PVC Lampshade

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PVC Lampshade

This Instructable will teach you how to make a PVC pipe lampshade. This works best as a bedside table light or as a table decoration. Most of the items you will need are easy to get except the dremel which you could buy off the dremel website or somewhere else such as screwfix.

Supplies

A Dremel
PVC pipe (any size)
A permanent marker
A saw (I used a hacksaw)
Sand paper

Choose and Cut the PVC

Choose a PVC pipe that has the same diameter as you want your lamp to be. Cut the pipe to the right size that suits you and maybe cut it a little longer than you plan since you can only cut off plastic and you can’t easily add more on afterwards. Depending on how clean your cut is, you might want to sand around the edges to smooth them.

The Design

There are two ways of doing this step: by printing out the design you like, sticking it onto the tube, and carving it out; and just drawing the design on the plastic. I decided to draw the design out since I find it easier to draw with actual pens instead of doing it electronically. When I cut my pipe, I didn't cut it very straight which gave me the idea to make the top part curved. At first I wanted to do dots, ovals and patterns like that but in the end, I realised that it would take too long to cut. In the end I opted to do some dots and ovals, but also doing some f holes (like the ones you see in violins) since I enjoy music. This is just so that more light can come through the lampshade.

Engraving and Cutting

Now that you have got your design attached to the pipe, you next need to cut out what you have drawn (or printed). I used a dremel to do the design and used a finer bit and sandpaper to smooth the edges. If you had a white PVC pipe, more time and experience, you could make the plastic thinner and not go all the way through so that you can have shades.

Finishing It Up

Now that you have carved out the design, you need to just finish everything up. Using a fine sandpaper (I used p360) sand down any rough edges and all surfaces. Now from here you can choose what to do and what finish you want. I want a matte finish so I kept going up in grits until you can’t easily see the sanding marks. I might in the future paint it, and if I do, I will update this step. If you want to paint it, make sure that all the surfaces you want to paint are sanded so that the paint will stick. Spray painting doesn’t usually stay onto the PVC but feel free to give it a try. I decided to add a piece of paper to diffuse the light inside.