12 Projects of Christmas - Project #8 Lobster Buoy

Beau Wynja

12 Projects of Christmas - Project #8 Lobster Buoy

Sent in by a customer, we turned an actual lobster buoy into a functional light fixture!
Color Cord Product You'll Need:

Porcelain Plug In Pendant Cord Set

Step 1: Measuring and Cutting
Components to create a Lobster Buoy
A man measuring the Lobster Buoy to create a diy project
A man creating a lighting diy project - Lobster Buoy
Saw going through middle of orange wooden pendant lamp base
A man creating a lighting diy project - Lobster Buoy
First things first, we measured for the appropriate depth so that the Porcelain Plug In Pendant Cord Set sits inside the buoy.  Next, we cut it in half so we can hollow out the bottom portion.

Step 2: Hollowing out the Buoy
Hands making a large hole in bottom of wooden fixture with drill
A man hollowed out the bottom portion of the buoy
To make the buoy function more like a shade, we hollowed out the bottom portion of the buoy so that the Porcelain Plug In Pendant Cord Set sits inside the buoy.

Step 3: Sanding and Gluing Back Together
Close up of drill making a large hole in the bottom of a piece of wood
Hands sanding bottom half of wooden orange pendant light
Person putting hot glue on bottom half of custom pendant light
Inside of a painted wooden cylinder
After we hollowed out the bottom portion, we sanded the entire buoy down and hot glued it back together, resulting in a functional light shade.
Step 4: Painting
Printed copy of Lobster Buoy
Person with tattooed arm painting an orange container white
painting christmas project lobster buoy
Hand holding '2' stencil over a painted object
Custom painted pendant light fixture
We painted the buoy with different colored sections and finished it off with some stenciled numbers.  "2288" was printed at the bottom of the buoy in its original state and we wanted to keep that detail in our new design.
Step 5: Plug In Pendant Assembly
plugging in pendant assembley in lobster buoy
plugging in pendant cord set in lobster buoy
plugging in socket in lobster buoy
Inside of custom pendant light fixture
complete project of lobster buoy
In order to fit the Porcelain Plug In Pendant Cord Set through the middle of the buoy, we had to disassemble the porcelain socket.  This is easily done using only a screwdriver!  If you need assistance on re-wiring your porcelain socket, check out our video How To Wire a Porcelain Socket.
Step 6: It's Lobster Season!
Painted pendant light fixture hanging next to wooden wall art
Is Lobster Season a thing?  Probably not, but we'll go with it!  This nautical themed pendant was one of our more original requests and we think it turned out better than expected!  Send us photos of your DIY Holiday Projects!

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