We did it! The lamps work great!
Here we have Lampbot (Mxyl's of course). Lampbot is actually a water bottle glued to a takeout plastic container covered with construction paper and spray painted. The socket fit neatly into the bottle neck and I was able to drill a hole in the bottom to put the cord through.
Zorg's lamp was a spice container in a previous life. We filled it part way with sand for ballast and then he added Lego figures (just the duplicates, he assured me). The beauty of this lamp (and Klenda and Leena's lamps) is that you can unscrew the lid and change the contents.
We fished lamp wire (just like the cord on your lamps) through the body. We separated it into 2 wires at the end and stripped the last inch or so of plastic off of each wire. We formed the exposed copper wire into a loop and put it over the screws in the base of the socket. We tightened the screws and that was it for the socket. We pulled the cord on the other end so the socket was nice and tight.
On the other end we had a plug that opened up and squeezed shut onto the cord. You could see little metal teeth which bit into each wire exactly where the prong was. It's a circuit, see? One prong into one wire into the socket, through the socket, into the other wire, into the other prong.
Screw in a light bulb, plug it in, and turn it on!
2 comments:
Hey, now I know why I'm saving those plastic spice bottles! Although right now they get a lot of use as "canning jars." (Just like Little Sal and her mother.)
I never tried anything so ambitious as a lamp, but my brother and I did once try to rig up a working telegraph between our bedrooms. We never could get enough battery power to carry the signal that far, though.
Wow! You always inspire..or should I say your little Zoomlians do. ;-)
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