Wine Bottle Edison Bulb Lamp

by Schaf77

33K44523

Intro: Wine Bottle Edison Bulb Lamp

This instructable shows you how to make a vintage Edison bulb lamp using a wine bottle. A note on the wine bottle: This is a large wine bottle with a diameter of 4''.

STEP 1: Materials

1. Wood - 1st circular piece is 6" in diameter, 2nd and 3rd circular pieces are 9" in diameter, and the wood is pine.

2. Wood glue and clamps - If you have to attach wood planks together to make your base.

3. Four wood screws - Attaching the circular pieces of the base together.

4. Replacement lamp cord

5. Keyless lamp socket (ACE Hardware)

6. Westinghouse Two 1/8-IP Polished Brass Couplings (Home Depot)

7. Westinghouse 6 Assorted Brass-Plated Steel Nuts and Washers (Home Depot)

8. 1/8-IP size nipple (I got an assortment of 8 from Home Depot)

9. Large wine bottle (mine is 4" in diameter)

10. Gardner Bender 10/8/4-Amp Single-Pole Maintained Contact Push-Button Switch- Nickel plating (Home Depot)

11. Lutron Credenza 300-Watt Plug-In Lamp Dimmer (Home Depot)The dimmer is OPTIONAL. Since I was using a vintage bulb, I wanted the ability to dim it which gives a cool warm effect.

12. Electrical tape

13. Hot glue gun

14. Sealant for the wood (I used gloss spar varnish from ACE Hardware)

15. Vintage style light bulb (I used this one from the Home Depot)

STEP 2: Obtain and Cut Your Wine Bottle

Obtain your wine bottle, remove the label, and cut the base off. I just peel the labels off and any sticky residue is removed with goo gone. Next, cut the base off of your bottle. The picture shows the bottle I used. It is one of those larger wine bottles with a diameter of about 4". For some reason I cut this bottle before removing the label, but it still worked. For info on cutting glass bottles, see my instructable.

STEP 3: Make Your Base

If you have to, glue and clamp together the wood you want to use as a base. My base consists of three pieces of wood. Note, this is wood I had on hand. I did not go out and purchase this wood specifically for this project. This is why the first base is thicker than the second and third pieces of wood.

I used a dremel and its accompanying circular-cutting jig to cut the circular shape of each piece of wood as well as the circular sunken area where wine bottle rests. A router was used to create the ornate outer edge on the circular pieces, the holes for the socket and switch, and the central groove the wires sit in.

STEP 4: Coat Your Base

I added about three coats of gloss spar varnish from ACE Hardware to the wood pieces of my base. You can add stain or any type of coating that you prefer.

STEP 5: Add the Socket

After coating your wood base, you can add the socket. Looking at the first picture, you can see that I used a second coupling to attach a second smaller nipple. I also used a coupling to extend the socket above the base just because I liked the look of the brass coupling with the brass socket. The socket was then secured using the hex nut and washer as shown in the third picture.

The three wood pieces used for the base were secured together using two wood screws for a total of four wood screws. Look at the simple diagram I made to see how I attached them. After I attached the first two pieces together (the top one with the socket and the middle one) I wired the electrical components.

I used a plunge base router to route out the groove the the wires and switch sit in.

STEP 6: Electrical Wiring

Secure the switch in place (mine was snug and required no adhesive). Thread the replacement lamp cord through the center hole and attach each side to a screw on the bulb socket. I also made an underwriters knot before attaching the two parts of the socket together. Next attach the switch to the replacement cord. I cut one side of the replacement cord and added the switch into the place where I cut. When everything is wired, lay it nicely into the routed groove and secure the wires with a hot glue gun.

Make sure to test the connections you just made before attaching the bottom of the base. Again, the previous step has a diagram showing how the three parts of the base were connected.

STEP 7: Enjoy Your New Lamp

Once everything is wired correctly and works and the bottom of the base is attached, you can enjoy the new lamp you have made. I also added a dimmer. It is a plug-in dimmer that the lamp cord plugs into and then the dimmer plugs into the wall outlet. Thanks for viewing.

23 Comments

TheKitMurkit. 7 years ago

There is no mechanics so no gears. Odd, unmoving gears look.. odd.

sickdog74 8 years ago

That is awesome! Nice work!

JohnR17 8 years ago

love it, looks very old school .

Mindmapper1 8 years ago

How did you cut the base off so well? Love the design its, great.

Schaf77 8 years ago

I used my dremel and its circle-cutting jig.

diy_bloke 8 years ago

i got to get me a jig like that. didnt even know they existed

diy_bloke 8 years ago

Home depot..... brings back memories of the hours I spend there when I was living in New Jersey in the late 90-s.
One of my favorite stores. One could go in there, bring a truck and come out with enough material to build a house from scratch.
I have a smaller dremel set, Will see if i can get that jig here somewhere (probably at a cost higher than your complete set)

cmccrumb 8 years ago

That is... AWESOME!!!
I think I'll make one, but with a clear bottle.

Schaf77 8 years ago

Thank you! Yes, a clear bottle would look awesome as well. You could use a regular wine bottle and use a skinny vintage style bulb.

Robin- 8 years ago

On your "Add the socket" picture box the bottom row of pictures is cut off in Firefox and Explorer. Also, you should add the story of where you got the vintage lamp; what kind it is, etc.

Schaf77 8 years ago

Yes, I see that. I do not know why it looks like that but if you click on one of the pictures that is cut-off, you can view the full image. Also, there really is no story behind the lamp since I made the lamp. This lamp does not really fit into a specific category so I would have to say it is just unique.

Robin- 8 years ago

I made a mistake in using the word "lamp" when I meant bulb. You mentioned that you used a "vintage Edison bulb". Perhaps a picture of just the bulb would be appropriate. I know I would like to see one. Also, since it is vintage, I think it would be interesting to read about where you got it and how old you think it is.

Schaf77 8 years ago

Oh, sorry. The bulb I used is a vintage "style" bulb. You can get them at some hardware stores and online. I used this one from the Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Electric-Original-...

So, there really is no story behind the bulb except that I went to the store and bought it.

TomD4 8 years ago

What type of light bulb did you use?

Schaf77 8 years ago

Just noticed I forgot to mention what bulb I used. I added this info to the materials section.

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