Light Up Your Life (and Have Accessable Power).

I came up with this solution for a common problem: our house doesn't have enough outlets in any of the rooms so we were always using extension cords, multi outlets, electrical boxes, etc. In addition, the art table, hobby/craft work stations always needs lights. So I decided to solve both issues with a portable, solid, and easy to use light/multi-outlet stand. Basically, it's a wood upright secured to a round plywood base. A plastic flower pot has the bottom cut off, turned upside down, attached to the base and concrete is added to insure stability. Let's proceed.

We need a plastic flower pot, preferably one with some decorations on it, a piece of plywood, 1/2 to 3/8 inch will be fine, a two by two or a one by two a few screws and some concrete mix later on.

Main tool is a band saw, although a scroll saw would work too. Various hand tools, electric drill(s), ruler, center finder, sharp knife, etc.

I cut my 2x2 to 36 inches which will be a good height next to a desk or work station. Of course this could be varied to suit your needs. The plywood is cut to make the round base. My vase was about 8 inches in diameter, and I used it as a template to draw the circle. This is then cut out on the band saw.

In one end of the 2x2, I drilled a starter hole using a 1/8 in bit. In the opposite end, a 1/2 in. bit is used to make the hole for the lamp flange that fits into the hole. Using the same 1/8 in bit, the round base is drilled in dead center. The center is found by using the center finder and marking accordingly. A nail is used to make a starter hole for the bits before drilling.

I took the flower pot over to the 1 inch belt sander and sanded around the perimeter until I could see that I had gone all the way through. A knife is used, then, to cut through the plastic where possible. It is finished off by more sanding where necessary, then the bottom can be removed from the pot.

Two holes on opposite sides of the flower pot are drilled so that screws can be used to attach pot to base. One half inch sheet metal screws are used, but any short screws will suffice. Slant the drill bit when pre-drilling these starter holes so that the screws won't go through the bottom of the base. When the pot is secured, we can move on to the next step, adding concrete.

Now that the pot is secured to the base, the concrete mix can be mixed and poured. I used the mix shown and for this project, about 7 14.5 ounce cans of dry mix are needed. To this mix in the tub I added about two cups of clean water. I want a fairly fluid mix, one that will be easy to place in the small opening of the flower pot. Obviously, these measurements might vary for your set up depending on size of the pot, the humidity, and other variables.

Let concrete set for 24 to 48 hrs. I want to let it dry thoroughly so the moisture won't interfere with the paint used.

Mark where holes will be drilled; this multi-outlet has holes 4.5 inches apart, on center. Drill holes for screws to hold outlet on the upright. Cable ties can also be used and seems to work just as well.

I cleaned up the base and upright to make sure paint would adhere. Using common acrylic paint, two coats were used to provide adequate coverage.

To protect hardwood floors and other susceptible finishes, a piece of felt is glued onto the bottom of the base. At this stage, the project is complete!