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.

Step by StepStep-By-Step

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

VideoVideo

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

Quick and simple companion lamp

Quick and simple companion lamp
I call it a Companion Lamp because you can use it wherever you have a power supply - as a bedside lamp, an inspection lamp, or simply for background lighting. It can be made in less than ten minutes.

 
Remove these adsRemove these ads by Signing Up
 

Step 1Making It

Making It
This instructable is based on the fact that the collar which hoids the shade on most single bulb fittings will go neatly into the mouth ot a plastic milk bottle. The bottle then serves both as a shade and as support and protection for the bulb.

WARNING - do NOT use an incandescent bulb! It will melt the plastic and start a fire!

What you need:

A two or three Iitre plastic milk bottle.
A compact flourescent bulb of up to 20 watts
A standard bayonet fitting for a beside lamp, or a pendant lamp (preferably with a switch).
A flex with a 3 amp plug.

Remove the cap and label from the bottle and cut off the bottom just below where the Iabel was.

Hold the securing collar inside the neck of the bottle and screw in the bottom half of the fitting from the outside, The type of collar shown is easiest to fit. A simple ring will work, but is more fiddly. A straight tapered collar may not screw in far enough for the bulb to fit, in which case you would need to shorten the neck of the bottle and perhaps use a washer on the outside.

Thread the rest of the fitting onto the fiex, connect the terminais and screw the fitting together.

Fit the bulb and the plug. Plug in and switch on!

« Previous StepDownload PDFView All StepsNext Step »
7 comments
May 8, 2010. 3:40 PMTinseltoy says:
Great! Could be awesome as outdoor ground lighting. Would be even better if you would connect it to a fabric cord to give it more style
Jun 25, 2009. 2:29 PMGoodhart says:
Very nice glare diffuser idea.
Dec 22, 2007. 8:57 AMjessyratfink says:
This is an excellent idea. Would work very well if you needed extra lighting in a basement, or something like that.
Dec 21, 2007. 12:57 PMbeado4ever says:
Very ingenious.
Wish I'd thought of this- would have saved me loads of cutting!!!!
Dec 21, 2007. 7:32 PMpingeee says:
I pity you... _
Dec 21, 2007. 12:13 PMGorillazMiko says:
awesome! looks great!

Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

All Steps Viewing
View all steps of an Instructable on the same page when you're a Pro Member.

Upgrade to Pro today!
3
Followers
1
Author:JennyB