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I have always liked the old glass electrical insulators, and I figured there was some way to make lighting out of them.  I bought a few lots of insulators, and started building with iron pipe and fittings, and the product came out pretty good!  I started up a store on Etsy, which is somewhat of a crafty storefront that makes it easy to sell this kind of stuff.

Check out my store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/luceantica (not implying you have to buy anything, just showing off another project of mine)

Tkaz

 Really Cool Ideal !!! I think They Are very Cool Looking  Great Job

Neat innovative idea!

That's a neat idea, they look nice!

 Cool idea and thats great that you sold a few  :smile:

Very clever, and the look is cool... curious, any special technique for drilling a hole of that size through glass?

Chris

I use a drill press and a 1/2" diamond hole bit, go slow and pour water on it to keep the heat down.  Took some experimenting, but it works well. 

Thanks Tkaz...

they are pretty cool.

You could sell those at some type of festival or craft show.

 thats a great idea, ive collected insulators since i was a kid, we always found tons of them around the concho river in san angelo texas  just a few blocks away from my grandparents house. Brings back lots of memories. Nice creativity

My paternal grandfather lived in San Angelo - died in 1966 (I think). We visited once when I was a young boy - he and my grandmother were divorced. I still have relatives there! Is that where you live?

No I live about 110 miles west in midland. my dad moved back after he retired. Ive always liked san angelo nice older town with tons of good antiques.

That really is a nice idea and great looking lamp.. industrial design... I may have to make one... my grand parents lived along a old train rail... and these old insulators where along the tracks... fell/knocked off the lines... I think my dad may still have some... though you have to be careful some are rare and worth some $$$. I would think those would sell... you should try putting one on ebay....

Great idea!!

I have never  really thought about collecting glass insulator lamps but it sure sounds appealing.  Currently, I am way too busy collecting and restoring fireplace doors.

(Sorry about that, I just couldn't resist.) 

BC

ok... more questions.. did you paint the pipe fittings... can you post more pictures of it...
can you show the inside of the insulators to see how you put the sockets in?.. I think
I'm gonna make one.... again very cool..

I got a few valuable insulators in the lots that I bought, I always make sure I look them up before I start drilling...I would have been a little upset if I have found out that I was drilling a $100 piece!

Eric, I'll shoot you a PM

Very neat! What wattage bulb and what size base are they? Those are super-cool, I love the industrial look.

I have a set you can have! See the General Chit Chat thread I started on the topic.  Lol

It's nice that a "little humor" is still considered a valuable resource from most of the members on the board.

BC

      Oh..is humor still allowed?   :blush:

NO SOUP FOR YOU!!  :biggrin:

Hey All,

Just wanted to show off a few more of my lamp designs...since I posted the original post, the lamp shop has really taken off.  I ended up turning it into an LLC and have done just about $15K in sales in the first 1.5 years.  Not too bad for a side project!  I did a 21' bar lamp for a new restaurant in Texas, and they also bought 4 other lights to light up all the booze....tons of custom designs, I have attached a few photos to show a few of them off (some of those on Facebook have probably seen a few of them). 

It's been a lot of fun, sure is different having a hobby that makes money instead of costing a bunch, so I can't complain!

Really cool stuff. My wife's uncle in Mississippi must have a thousand of those just laying around.

Where's the restaurant in TX?

It's a place called Acme F&B in Dallas, TX

Awesome... What a great look... looks like they designed the bar around your lights! :smile:

Absolutely cool!

They got a real vintage industrial look to them ...very cool!  Love anything that lights up!

man these are awesome, what a great idea, you have to be stoked that your making money and having fun, something I'm striving for, congrats

Great !!! :happydrinkers:

I saw these and thought about this post..pretty cool..

Forgot one...lol..he installed light bulbs in them too...

That is a great idea I wish I had not thrown away the giant trash can full when I moved 10 years ago. My friend had 600 acres with a 1800's abandoned rail line running Thru it we had collected a pile off the poles. Now I wish I had saved the poles too.

Those are really cool Tom!  Great idea!

They look great against the rustic wood.

I hit up the Charlotte Auto Fair last weekend out at the track, and finally pickup up an old single barrel carb that I have wanted to build a lamp out of for some time now.  I ended up integrating a touch dimmer switch into the float bowl and was able to wire up the rest of the lamp no problem.  Turned out real cool, anybody have a box of old single barrel carbs laying around I can buy?

        Looks "HOT"!  :happydrinkers:

When I was in the Air Force I had a full size keg that they wouldn't take back. One weekend we took a touch lamp apart and combined the 2. Touch the keg, the light comes on... Seems any metal item works!  We thought it was great!

Filmed a segment on an upcoming local event and they wanted to feature my lamps...interesting doing a live TV morning show!  Good thing they didn't let me talk long...I'm better behind the scenes!

http://www.wccbcharlotte.com/story/a-little-holiday-shopping-with-wilson-at-vintage-charlotte-20131113

I have a small collection of them.

        That film clip was awesom Tom.  :happydrinkers:

Very cool Tom!

Great clip. congrats.