Wall Mounted Light Box

Step 13 Mount the light strip, insert the cord and do the electrical

i honestly don't know anything about electricity. most of what i learned came from the "mad scientist light" instructable and a little pep talk from my old man. so maybe you should consult somebody on this step before preceeding.

i screwed my light strip centered onto the bottom of the box and drilled a hole to the left of it for the cord.

i put a few wire bundles around the power cord to make sure it wouldn't slip out of its hole and tear apart the rest of the electrical connections.

i connected the white wire from the power cord to the white wire from the light strip.

i connected the balck wire from the power cord to one of the wires from the switch. i connected the other wire from the switch to the black wire from the light strip.

i put wire bundles on the pairs (i think i was just having fun with wire bundles at this point) and little caps on the connections.

one i thought i did it right, i put a bulb in, plugged the plug into a power strip and fired it up. it worked. i felt like a king.

Comments

[ArcFlash]

The wire joints should be made inside a metal box, either an electrical junction box or inside the lighting fixture. Exposed wire joints in a wood box is a fire hazard, this includes the switch. I would put a switch box throught the side of the box and use a regular room light toggle switch or drill a 1-1/2" hole through the bottom of the box and a 7/8" hole throught the fixture bottom and set your push-button switch in it. The cord needs to be pulled through a 1/2" romex connector or cord grip placed in the hole of the junction box or the fixture. The unprotected wires running through the sharp edged holes in the fixture is dangerous and a violation of the National Electrical Code. Safety First!!

[ArcFlash]

That should be a 3/8" hole for the push button switch, not a 7/8" (1/2" conduct hole size), but always check the dimension of the switch that you are using before drilling the hole.