Daniel’s Do it Yourself

I received a fluorescent grow-tube type light as a Christmas gift, but did not have a stand for it. Stands for these kinds of lights can be pretty expensive so I built one in about 5 minutes for $5.

I decided to use PVC for this project as well because it’s modular, easy to assemble, and takes very little time. I did not even glue the pieces together since I’m not running any liquid through it.

Here’s a picture:

Materials(3/4″ PVC)

1-10 ft piece PVC pipe

2-PVC T pieces

2-PVC elbows

4-PVC end caps

The instructions are simple: Cut the pieces to fit your lamp so that it’s the length and height you need, then just snap everything together. The feet are 4 pieces of 1-ft PVC pipe, connected by the T pieces with an end cap on each open end. The light fixture came with the chain, which was wrapped around the top PVC pipe and secured with a nut and bolt on each side.

I can change the height of the light by moving the chain or adding/removing phone books (free).

The work light I was using just wasn’t really cutting it, since it only lit up one side. I went to Wal-mart and bought 2 small light fixtures. I then purchased GE Reveal 65W Halogen lights for each of them. I am going to purchase some brighter lights in the future, but these will work for now.

Total Cost at Wal-Mart: $27

This definately fixed the problem of only having light on one side. This setup takes great photos of small objects.

A professional light box can cost you hundreds of dollars, so why waste the money when you can build your own for $8?

Source: http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent

Here’s what I had to buy:

Home Depot
2 - 1/2 x 10ft. PVC pipe. $1.32 ea.
4 - 1/2 PVC Tees, $.23 ea.
4 - 1/2 PVC Street Elbows. $.85 ea.
4 - 1/2 PVC Caps $.27 ea.

Linens n’ Things
1 - Twin bed sheet. $4.99

Subtotal: $7.66
Sales Tax(6%): $0.46
Total: $8.12

Here’s what I already had:
PVC Pipe Cutter
Sheetmetal screws
Posterboard
500W Halogen Work Light
Tripod
Camera
Table

Here’s what I didn’t need:
PVC Cement

In the instructions from the source, they used PVC Cement to glue their pipe together. I didn’t think this needed to be done since they fit together snugly. If I ever need to, I can fold the legs in or even take it apart. Another thing they did was use CPVC pipe. I used PVC pipe and it makes no difference. Just use whatever one is cheaper.

Right now, I have the 500W Halogen Work Light set up on the left side of the photo box. This puts way too much light on one side. I need to get another Halogen light to put on the other side of the light box. It also gets very hot, very quick… so I can only leave it plugged in for a minute.

Here’s a picture of the setup:

And here’s a couple quick pictures I took with it(You can tell there’s too much light on one side):

This blog is all about doing things yourself and saving money. Links will be posted to things you can build, but I will only post them if I can build it. If I fail to build it, I’ll post that too. I will post insightful information on building other people’s designs and even make some of my own.