DIY - Industrial Floor Lamp

Paul and I both love the look of industrial lamps with vintage looking Edison light bulbs. We've seen some on Etsy that we thought we might purchase - they're around $125 or so (sometimes more) for a table lamp. They really have some gorgeous items!

However, today Paul sent me a Home Depot lamp as a suggestion for the corner in our bedroom behind the reading chair that desperately needs a floor lamp. It was an $18 bleh lamp. I knew I wanted industrial style...so I went back to Etsy to look at some of my favorites...and I decided that I'm sure there has to be a way I can do this myself. And so I spent a little while online and took myself to Home Depot after work and produced the following in about 1 hour (plus another hour at Home Depot trying to figure out pipes) for about $65 (tip you can make it for less if you just do a 4 ft or 5 ft pipe instead of all the 12 inch and couplings)

New lamp! In our newly painted bedroom :-) and in our living room (I need a better camera than my iPhone!)

So here are the steps of how to do it (and these can be adjusted to create a shorter or taller lamp):

Materials:

A) 4 x 3/4 inch Tee

B) 1 x 3/4 inch 1-1/2 inch nipples

C) 2 x 3/4 inch 2 inch nipples

D) 4 x 3/4 inch 3 inch nipples

E) 4 x 3/4 inch 90 degree elbows

F) 4 x 3/4 inch 12 inch nipples

G) 3 x 3/4 inch coupling

H) 1 x 3/4 inch union

I) 1 Westinghouse 3-way Socket Make A Lamp Kit

J) 1 x Edison Light Bulb

Steps:

1. Connect two Tees (A) using the smallest nipple (B) - yes I know how that sounds... 

2. Thread through the wire from the make a lamp kit (I) - you will repeatedly do this as you build the "stem" part of the lamp

One 2 inch nipple plus Tee, 
repeat on other side

3. Connect the 2 inch nipples (C) to either side of your base Tee and attach the remaining two Tees (A) to these nipples in order to create the legs of the lamp

4. Attach the four 3 inch nipples (D) to the Tees that are forming the legs of the lamp 

5. Attach the four 90 degree elbows (E) to the 3 inch nipples and your base is complete!

6. Thread the wire (I) through a 12 inch nipple (F) and then attach the nipple onto the Tee that is currently the highest point of the stem of the lamp

7. Thread a coupling (G) on to the top of the nipple and repeat until you have four of the 12 inch nipples in place to create the stem. Always thread the wire (I) through the next piece before attaching it to the lamp

At this point - if you're not using individual nipples and couplings, but one single long pipe for the stem, you save a little bit of time (and a fair bit of money) 

8. Finish with a union joint (H) and then proceed to make the lamp with the kit (I) (I had to google how to make an underwriter's knot and recommend a wee screw driver just for tighening the screws once you've wrapped around the wires). Tip: when making the electrical part of the lamp, attach a piece of masking tap to the wire so that the little pieces don't slip down and disappear inside the stem

9. Once you have completed the lamp kit, use hot glue to connect the lamp/bulb (I) to the lamp so that it stays in place

10. Put in the Edison bulb (J) and enjoy your new lamp!

So I know this post has an excessive use of the word nipple...imagine myself at Home Depot with my Irish accent asking for 3/4 inch steel nipples... ha! 

Any questions - just shout!

P.S

Mistakes I made:

1) Made the lamp kit before the lamp base...had to undo so I could thread the wire through the pipes!

2) Didn't take the pricing stickers off the parts before I built the lamp base!

Here are pictures of the various parts (because when I was on blogs earlier, I didn't know what a nipple versus a coupling versus a Tee versus a 90 degree elbow was!):

A) 3/4 inch Tee and G) 3/4 inch Coupling

Smaller nipples (B), (C), (D)

12 inch nipples (F)

3/4 inch 90 degree elbows (E) and 3/4 inch union (H)