Oil Can Desk Lamp

by kooler in Workshop > Lighting

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Oil Can Desk Lamp

oil can desk lamp  ( how to )
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been needing a desk lamp for computer desk and I always liked the old with new look..

The Old Oil Can

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this old golden rod pump oil can didn't pump oil no more and the flex spout was broken.. so it was time to do something else with it..

Tear Down and Cleaning

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here comes the part were you find out if it is going to be worth messing with after you tear it down and clean off the old gunk.. cleaned up pretty well..

Making a Plan

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after all parts were cleaned I figured out what was going to make the section that will hold the new flexible led lamp.. the first pic you can see how bad the flex spout was broken so I just ground the flex section off and the threaded part become the nut to hold from under the top.. the pick up tube in the last photo was cut just above the threads so I could tap a 8 x 1.0 mm hole for the new led flex section..

Making Room for New Parts

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the first pic shows you were I was going to use the hole saw to cut out the bottom.. second photo shows the 2'' hole that I cut.. third photo shows you that the top comes off .. and if I knew that I would have not cut the bottom out..

Wiring

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first photo shows the cell charger that I used .. 5 volt 500ma's second pic is the shot of the 20 ohm 3 watt resistor I used on the power side soldered right to the toggle switch

Testing

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i put it together before I put the wiring in it to just look at it before I went any farther .. then i used a old doll stand and used a router to cut a 1/2'' groove in the base for wiring..

Finishing Up !!

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first photo is were I taped it up to spray some clear finish on it.. second I glued the base on the lamp.. and now it's time to use it.. let me know what you folks think of the shiny flex neck led on the rusted can.. I thought of making it look old also but then I thought it may take away from it's transformation look