Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Making the lamp with PVC pipes and soda can Part2

Update (March 25th): The US Readymade Magazine's blog featured the lamp! have a look here.

I spent some time yesterday night to finish on time for the crafster.org electrifying challenge (see previous post).
This is  my version of the lamp I talked to you about, yesterday.

























What you need:












You need good scissors, a knife maybe and a marker.

The material:
It's pretty easy actualy, you need the PVC pipes and 2 elbows, a bulb and the electric wiring.



The most important is probably the soda can itself.
I'm a big fan of the Arizona ice tea, I like the design and the colors of the can.



How to make it:
You just need to assemble everything together... All the PVC pieces come from the plumbing department and are I assume, easy to find. I happen to redo my basement recentfly and didn't have to buy  most of them.

  
1- the PVC elbow
2- PVC pipe
3- The base (which to be honest with you), I don't really know what it is but I found it in the plumbing department and happen to make a pretty stable base.
Everything fit together nicely no need to glue, the electric wires are inside the pipes and comes out under the base. 

Making the shade

Two cans are used, one for big petals and one for little ones. Once you have designed all the petals you cut the can with scissors along the dashed line and then you can cut the petals, Be careful, you have to stop cutting when you reach the bottom of the can so the petal stay attached to the base of the can.
You will have to make a hole (with a knife or scissors) to fit the bottom of the can with the PVC elbow.
You can easily remove the drawing on the can by using ethanol to clean it.

The cost:
Depending on what you have in your house, this lamp is around $10, or 6 pounds or 7 euros ;-)

Conclusion:
It took me 1h to put together, it's easy to do, and exciting to choose the can you like.
If you like it, please just go on crafter.org website and vote for the project you like the most!


2 comments:

  1. I love your ideas for using cans, but how do you dull the edges? Do you put a layer of clear coat paint on them, will that get rid of the sharp edges?

    Amy

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    Replies
    1. Sorry for the late reply, I'm usually faster...
      Actually, When I cut the edges of the can with my scissors, the edges are not so sharp, but I must admit, I won't let kids play with the lamp, it's fragile anyway. But the idea of the clear coat or transparent nail polish (just on the edges) might do the trick. It's worth trying. Thanks for following the blog!!!!!

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