Hello,

Today I am going to show you how to make your very own Food Warmer! This creation is useful for busy people who often can't be on time to meals and may have to have them sit for a while after they are made. Since there are many commercial cases for these types of products but none for home use, I decided to make my own. Let's go!

Step 1: Materials

First off is the materials:

- Heat Lamp Bulb (Any wattage will do, I had different types for different heat levels)

- Hotel Style Plate Cover

- Heat Lamp

- Pigtail Light Bulb Socket

- Outlet socket wire adapter

Optional:

- Extension Cord

- In-Line Dimmer

Step 2: Cutting the Hole

The first place to start is cutting the hole. Since the bulb needs to be exposed to the food, you will need a hole that is wider than the diameter of the bulb. I first used a Dremel to get the cut started, continued with some pruning scissors (not recommended), and finished with an angle grinder. When I had gotten the hole cut out, I went around the edge with the angle grinder to smooth out the jagged edges. Since this hole will not be seen when assembled, it does not have to be perfect. Make sure to be safe and wear the appropriate gear when cutting the whole as the edges are sharp and the tools throw sparks.

Step 3: Disassemble the Heat Lamp

Next, you take apart the heat lamp. If you chose the parts correctly, the pigtail socket should fit into the hole of the previous socket. For your lamp this may not be necessary, but for my lamp I wanted to be able to use bulbs of up to 300 watts, which no pre made lamp that I could find had.

Step 4: Assemble the Pig Tail Socket

This step is fairly self explanatory, but you need to put the wires from the pig tail socket into the outlet to wire converter. The tip for wiring the right way this is that white is right.

Step 5: Glue the Lamp Shade to the Cover and the Socket to the Shade

At this point, the hole is made and everything is ready to be put together. I decided to glue the shade to the cover before I glued the pig tail in order to have less in the way, but either way works. I put a small line of glue all around the base of the lamp shade and lined it up with the cover and made sure to make a good seal. Then, I did the same with the pigtail socket and the top of the shade. It is important that you make sure that the shade is well in place before use to be sure of no fire hazard if parts were to fall apart. At this point, you are almost done!

Step 6: Optional Accessories

I chose to add an extension chord and a dimmer that both plug into the wall. This helps to adjust the heat that the light can be set on and increase the range it can go from the socket.

Step 7: All Done!

By now, you should just have to screw in the bulb and be off to the races! I hope that you enjoyed this simple and helpful guide on how to create your very own and to keep a warm meal for anyone who happens to miss it. Thanks!