Pinball Pop bumper nightlight

In this Instructable we will make a nightlight from a pinball pop bumper cap. Most of the parts are easily sourced at your local Hardware Store (Ace, Lowe's, Home Depot etc) but the actual cap will need to come from a pinball machine, or a pinball fanatic. If you have friends who are collectors, they can probably supply you up with a cap. Otherwise there are several online vendors who sell original and reproduction caps, and one can always count on eBay for these sort of collectables.

Supplies:

LED Night Light (I got mine from Orchard Supply Hardware)
Acrylic sheet
Silicone sealant
small piece of self adhesive vinyl. White preferred - bumper sticker material works great.
masking or blue painter's tape

Step 1: Take night light apart. Measure; cut some acrylic

The night light I used for this project had a base and a rotating top.  I popped the top off using a small screwdriver. 

I measured the diameter of the LED bulb in the center, and also the inside diameter of the depression, and also the size of the inside of the pop bumper cap.  These dimensions are used to cut acrylic spacers for the transition from the lighted base to the pop bumper cap.

I used the laser engraver at the TechShop in San Jose to cut three discs - two are donuts, with a center hole just larger than the LED bulb and outside dimension small enough to fit inside the base.  The third disc fits just inside the smallest part of the pop bumper cap. If you don't have access to a laser cutter, you can cut the acrylic with a jig saw or coping saw and clean up the edges.

Comments

[Penolopy Bulnick]

Very cool idea :)

[dreamberry]

Buddy. Too Cool.