Scavenger Chic

DIY Upcycled Pipe Lamp

• By Joan
• August 1, 2014
• 5 Comments

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DIY Upcycled/Recycled Rusty Pipe Lamp

Lately I’ve been very into upcycled lighting. Everywhere you look people are creating fantastic lamps and chandeliers from everything….corks, flashlights, mason jars and drift wood , to name but a few.  Check out my pinterest here.

So when I happened upon a dump, yes it was just sitting there next to a trail, I couldn’t help but get excited about the many possibilities that awaited.

The first thing that caught my eye was this fantastic rusty pipe with just a few dings.  Don’t know what it was used for in the past, but I had a good idea what it would be in the future…a lamp.  Since we had just started our hike, I lugged that thing over the hills and down.  I would not put down that rusty pipe for anything. It was mine. Having said that, I was not too happy when our trail happened to circle around and once again we passed that same dump. If only I had known, that pipe would have been waiting for me behind a good sized tree.  No matter, I texted my husband a picture of my find, “I see a lamp, don’t you.”  “No”   I was not deterred.

It looks like a lamp to me!

Putting together this lamp was actually pretty easy. With a jigsaw I cut two circles out of a piece of plywood. The top circle was just larger than the pipe opening and the circle for the base was the exact size of the bottom. The edges were a little rough so sanded them down with a palm sander.

Base of Pipe Lamp with drilled hole and cut out for wire

For the base, drilled a hole in the center and then with a saw cut a straight line from the drilled hole, about 1/4 inch wide, to the outside edge. This holds the lamp wire and allows the lamp to sit level.

I only needed one more piece of wood and that was a piece to attach to the top circle and fit inside the pipe. This piece served two purposes 1) it stabilized the top and gave it something to hang onto and 2) by it fitting snug inside the pipe, it helped bang out my dents. Drilled a hole through the center of all 3 pieces and attached  the inside wood piece to the top plywood circle with screws and a bit of wood glue.

Finished off both circles with stain and polyurethane. I bought a lamp kit from the hardware store making sure it came with a nipple (the long threaded pipe). Now I was ready to start putting the lamp together. The directions on the package of the lamp kit are pretty complete, if I can follow them, I’m sure you can, or, you can find my post on how to wire a lamp here. 

I found the black piece on top hiding in my workshop. Can you guess what it is?…..It’s the end of my husband’s old weight set, it would hold the weights onto the bar. Why I still have it, I have no idea.

I was lucky, the bottom of my pipe had a great flat area with holes already drilled.  My nice shiny screws that I used to attach my pipe to the base got a quick paint job and now they look rusty too.  The top only needed a bead of liquid nails around the inside wood to attach it to the pipe.

Have you upcycled something strange into a lamp?  I would love to hear from you.

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