Glass Cement Lamp

Hi All,

In this instructable, I will share how to recycle milk bottle into a beautiful lamp.

This project does not need any power tools, so anyone should be able to replicate.

• Milk bottle ( I used from Drunken Monkey, India)
• PVC Pipe based on outer radius of the bottle(2.25")
• PVC pipe based on bottles neck (1.5")
• White cement
• Copper LED string light (2 mtrs)
• 1w 100 Ohms resister (2 no)
• White foam sheet 1 mm thick
• Thin Acrylic sheet
• Hot Glue gun
• PVA glue or Fevicol
• 3" Long screw
• Soldering iron

We want to place the bottle inverted on a cement base..

• The inner diameter of 2.25" PVC pipe = outer diameter of the bottle
• Outer Diameter of 1.5" PVC pipe ~= outer diameter of the neck
• Cut 1.25" of 1.5" PVC pipe and
• Hotglue this on a 3"x3" acrylic sheet
• Add a small piece of acrylic sheet to close the pipe, This is where all electronic will be housed
• Now hotglue the 2.25" pvc pipe as shown
• Let the hot glue cool down

Tips :

• Donot use cardboard for mould, as it losses it's shape and position with wet cement

• In a bowl make a medium thick paste of Cement + water ( 2:1 ratio )
• Pour gentling into the mould
• Leave the mold for 30 minutes
• Insert a long screw into the mold as shown, this will be used for inserting wire later
• Remove the nail after 1 or 2 hours and make a small grove as shown
• Let the cement dry overnight

Tips :

• Vibrate / shake the mould to remove big air bubbles
• Do not over do, as smaller air bubbles gives nice texture to the base
• Cement takes time to dry, do not get impatient

• To demould, we could cut the pvc pipe with a hand saw or dremel, but that without leave cut marks on the cement base
• To avoid this, I used a soldering iron to melt the pvc pipe, in a straight line
• For Inner pvc pipe, I had to make 4 cuts using soldering iron
• Remove all pvc pipe and acrylic sheet
• Test if the bottle fits in the base, I had to sand the cement base a bit for the bottle to fit
• Sand the base where needed

• I have used 2 mtrs on LED copper wire string, connected to a USB 5v adaptor
• I have added a 2 - 100 ohms resister in parallel for protection
• Test all connection
• Fix the bottle on the base with hotglue

Once all is done, place the lamp at the corner, plug it in and admire

Tips :

• Use electric tape on joints and secure it via hotglue
• Add a white foam sheet below the cement base to avoid scratches
• Used voltage drop across the LEDs to prevent heating and buring
• The lamp should not get hot due to LEDs

Please share your comments, suggestions and recommendation