed to put the idea into practice will be discussed further.

To create an original lamp, which can be placed on the floor, table or wall in the hallway, you will need the following:

• the piston of an automobile or motorcycle engine;
• LED or an incandescent lamp;
• copper wires;
• metal plate or gear (for the stand);
• cold welding;
• degreasing compound;
• abrasive (goy paste);
• spark plugs (if necessary);
• switch;
• diffuser;
• drill.

Both a new and a failed piston will do. The difference lies in the cost of the part that is unusable. You can find the necessary item in any car shop, auto repair shop, recycling dump or your own garage.

At the request of the master, an ordinary incandescent lamp or LED is selected. The color of the light source and the power are also individually selected. The cross-section and length of the wires are selected in accordance with the parameters of the selected lamp and the length of the rack of the future lamp, which is the piston rod.

For fixing on a horizontal or vertical surface, any improvised part is used, for example, a gear disk (asterisk), gear, a steel plate, etc. The light source is installed in a cartridge placed in the piston. A small diode can be mounted on the end of the spark plug.

Where the lamp will be located depends entirely on the preferences of the master or customer. For uniform light distribution, the device is equipped with a diffuser or shade.

The easiest way to make a lighting device with a cartridge method of installing a light source. To do this, a hole of the appropriate size is drilled at the bottom of the piston. The fastening of the cartridge is carried out on a polymer adhesive, relevant when working with metal surfaces. Most commonly used cold welding.

Next, after installing the cartridge in the piston bore, the assembly process is carried out in the following sequence :

• current-carrying copper wires are soldered to the cartridge contacts;
• the connecting rod is attached to the stand for soldering or welding. It is also a possible screw connection in the absence of the ability to mount in another way;
• a switch block (on / off) is mounted in a convenient place, into which copper wires are inserted. If desired, the switch can be stylized for a specific part of the car, for example, an ignition switch;
• a network cable is connected to the switch;
• a shade or diffuser is mounted on the piston from the side of the light source.

Before joining all the elements of the complex, cleaning and decorating procedures are carried out . If a piston damaged by corrosion (rust) is used, as well as other parts in a similar condition, it will not be superfluous to process them by grinding. With the help of goy paste, the metal surface is polished to a shine.

After processing, the metal surface of the piston, connecting rod and stand can be painted in any color. According to the canons of style, copper or brass color is assumed . Wires are also decorated, most often by weaving. Concealed installation of wires is also possible; for this, fixing the nozzle tube is required.

In the manufacture of the LED lamp, the light source can be placed on the electrode of the spark plug mounted in the drilled bore of the piston. When using low-current LEDs, you need to consider how to install the adapter or use it as a power plug.

To install the luminaire on a horizontal surface, the lower part of the stand is equipped with soft gaskets made of rubber or other material similar in structure. Wall lights are mounted in the classic way - on self-tapping screws. The weight of the wall lamp from the piston causes the use of sufficiently long and thick fasteners.

The configuration and appearance of the lamp can be completely different, it all depends on the imagination and desire of the master. In the manufacture of the lighting device, it is important to remember the electrical safety rules and to prevent contact of live lines with the metal surface of the piston and other spare parts.

You can use this DIY piston lamp at your study table at your smart home.