Pages

Thursday, May 5, 2016

DIY Pulley Light Fixture


I always wanted a pulley light fixture since the first time I saw one. They look amazing in industrial and farm style designed rooms. But, they are a little pricey to buy. I swore when I got a pulley that I would make one.

Well, the time has come! I scored a pulley from a yard sale. While I'm in the middle of redoing the kitchen, the timing couldn't be better!

It was a little dirty and rough.



So I cleaned it up and sanded it down to smooth it out.



Then rubbed coconut oil into it.



Since the pulley was ready, I grabbed my electrical light fixture stash for parts to put this whole pulley lighting together.

I had a flush mount canopy and a mounting bracket that was do-able. Worried about weight, I bought some toggle bolts for mounting them.



Then I needed two identical corded sockets and didn't have any on hand. So after looking around I ended up buying 2 mason jar cord kits. Perfect, because the lids are vented for heat. I also bought 2 Edison Style light bulbs.

As for shades, I was cutting bottles and jars with hopes to use milk bottles. After cutting several to get a couple of them with smooth cuts, the jar was too narrow for my hands to screw in the bulbs.

Ugh. I ended up with mason jars which was fine because it was my second choice.

It's important to use open bottles and jars due to fire hazards. Those jars just screwed onto fixtures without venting scares the BeJeebers out of me.



Once I had all of the parts prepared, it was time to assemble the whole fixture.

I mounted the bracket with 4 toggle bolts into the ceiling. According to the manufacturer, each can hold up to 50 pounds, I just wanted to make real sure that nothing was going to come falling down on anyone. Once the bracket was secure, I mounted the canopy. ( It came from another ceiling fixture in my junk stash.)



Before hanging the pulley from the canopy, I fed the corded sockets through. Then added some linked chain to weave the cords through. The chain was another security measure. The links were easy to open and close back with two pairs of pliers as I attached it to the canopy.



At this point, I was able to hang the pulley from the mounted canopy and run the cords to the wall where the outlet is located.





Then the exciting moment... adding the shades and the bulbs!



Ha!!! I did it!



It is so pretty that it makes a great accent light in the room.



Little accomplishments bring such joy, don't they?


pulley light

Little things that make life fun are worth the time.



I'm so excited to finally have this little dream come true.





Have you wanted to make one of these or similar?


Featured at




No comments:

Post a Comment