Overwatch Wall Light

I love Overwatch and I thought the logo would make a great wall light so I had to have a go at making one.

I made a quick video of the project you may like to watch here:

I also made a more in depth version here:

I hope you like it.

Materials Used:

• Walnut
• 6mm Plywood
• 12mm Plywood
• 18mm Plywood
• Wood Glue
• Screws
• Black Matt Spray Paint
• 2mm Clear Plexiglass
• LED String Lights
• 4.5v-12v Wirelles Switch + Control
• 9V Battery Clip
• 9V Battery
• Mounting Hardware

Tools Used:

• Jigsaw
• Handsaw
• Bandsaw
• Router
• File
• Chisel
• Combi Drill
• Sandpaper
• Rotary Tool
• Spindle Sander

I used Walnut for the light I made. You can of course use any material you like but I had to glue up some smaller boards to create a square around 46cm x 46cm x 5cm.

I wanted to create a template for the logo so it would be easier to shape later.

I printed of the Overwatch logo (45cm in Diameter) onto some self adhesive paper and stuck it onto some 12mm plywood. I cut the shape out with a jigsaw and then refined the shape by hand with a file.

Its much easier to shape the thin plywood compared to the thick walnut.

I traced around the template onto the walnut board and cut out the shape on my bandsaw. You can of course use the jigsaw to cut this out too but the bandsaw is a lot faster.

I made sure to leave the line showing when I cut out the shape. This will be removed by the router later.

Once the shape was roughly cut out. I attached the plywood template to the back with some 20mm screws. The holes wont be seen when the light is finished. Make sure the screws are in the middle of the board so there is no chance of the router catching them.

Now the plywood will act as a guide for the bearing on the flush trim router bit. As you can see my router it wasnt quite large enough so I finished the rest with my spindle sander. The inside corners have to be cleaned up by hand so I just used my file again for this job.

To add the light to the logo I cut out and arch in some 6mm plywood.

This will need to sit flush against the back of the walnut logo, so using a handsaw I cut out a small section so the plywood could sit flush.

To help position and secure the housing when its ready I glued on a couple of small plywood blocks, Allow room for the gap in the top of the logo (between the top arch and the rest of the logo).

I glued 2 pieces of 18mm plywood together and cut out the arch shape on the bandsaw. I then traced 5mm withing the arch to create a kind of box. Again I cut that out on the bandsaw. The small section that I cut through with the bandsaw just got glued shut with some wood glue.

I cut out a front frame from some 6mm plywood. That got glued in place and when completely dry, I painted both parts with black matt spray paint.

While the paint dried I cut out the 'window' arch from some 2mm clear Plexiglas. I did this with my handsaw and refined the shape with some sanding. I also sanded one side of the Plexiglas to help with light diffusion.

When the paint was dry, I glued the window into place with some plastic super glue.

I have no real knowledge of electronics so I kept it simple for the lights.

I used LED strip lights that came with a 3xAA battery pack attached. This wouldn't fit in the housing so I cut that off and added a wireless switch, 9v battery clip and 9v battery. It works but I later found out it also constantly drains power even when 'off'. I will be adding a 'normal' on/off switch to completely cut off the power.

To help with light diffusion I used some thin insulation (designed for use under laminate flooring). I taped the lights onto 1 piece, cut to the shape of the arched housing. I added a further 3 pieces in front to give the LED's more of a 'solid' look rather than individual points of light. It actually works really well.

There is enough room left to squeeze in the battery and switch inside before I secured the back piece in place. I added a small screw to each size to help keep everything in place. The screw secures into those small plywood blocks I glued on earlier.

I finished the walnut logo with 3 coats of spray lacquer. Sanding between each coat.

The mounting hardware I used are simple 'key hole' hangers. These need to be flush mounted to the back of the walnut logo.

I used a small rotary tool to remove the bulk of the material and then cleaned it up with my chisels. To make room for the screw head I used a 10mm drill bit and my chisels again. I made sure the screw could move freely

I now secured the light housing in place with 4 screws into the back of the walnut logo. Its now ready to be mounted to the wall.

I need to add 2 screw to my wall so I could hang the light up securely. I used a piece of cardboard to mark the locations of the mounting hardware. I could then transfer these marks to my wall. A laser line really helps to get the markings level.

I taped an open envelope underneath where I was about to drill to catch the dust. Then using the hammer setting on my combi drill and a masonry bit I drilled into the brick wall. I added a raw plug and screwed in the screws.

Now the light just slots onto the screws securely.

This is the light finished. I really hope you like the project and give it a go for yourself.