Upcycled Old Mill Sifters



Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Back in November I visited Chartreuse and Co. Fall Market Days.  You may remember…that’s when I brought you tons of holiday inspiration.  The very last picture I showed you was of these old mill sifters.  I have no idea what they sifted or how they were used but they were shabby enough to make their way home with me.

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Some of the edges were wrapped with this blue ticking fabric and I made special care that all 8 of the mill sifters I bought had the same blue ticking.  In my mind I was envisioning cleaning up the fabric and using it intact.

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY-002

I finally got around to tackling these things this week.  They turned out to be far dirtier than I remembered.

None of the blue ticking fabric was salvageable… it was all in the early stages of dry rot.

Out came the needle nosed pliers and the Staple Remover .  The sifters put up a fight, but a couple of bloody knuckles and a few hours later I was down to bare wood and wire netting.

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

My DEWALT Sander  finished getting the rest of the grime off of the sifters.

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

For this project the preparation was the hard part.

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Attach the four sides of the pendant with wood glue and finish nails.  If you have a nail gun this is a great time to use it.

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Find a scrap piece of wood to use for the tops.  Cut to fit and sand the edges and corners.

For the light, I’m using this Westinghouse Mini-Pendant Kit in Oil-Rubbed Bronze  .  All the wiring is done for you, you just have to unscrew the collar, insert it thru a hole and rescrew the collar back on.  You can get someone else to attach it to the ceiling.   🙂 

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Use a jigsaw or drill to make a hole in the center of your top using the pendant kit as your guide.

Paint as desired.  I’m using the same Dixie Belle Paint that I used for  my french lettering serving cart, Hurricane Gray.

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

The chalk paint on the left has been treated with vintage wax.

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

The collar has been screwed back on to the light fixture.

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Upcycled Old Mill Sifter Pendant Light DIY

Mill Sifter Pendant Light Before and After

I love unique lights though I have no idea what I’m going to do with this pair.

If you’re feeling inspired, you can check out the a gallery  of my upcycled lighting here.

See you next week.  Hang in there, the weekend is coming .

Shared at Metamorphosis Monday,

Talk of the TownWow us Wednesday,

 

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