3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Print PDF

Favorite

A Trio of Home made desk lamps made from recycled liquor bottles..

I gave myself a little project a few weeks back, it started with the Smirnoff bottle and quickly escalated in two more custom made lamps :)

6 comments

Dec 19, 2011. 11:06 AMHank_2k (author) says:

The full guide on how to make your own is now up here for anyone that wants it - http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-turn-your-old-liquor-bottles-into-desk-lamp/

Dec 18, 2011. 2:07 PMbg_askins says:

I've been doing the same thing this year for X-Mas gifts. i use a 5/8 diamond hole saw and I haven't cracked a bottle yet.

Dec 17, 2011. 6:53 AMRanie-K says:

So how did you make them?

Dec 18, 2011. 1:41 PMHank_2k (author) says:

The first one was the easiest because I had an old table lamp in the garage that I could gut for the fixture and cable. I duct taped freezer paper over the labels to protect them as much as possible from the water used to lubricate the drilling process then used a 12mm tungsten carbide drill bit to bore a hole in the base at the rear of each bottle to fit a grommet and run cable through as you can see in the attatched image. Then it was just a case of threading the cable up through the bottle to the lamp fitting which I secured with modified wine bottle stopper and then filling it with the beads/jelly beans to hide the cable and add weight.

I took a few pictures as I was making the Jack Daniels lamp (part of a pair now as I finished a second one last night) so I could write up a more thorough tutorial for a forum I moderate. Once it's written up I'll be happy to upload it here for you guys.

Dec 17, 2011. 4:02 PM

Penolopy Bulnick says:

Cool! Were they difficult to make?

Dec 17, 2011. 6:45 PMHank_2k (author) says:

Thanks, there's some skill involved drilling the holes cleanly enough for grommets and cabling at the back if you want a clean finish but if you've got the time and patience they aren't too difficult if you've had a little practise drilling glass.