Make Your Own Industrial Chandelier

You are tired of the light bulb hanging on its wire in the middle of your living room ? You are looking for a modern chandelier on a budget ? Stop looking, you are in the right place. In this Instructable I will show you how I made my own industrial style chandelier for half the price. By using pallet wood, this project cost me around 50€, but it could have been less if I hadn't felt for some nice but expensive sockets.

I began with the structure of the chandelier made of pallet wood. I took a pallet and dismantled it with a hammer and a crowbar as usual. Once I had several planks, I cut them to the desire length. For my project I chose to make a 35*60 cm structure, so I took 2cm off on each side (the thickness of the frame).
Then I cut the frame of the structure into pallet rafters, two 35 cm pieces and two 60 cm pieces. When I got the four pieces I cut all the extremities at a 45° angle and did a test fit.

Then I glued all the structure, starting by making a board with the planks. Once it dried, I added the frame around it and fixed it with wood glue and nails. For this step I recommend the use of a ratchet strap to maintain the frame while the glue dries.
The next day, I could start to remove the glue stains by sanding the whole structure with 80 grit sand paper and keeping on with 120 grit for a smoother finish to the touch. The last work on the structure was to apply a dark oak wood stain for a rustic look and finish it with two coats of clear varnish.

First of all, I cut the wire to the desired length plus extra for the connection inside the structure.I chose a drill bit with the same diameter as the wire and made four holes in the structure where I wanted the lights to be and passed the wires in the holes.I stripped the wires on both ends, connected the sockets on one end and the other end to two connectors (phase and neutral). Once it is done, don't forget to add ties in the structure so the sockets won't pull the wires down.

In order to hang the chandelier, I added 1mm steel rope. First of all I screwed four small pitons in each corner of the structure, drilling 2mm holes beforehand so the wood won't crack. Then I passed the steel rope through the four pitons so it cross itself in the middle of the rectangle. I did not cut the rope right away, first I hanged the chandelier and adjusted the length to the desired height.
Once the rope fasteners are in place, I was able to hang it properly on the ceiling, having a single rope makes it easy to level. When the chandelier was connected to my house grid I was done, all I had to do was to screw the light bulbs and admire my work. Thank you for reading me, if you have any question I'd be glad to answer it