Scavenger Chic

Upcycled Jack Stand Lamps

• By Joan
• October 16, 2019
• 5 Comments

Upcycled Jack Stand Lamps

I shared all my flea market finds back in August and included with all those goodies was this pair of jack stands.  Son #3 spied these while he was on the other end of a very long, 40 miles to be exact, yard sale.  He went with his girlfriend while I went with my sister.  If you checked back on our finds, you will see there was absolutely no room in our car, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t take advantage of his extra pair of eyes.

He texts me,” 3 for $10, what do you think? ”  It was late in the day, I text him back,” Can you get them for $5?”  It’s always worth a try.  He settled for $7.50, that’s my boy.

If you want to see how far I’ve gotten with my flea market flips make sure you head to the bottom of this post.  This is flip number 5. 

With the jack stands we’re making a pair of lamps.  For the pair you’ll need the jacks (of course), 2 lamp kits, 2 plumbing flanges to make the top of the dowel look nice and a 2″ dowel.

Use a sander to get rid of flaky paint, labels, rust spots and anything else you don’t like on the jacks.

Spray with a rust inhibitor spray paint.  This is black in a satin finish.  While you’re spraying, also give the plumbing flanges a quick coat.

Cut the dowel the  height you would like your lamp.  Do yourself a favor and do not make the dowel longer than your drillbit.

My drillbit is 12″, my cut dowel pieces are 10 1/2″.  The dowel is long enough to poke out on both the top and bottom of the lamp.

Using your super long 3/8″ drill bit, drill a hole the length of your dowel.    The dowel is held in place with a clamp sitting on the floor.  

Stain or paint the center dowel the color of your choice.

For a little spash of color I’m painting the interior of my jack stand a semi-gloss red.  I know it had started out red, but black spray paint had covered up the original color.

Thread your lamp wire up thru the dowel. 

When I showed you all my supplies originally, my lamp kit had a gold wire.  I had to find another kit with a black wire for better camo.  ( Make a Lamp Kit for  DIY Lamp Design )

I’m not going to go thru all the steps in lamp wiring, instead I’ll point you back to my earlier post….How to Wire a Lamp  (with pictures).

At the top of the dowel I threaded on the plumbing flange (painted black) a washer, a big wing nut and the decorative neck included with the lamp kit.

You do not need the washer or the wing nut to complete this lamp, I just found them while I was on the search for another washer and I liked the extra level of rusty bling.

When I first started this lamp I was thinking I would use the existing lock pin on the jack to raise and lower my lamp, drill a few holes…it would be totally adjustable.  Great idea right?

Terrible idea!  The lock pin would go straight thru the dowel to the other side.  In the center of my dowel is the lamp  cord.  Not a good idea.

I had to settle with screws inserted directly into the wood thru the existing holes on the jack.  Make sure the screws are short enough so that they  have no chance of hitting the interior wire.  The lamp is still semi-adjustable, I would just need to make new screw holes.

The washers keep the screw from going all the way thru the hole.

If you noticed in the last picture one of the washers was rusty, one was shiny metal.  

Now they are both rusty…not!  One is rusty, one is cinnamon.   Easiest rust ever…paint your washer with black paint.  While the paint is still wet, sprinkle with cinnamon.  Voila, instant rust. Can’t tell which one is which can you?

For size purposes, this is a Medium shade.  Because of the skinny base, the larger shades didn’t look right at all. 

  ***If you get a chance, take your lamp into the store with you and try on all the shades until you get one that looks right.

I just wanted to prove the lamp really works.

My flea market projects are starting to come together.  Of course the lamps made from the jack stands, a star made from tobacco sticks, whale weathervane from a jack, coffee table from silo doors, and a pair of raised stencil headboards from a free roadside find.  If you want to see all my treasures from the flea market, you can find them here.

Until next time, stay inspired.

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