Ceramic Tower Lighthouse Lamp Conversion

I found a ceramic tower without a top at a thrift store, so this project converts it into a working lighthouse lamp. I'm not sure of the source of the ceramic, but I'm publishing the top and other parts in case it's useful for others. 

Components:

• Lighthouse tower with the top opening inner diameter being about 100mm. 
• Lamp cord
• MTS-101 Panel Mount toggle switch
• E12 Candelabra bulb base about ¾" in diameter (19mm x 44mm)
• clear plexiglass
• steel wire ≤1mm dia.

Instructions

Print

• Ceiling
• lamp floor
• roof
• 8x pane posts
• lamp underside
• 8x railing posts

Super glue the ceiling to the roof
Super glue the railing posts to the lamp floor
Super glue the pane posts to the lamp floor
Cut 8 panes from the plexiglass about 33mm x 15mm in size

Cutting tip: 
Use a razor and a straight edge to scratch both sides of the plexiglass where you want to cut, then use a vise or a glass breaker pliers to snap along the scratch. Be careful to only etch where you want to break.

When glue is dry, slide the panes into the slots in the lamp

The ceiling should fit snugly on top of the panes and pane posts.

The lamp underside has an uneven surface, this is because the lamp itself was uneven. Slide the candelbra bulb base into the lamp. 

Print

• 3 rect windows
• 2 round windows
• 1 switch panel

Cut additional panes out of plexiglass to match the 3 rect windows, and the 2 round windows.

Glue these panes and frames together with super glue. You can then hot glue or epoxy this into the ceramic base. 

Wire the bulb socket up. Attach the white wire to the switch, and the black wire to the lamp cord wire with a wide blade. The thin blade side of the lamp cord attaches to the other side of the switch. Black wire is ground. 

Place the lamp underside so the top is level where it sits. Glue the bulb base into place. Glue the switch panel into it's spot. 

I used a sheet of paper inside the tower to prevent viewing the wire, you may print what you want on the paper to make the interior more interesting. 

I then glued the lamp floor onto the lamp underside with superglue, and screwed in an LED bulb. 

Print

• Glass (in a clear plastic)
• 2x brass glass frame
• brass glass cap 
• brass glass bottom

I sat the glass on top of the brass glass bottom, then used a drop of super glue to attach the 4 frames around the glass. Then used a drop of superglue to attach the brass cap to the top. 

The completed component should slip on top of the E12 bulb.

Place the Ceiling/Roof lid on top of the lamp, and the project is completed.