Inexpensive DIY Under-Cabinet Lighting

Step 4 Mounting the Lights

Be sure to note how the lights will be visible at different angles. Keep in mind things like different elevations of rooms nearby. For instance, my mom's kitchen is higher than the next room so while in the next room you are low and you can see the tubes. Also keep in mind where you will be placing the inverters and routing wires.

Velcro

The kits usually come with velcro backed with adhesive. Depending on the surface underneath your cabinets this may work fine or fail miserably. Underneath my mom's cabinets the wood is very rough so the adhesive can't get a very good hold. On smooth surfaces the Velcro adhesive sticks exceedingly well. Peel off the protective paper on one side of the Velcro and stick it to the ends of the light. Remove the protective paper from the other side of the Velcro and stick it under the cabinet, spacing as desired.

Other Mounting Ideas

Epoxy: Simply epoxy it up using epoxy rated for adhering to plastic and wood.
Cable Ties & Staples: Staple a cable tie loop around each end of the light and inverters.
Metal "U" brackets: Nail or screw in metal "U" brackets from the hardware store to hold everything.
Drill holes and cable tie: Drill small holes on each side of the light and loop a cable tie through.

My mom's friend ended up enhancing our mounting later since the velcro began to fail since it was applied to very rough wood and couldn't grip it well.

Comments

[phayd]

 You do not want to use velcro in a kitchen. Over time, grease, soot, and nasties in the air will clog the fibers and create a non-sticky, nasty mess. This mess will cause the velcro to fail, most likely into whatever recipe you are working on, which doesn't include lighting.

[scottinnh]

You are talking about the black hook and loop stuff which is just one type or model of Velcro. There are many kinds of Velcro, including coarser stuff that clogs less, and stainless.

In a home and above your sink, even the regular stuff is not going to get clogged. You would need to do so much deep frying that everything else in the kitchen gets ruined also. :-)

[bngrndr289]

I'm actually in the middle of doing this lighting project right now.
GB (Gardner Bender) makes 3/4" cable plastic staples that mount
these cold cathode tubes perfectly. Use one at each end of the tube.
I swapped out the nails normally used to fasten the staples with
two #4 by 7/8" wood screws. Staples are white in color and are
part number PS-1575. You can get them at your local hardware
store for a couple of bucks for a package of 15.

[Einarjon]

The adhesive on the velcro shouldn't be a problem. Just use the staple gun on the velcro part that goes on the wood, and it will stay there forever.

[bstalz]

Exactly! Whenever you want velcro to stick to wood, use the adhesive, but staple it as well (using a staple gun). Use a nail punch to set the staple if necessary to ensure maximal hook to latch surface area.