DIY Network

Light Bulb Centerpiece Dress your table in dramatic lights. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-405

Light up your next dinner party with Michele Beschen.

Anyone can light a dinner table with a few candles – but what about using a funky light sculpture you wire yourself? Michele Beschen shows you how to create your own electric centerpiece using low-wattage bulbs in this B. Original project.

Don't be intimidated by electrical wiring: Michele Beschen walks you through the basics of creating this simple circuit. Just remember to take your time, use common sense and follow all safety instructions. You'll be lighting up the night in no time!

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Light Bulb Centerpiece

Materials:

1x8 pine or cedar board, 48" long
(2) 1x2 pine boards, 48" long
(2) 1x2 pine boards – 8-3/4" long
drill
drill bit large enough to accommodate two pieces of lamp cord
wood glue
screwdriver
wood screws
nail gun or hammer and 1-1/2" nails
5 porcelain keyless lamp holders
standard lamp cord
lamp cord with plug and switch
wire stripper/cutter pliers
variety of low-wattage light bulbs

	Figure A
	Figure B

• To build the centerpiece base, lay the 1x8 board on edge and run a bead of wood glue down the edge.

• Position one of the long 1x2 boards on the glued edge so that it lines up at the ends and sits flush with the top of the larger board (figure A).

• Secure the board with 1-1/2" nails or screws in addition to the glue. If using screws, drill a pilot hole for each screw so the boards do not split. Wipe away any excess glue with a damp rag.

• Repeat this process for the other three boards, lining each up so that it is flush with the top and ends of the board (figure B).

• Prime and paint the base, if desired. Let the paint dry completely before moving to the next step.

• Position the porcelain keyless lamp holders along the base as desired. Michele Beschen lined up five holders down the center of the base; it's also possible to stagger them for a less formal look.

• With the holders in place, lightly mark the position of the screw holes.

• Remove the holders from the base.
  

  	Figure C
  	Figure D

• Using the screw marks as a guide, drill holes through the base that are slightly offset form where the center of the lamp holders will be (figure C). Use a bit that is large enough to accommodate two pieces of the lamp cord.

• Read over any instructions that came with the lamp cord. Standard lamp cord generally has two wires side by side, held together by plastic sheathing. Notice that one of the wires has writing or numbers on the sheathing – this is the hot or positive wire (figure D). The wire without writing is the neutral wire. The key to wiring with this type of cord is to keep all of the hot/positive/writing wires together, and all the neutral/negative/unwritten wires together.

  Safety Alert: Be extremely careful when wiring, especially when wiring a project that will use household current. Mixing up the hot and neutral wires in wiring will cause the circuit to short out and can start a fire. Always check over your wiring job carefully before plugging it in, and never plug in an unfinished wiring job.

• Take a look at the back of a porcelain keyless lamp holder. There are two screw connections: one brass, one silver. The hot wire always goes to the brass screw, the negative wire to the silver screw.

• Starting at one end of the wooden base, run one end of the lamp cord from the underside of the base through the hole, pulling about 6" of cord out the top.
  

  	Figure E
  	Figure F

• Split the two wires apart about 3" from the end, either by pulling them apart or cutting the sheathing down the middle. Strip the sheathing/insulation from the wires about 3/4" from the end (figure E).

• Use a screwdriver to slightly loosen the brass and silver screws on the back of the lamp holder.

• Wrap the positive (printed) wire around the brass screw on the lamp holder and tighten the screw (figure F). Wrap the negative wire around the silver screw and tighten down. If the strands of wire are coming apart, twist them together before wrapping them around the screws.

• Gently pull the wire from the underside until your lamp holder sits flush with the base.

• Determine the distance from your first hole to the next hole. Add about 4" of wire to this distance and cut the lamp cord. Separate the two wires about 3" up from the end, and strip the insulation 3/4" from the end.

• Determine the distance from the second hole to the third hole, add about 4" and cut an additional piece of cord. Separate the wires about 3" from each end and strip the insulation 3/4" from each end.

• Twist the positive wires from the two cords together. Twist the negative wires together.

• Run the twisted ends of the wires up through the hole in the base and attach them to the next lamp holder. Pull the holder flush with the base.

• Repeat the wiring process until you reach the final holder. Remember:
  wire with writing = hot/positive = brass screw on holder

  blank wire = neutral/negative = silver screw on holder

• The final holder will be wired with the cord from the previous holder and the power cord that will plug into the wall. Michele Beschen chose a power cord with a small switch attached for added convenience.

• Separate the power cord wires 3" from the end and strip the insulation from 3/4" from the end.

• Use a drill bit that will accommodate the width of the power cord, drill a hole in the side trim of the base. Run the power cord from the outside of the base through the hole, then up through the final lamp holder hole.

• Twist the hot/positive wires from the power cord and the lamp cord together and attach to the lamp holder. Repeat for the neutral/negative wires.
  

  Figure G

• Gently pull all excess wire from the bottom to get the lamp holders to sit flush on the top of the base. Secure all wiring on the underside of the base with staples. Secure all lamp holders to the base with screws (figure G).

• Paint or decorate lamp holders if desired and fill them with a variety of low-wattage decorative bulbs. Michele Beschen likes half-chrome bulbs because the light comes out of the bottom of the bulb, while the chrome top has a reflective quality. She also likes to paint the bulbs with glass paint.