First off i should say this was inspired by the Mini free standing LED lamp by Sunbanks. Instead of using a biro to hold the led away from the desk i've used some clear perspex to project the light from the base.

This little project is a prototype its pretty much bright enough to read by or to get round a dark room. Now i've played with it i have some ideas to improve it mainly by having the battery in the base. Its basically some recycled parts and left overs from another project but its remarkably effective.

Apologies for the pics the flash kept washing out the images so i've used quite a high iso to make them clearer.

Step 1: Parts List

Lid from a bottle of juice
some left over strip board
a battery holder and battery
a rod of perspex (size to taste) aka plexiglass (both are brand names for clear acrylic)
and an led that'll fit, i've used a superflux

I've used 5mm diameter but tbh anything should work, the biggest problem you'll have is weight if you go much bigger or longer
The superflux has been used since they're nice and small, easy to solder and bright

Step 2: Cuting Some Holes, Soldering and Some Taping

Solder the led and the battery holder to the strip board, making sure you observe the polarity before you start sticking things together. Don't put the cables too close to the edge of the board you need to make sure your with in the circumference of the lid. Now check it works before you go any further.

Next take what every circle cutting tool you prefer and cut a hole in the top of the lid, I used a 5mm drill bit in a power drill but i'm too lazy to do it in the multitude of other ways available. Also cut a small inlet in the lid to allow the cables to pass i just used snips how ever this lid was quite brittle and cracked when i cut into it a softer lid might be better or a different method of cutting.

Now take some duct tape and stick it to the underside of the strip board led side up. This is going to be used to line up the led with the hole we just cut.

Step 3: Line Up and Tape Up

Take the lid and place it over the led looking through the hole in top of the cap until you can see the actual lighting part of the led and not just the casing. Once your done lightly apply the tape to the side of lid and then cut of any excess strip board.

I found the easiest way was to mark the edge of the lid on the board then take the Dremel (taking all necessary safety measures) to it until it was the right shape.

Step 4: More Tape and Inserting the Rod

Once your happy with the strip boards size get some more tape and securely strap the board to the lid.

Next you want to test fit the rod before yo go any further. You want it quite tight if you used the drill method this won't be a problem in fact i had to run the bit in side the hole a few times to open it up a tiny bit.

Step 5: Finnishing Up

I taped the rest of the lid, since it was white it was quite bright and i wanted the rod to be the focus not the base you may not in which case feel free to neaten up the tape securing the board or break out the glue gun.

So tape it up and reinsert the rod and your done. I had to use blue tac to make the thing sit flat more because of the taping than the weight but i'm sure you'll do a better job of the taping than I.

If you had a switch to hand it might be worth attaching since it save faffing with the battery or if you had a better battery holder it would be worth placing on the board in side the base.