DIY led desk lamp

In this Instructable, I will show how to make an attractive and modern desk lamp using common supplies from Home Depot and IKEA.

It has a flexible and adjustable neck that is made from electrical conduit and stiff wire to keep its shape. The LED lamp was bought at IKEA Home Furnishings for $13.50.

Best of all, you don't need any experience with electricity and need only a few basic tools like pliers and a screwdriver. Also, everything you need is available at your hardware store and IKEA.

Step 1 Get your supplies

Before beginning, gather these materials and tools:

Tools:

• Small Philips screwdriver
• Little Pliers (for bending and cutting wire)
• Big Pliers (for cutting through stiff electrical conduit
• Hole punch (not the kind you find in an office, the kind that looks like a screwdriver but with a very sharp end)
• Note: If you have a drill, you can use that instead of the hole punch. If you have a hacksaw or other metal-cutting tool, get that out as well.

Materials: (because this isn't as straight-forward as the tools, I'll go a little more in-depth. Also, look at the picture at the bottom for reference)

• Small Clamp - This will be used to attach and mount your lamp on a desk, shelf, or wherever you need it. Be sure it has a hole in the handle (the part you would normally grip to open it). If you have access to drilling equipment, you should be able to make your own hole, no problem.
• Flexible Electrical Conduit - This is the part of the lamp that will make it flexible, look real good, and protect/hide the wires to the LEDs. Usually this stuff is used in commercial buildings to guard the electrical wires. You should get roughly 2 feet, but you can always trim it if it's too long. Unfortunately, this stuff is sold in rolls of 10 to 100 feet. So, if you want just a little bit of it, you'll have to either buy a lot of it and save the rest for another project, or peek in construction dumpsters for a few scrap pieces. Look for the type that's about a quarter-inch. the exact size does not matter.
• Stiff and thick copper wire - This will be inserted into the electrical conduit so it will hold its shape and not unbend. It will also be wrapped around a clamp so you can mount your light somewhere. Don't worry, you won't have to buy this in bulk because most hardware stores sell wire by the foot. Buy three feet of it because you will need some sticking out of the conduit to mount it. This will cost you $1 to $2.
• The LED lamp itself - these ready-made LED lamps came from IKEA's lightning department and can be purchased in several colors. Note that the color shown in this instructable has been discontinued --you can no longer buy the green lamps, which is why I got them cheap. The lamps come in packs of two with the the power supply. The lamps also come with brackets attached so you can easily press-fit them onto IKEA furniture. These brackets will be removed in a later step. Unfortunately, I do not know the product number and the price, so you'll have to use the pictures below for reference.

Okay, we're now going to move onto our first step.

Comments

[SIRJAMES09]

I just got to thinking....

another thing you can do is get one of them flexible "goose necks"
to put between the light & the clamp. those are stiff enough that they do not need extra support like the conduit did. Not trying to tell you what to do, just giving ideas.

You can find the flexible goose necks as well as TONS & TONS of lamp parts here:

http://www.grandbrass.com

[SIRJAMES09]

I noticed that you used what looks like cellophane tape...that can be dangerous. you need to replace that with electrical tape to make it safer.

IDEA:
when rejoining the wires, why not butt the wires up together, then solder them together? I guarantee that once that is done, that joint will NEVER come apart...and then wrap that joint with electrical tape(just a short piece that wraps around 1 time). it does not really take much electrical tape.

You did good at explaining everything though. :) was very easy to follow & understand..
TY for sharing. :)

[ikssk]

Good job, http://www.instructables.com/id/Ikea_Light_Hack_flexin_your_light/.