Finding a good lamp that ties a room together is hard. For every room style, there is a barriage of lamps designed to look good with your preferences. A good lamp should shed ample light on the rest of the room so you can see your collected conversation starters. But why not make a lamp that is itself a conversation starter? Take a look at the steps below to use those old VHS tapes to whip this lamp together.
Here's what you will need to complete the project:
- 5 or more VHS Tapes with case
- Lamp with broken/missing shade or any lamp with just a base
- 6 thin nails
- glue gun
- Screwdriver, hammer, knife
For the first step, you will need to disassemble your tapes. You can do this by removing the screws that hold it together. Don't forget to keep all of the parts of the tape since you will need all of the parts later to build the lamp. Below are the rest of the instructions:
Use a whole case to create the lamp base. Cut the case so that it fits the base of the lamp. Glue the case and the lamp together.
There are no rules on where specific parts go, but in order to create neat edges and unique parts, there are instructions on following steps on how to make different parts and how to fill in the gaps.
The lamp that I used turned out to be three VHS tapes high.
1. First we need to nail the reels into the case so that it rotates but stays safely locked in place. To do so, first find the tiny black part in the middle of the reel and break it off with a nail and hammer.
2. Hammer a hole through the middle of each reel and another in the center of the circular parts attached to the case. (This helps to nail the reel to the case more accurately).
*The film should wind in the direction shown in the picture*
3. Nail the reels and the case together.
4. Holding the reels in place, turn the case over and put hot glue around the penetrated part of the nail (shown in picture)
5. Make a maximum of 3 parts total
It's a bit time-consuming, and you won't be able to watch those tapes again, but chances are you weren't going to anyways. Not only is this an excellent conversation starter; it doesn't look half bad, either.
Plus, it gives you and a good excuse to practice those all-important DIY skills that you'll need one day when being able to head simply down to Target will no longer be an option.
As always, being able to use what you have to make something that's useful is the mantra of the prepper, and this VHS lamp certainly fits the bill.
This is a fun and challenging project for every prepper willing to give it a try. To see the whole project from start to finish, check out the original article on Instructables.