Build A Trouble Light From Junk

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With that done, I passed the adapter plug and cord through the funnel and out by way of the bottle's neck, then set the sealed beam in place. To secure the bulb in its plastic holder, I clipped off a 24-inch length of baling wire and—feeding it from the inside—threaded it through one of the flank holes, back into the hole next to it, and across the face of the bulb to the second set of openings. The idea is to string the wire on both sides of each bump and through the three pairs of holes to make a triangular pattern, as shown in the illustration. Finally, I twisted the free ends of the wire neatly together near the edge of the bulb's face, and tucked the tips between the lamp and the plastic where they're least likely to catch on clothing or fingers.

The space behind the lamp, in the narrow part of the funnel, can provide a good storage bin for the power cord when the light isn't being used. I merely cut a slot into the threaded por tion of the neck, large enough to allow the lamp cord to pass through, and I can then twist the bottle cap in place to lock the wire at whatever length is required for the job at hand. By removing the cap completely, I'm able to stuff the wire and the plug into the plastic funnel . . . or I can leave the lid on and let just the adapter protrude from the lamp assembly. (Any more than 15 feet of cord, though, won't easily fit inside the holder.)

To make my scrap trouble light just a little more versatile, I took the remaining 12 inches of baling wire and made a small hook—which fits loosely around the jug handle—to hang it up by. This sliding loop will hold the light downward at almost any angle I need when working under the hood of a car.

Quite frankly, I'm pretty proud of my new "invention". Now, rather than ending up on the scrap heap, an otherwise useless auto bulb is ready to serve as a high-powered, broad-beam, hands-off trouble light . . . for only a fraction of the cost of an equivalent ready-made unit!

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