Upcycled Railroad Tie Lamp Diy

ScavengerChic
by ScavengerChic
I don't know about you, but I love to take items meant for the dump and turn them into lamps. Over the past year I've made at least 8 lamps from logs, pipes, shutters....so it really was no surprise that on a hike last fall when I spotted this lonely, perfect height, railroad tie, that I immediately thought LAMP!
Noticing me oogling my little tie, my wonderful, sweet, youngest son, gallantly offered to carry my treasure out of the woods. I protested a bit, since we were still a mile from the nearest road, but he insisted and I really did want it.
So you would think that would be the end of the story since I made that cute little tie into a lamp. Almost...it turns out that that little tie was home to hundreds of ants who apparently did not like having their home moved. They showed their disapproval by crawling up my sons arms. It did not take him long to tell mom, forget the tie you are on your own.
It wasn't until a month later when I was in the area again, that I thought I would give it another go. I packed up a backpack that I thought it would fit into and made the trek back down to the railroad tracks. For some reason nobody else had tried to salvage it, it was right where it was thrown the month before. This time when I picked it up, no ants showed their beady little heads. Apparently they had all abandoned ship when their house was moved the month before.


It doesn't look that heavy, but this guy weighs 30 lbs. First thing to do was give him a bit of a cleaning and light sanding.
With a 3/8" drill bit, drill a hole the entire length of the tie.
You will need a lamp kit, and from that lamp kit, run the lamp wire through the hole you just drilled.
A threaded nipple was inserted and attached with a lock nut.
The underwriters knot is tied, the cords are screwed into place, now it's just a matter of snapping into place.
Once you start making lamps, I guarantee you'll start seeing potential in everything. There are more pictures of this guy in progress at the website below.


For more instruction on how to make a lamp ( with lots of pictures) go here...http://scavengerchic.com/2014/10/17/how-to-wire-your-homemade-lamp-with-pictures/. Hope you get a chance to stop by.


ScavengerChic
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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