Wine Bottle Lamps Tutorial {DIY}

Making wine bottle lamps is a pretty easy process is you have the right tools.

Here's what you'll need:

1-empty wine or liquor bottle
1-35 or 50 strand of white christmas tree lights
some modeling clay
1-1/2" diamond tip drill bit
1-drill press or hand drill
sandpaper
An unfolded coat hanger with the end folded to have a hook


Here's what you'll need to do:

1. Drink the wine/liquor ;) or find empty bottles like I do

2. Take your modeling clay and form a ring near the bottom of the bottle where you want the hole to be (usually on the back side).
 

3. Fill the ring with water.
 

4. Align the drill with where you want the hole to be before you begin the drilling process. Once you have it aligned, using a high speed, begin drilling the hole. If you are using a hand drill you need to begin drilling at a 45 degree angle then once the hole is started change to a 90 degree angle. Also you may need another person to help you out with this step so they can hold the bottle still why you are doing the drilling. Don't forget to wear protective gear (gloves and safety glasses).
 

5. Once you drill the hole, tip the bottle upside down to get the water and the glass slug out of the bottle. After you drain the bottle you will want to take a piece of sandpaper and carefully sand the edge of the hole. Then rinse the bottle off, but be very careful when doing this if you wish to save the label. If any water does get on the label dry it off immediately to prevent it from bubbling or falling off.

6. Taking your strand of lights feed the first light through the hole and hook onto it with the unfolded coat hanger which you have inserted from the top of the bottle, you will use this to pull the lights through the top of the bottle.

7. Feed the remaining lights into the bottle and continue to pull them through the top. Once all the lights have been strung through the bottle push them back into the bottle you may need a small blunt object to help with this part (i.e the eraser end of a pencil). Once all the lights have been pushed back into the bottle reinsert the cork, plug it in and enjoy.



A few side notes:

1. If your strands of lights have a plug on each end you need to remove the female plug using wire cutters. Keeping the two wires separate tape each end off and then tape the wires together.

2. If you are using a strand of 50 lights the bottle will become very hot with extended use so be careful when handling. However, this does not seem to be a problem with strands of 35.

3. The color of the strands of lights does not matter too much and really just comes down to personal preference. Though, if you are using a clear bottle you may want to use lights that have a white strand. I used green strands in this clear bottle because it had a green/lime theme to it.

May the force be with you!
Dylan