Wine Bottle Floor Lamp

Do you have an accumulation of spare wine bottles taking up space? There are some pretty unique ideas on the web involving wine bottles, but one I have not seen yet is a floor lamp. So, with some other materials, they could be put to use to make a new floor lamp transforming your trash into treasure.

Overview:

The lamp I made consists of 7 bottles: 5 are regular size (750 mL), 1 is a magnum (1.5 L), and 1 is a double magnum (3 L). Side note: Apparently there is a naming system for the different wine bottle sizes going all the way up to a 6 L imperial bottle. I have two pieces of 3/4" pine that compose the bottom base. Four regular size bottles sit on this base. Next is two more smaller pieces of 3/4" pine (2nd base) upon which the double magnum bottle sits. Next is a smaller piece of 3/4" pine (3rd base) upon which the magnum bottle sits. Next is an even smaller piece of 3/4" pine (4th base) upon which a regular size bottle sits. From the top of this last bottle, I attached the lamp kit to copper pipping.

You could vary the number and size of the bottles depending on what have or want your lamp to look like. So, you can follow my instructable exactly, or you can use it as a guide for your lamp.

I split the following steps up based on constructing the base that each bottle sits on.

Supplies:

• Empty wine bottles (around 6 to 8 bottles)
• Metal tubing/pipe (I used spare copper piping and couplers)
• Wood (I used pine)
• Wood glue
• Wood screws
• 3-Way Socket Make-A-Lamp Kit - Home Depot
• Wood stain
• Satin polyurethane
• Goo gone
• Sandpaper (100, 150, and 220 grit)
• Waterproof sandpaper
• Optional: Twine/jute rope

Tools:

• Electric power drill
• Piece hole saw bits (size will vary based on the pole used for your lamp)
• Electric saw
• Dremel or rotary tool with a #561 cutting bit, #654 routing bit, and circle cutting guide - all from Home Depot
• Router (with plunge and fixed bases)
• Glass cutter
• Propane torch (depending on how to want to cut some of your wine bottles)

The base of my lamp consists of two circular pieces of pine wood that are ____" in diameter and 0.75" thick. I had to glue pine boards together and then cut a circular piece. An easy way to cut a perfect circular is to use a Dremel rotary tool, the 561 multi-purpose cutting bit, and the circle cutting guide.

Once you have the two circle parts to your base, you can use a fixed base router or router table to add a nice edge. I used a Roman Ogee bit.

In the center of the top part of the base, use a piece hole saw attachment/bit and a power drill to make a hole that will allow for a snug fit for your lamp pole. For my lamp, I used a ___" copper coupler.

Optional: I added a small wooden ring around the copper coupler. I just thought it would be a nice touch. I had some scrap small circular pieces of wood from previous cuts with the piece hole saw attachment. I used a smaller piece hole attachment and cut a small circle out of the circular piece of wood to make the ring. I then used my dremel and a sanding attachment to shape the top of the ring to give a nice rounded edge.

The base of my lamp has four wine bottles surrounding the center pole. So, I route out an area for each wine bottle sit in on the top part of the wooden base. Place the four bottles on the base around the center pole, and trace a circle for each bottle. In order to route out a near perfect circle, I used the routing bit with my dremel along with the circle cutting guide. I routed out a near perfect circle then I used my plunge base router to route out the rest of the wood on the inside of the circle. The routed depth of the circles is about 0.25".

Last, take a straight bit and route a line in the first piece of the base that will allow the lamp cord to sit in between the two pieces of wood when they sit on top of each other.

The 2nd base that sits on top of the four regular sized bottle also consists of two pieces of 0.75" pine cut with the same manner as in the previous step.

1st piece:

Cut the wood to a circle that will be able to rest on top of the four wine bottle necks. Route a nice edge (if you want to) like in the previous step. Use a piece hole attachment to cut a hole for the pole. Then place this piece of wood over the pole and let it rest on top of the four bottom wine bottles. Use a pencil, and trace around the where the top of the neck of each wine bottle rests on the wood. Take the wood off and route out an area for each wine bottle neck to rest in the wood.

2nd piece:

Cut your other piece of wood to a circle that is slightly smaller than the first piece of wood. Before moving on, the bottom of each of the other three wine bottles needs to be removed so that the pole can extend up the lamp. Please refer to my instructable on cutting glass bottles or the web for more information. With the bottom removed, I placed the very large bottle on this 2nd piece of wood and traced an outline of the bottle. Then, I used my dremel, the circle jig, and the router bit to route out an area for the bottle to sit in the wood. The dremel router bit is 1/4" which is the same thickness of the glass for this bottle. The depth of the area routed out is about 1/4" so, in other words, the bottle will sit 1/4" down into the wood.

Last, use a piece hole saw attachment/bit and a power drill to make a hole in the center of both pieces of wood to allow the center pole through.

The 3rd base consists of one circular piece of 3/4" pine that is slightly smaller than the 2nd base. Cut this piece of wood using the dremel 561 bit and the circle cutting guide. Then add a nice edge using a fixed based router or router table.

With the bottom from your next bottle removed, place it on this piece of wood and trace its outline like in the previous step. Then, I use a dremel or rotary tool, the circle jig, and the 561 cutting bit to route out an area for the bottle to sit in the wood. The dremel 561 bit is 1/8" which is the same thickness of the glass for this bottle. The depth of the area routed out is about 1/4".

Last, use a piece hole saw attachment/bit and a power drill to make a hole in the center of the wood to allow the center pole through.

For this piece of wood, follow the same procedure as in the previous step. Cut your wood so that it is smaller than the previous base.

After finishing the 4th base, assemble the bottles and the bases to get a preview of how the lamp will look. When I was at this step, I assembled the center pole in case I had to cut some of the copper pipping. Once you have everything fitting nicely, you may move on to finishing the wood and copper.

Wood:

I stained each base using Minwax Ipswich Pine Oil-Based Interior Stain and coated each piece with two coats of Minwax Satin Polyurethane.

Copper:

I shined the copper using very fine steel wool and coated each piece using Minwax Clear Gloss Polyurethane.

I decided to remove the labels from all of the bottles. Warm water, soap, and goo gone will accomplish this.

In order to attach the lamp kit, I had to find a way to secure it to the top coupler of the copper pipping. I found a stick that was slightly smaller in diameter than the coupler and used a drill bit that was the same size as the lamp nipple and drilled a hole straight into this stick. I then cut a piece to half the size of the coupler (so that the copper pipe could be inserted into the other half of the pipe). I made sure that the nipple was snug inside of the hole I drilled and then I removed the nipple+wood piece from the coupler.

Next, I attached the two bottom wooden base pieces together using 4 brass No. 6 1.25" screws. After, I threaded the lamp cord through the slot I had routed in the bottom piece of wood. (You can also place the cord between the wood and then screw both pieces together.) I bought an extra lamp cord and attached it to the previously threaded lamp cord to increase the over all length.

Once the cord is through the base, begin adding the different pole sections and bottles along with their corresponding bases. Attach the lamp kit to the nipple+wood piece and follow the instructions on the lamp kit for attaching the cord to the light bulb socket. After, make sure to test your new lamp and find a nice shape that complements it.

Optional:

You may add jute or twine rope around the bottles on top of their wooden base for an extra touch. I did not show this in my pictures.

I hope you enjoyed viewing my instructable and are inspired to make your own wine bottle floor lamp.