Mickey Lamp

 Because of the positive feedback that Nicole and I received on our Mickey Lamp, I thought I would share how I made it.

For the most part, I followed the directions on http://www.carol-anne.ca/Mickey%20Lamp.htm and https://erinblackwell.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/how-to-make-a-mickey-lamp-post/. I do believe both of these posts were produced by the same person because they share the same photos. Because I followed these post, I am not going to repeat that information here. Instead, I will simply share what I did differently.

When I was thinking about this project, I came to the conclusion that I would have to modify the plans. The first modification that needed to be made came from the fact that Nicole and I camp in locations where we do not have access to electricity. It is very hard to plug in a lamp when there are no outlets. The second modification needed to come from the fact that it would need to fit into my Prius; it needs to be easily disassembled and reassembled.

So, here are the items that I purchased. I got most of the items from Home Depot simply because the webpages that I was looking at had their product numbers. The one item that I ran into is that these pages are old pages, and some of their information is out of date. Because of this, I have also listed the part numbers of the items that I used.
1. Lamp post: Model # 501817 Internet #202636904 Store SO SKU #1000946165
2. Plastic Post-Top Globe Fitter: Model # 7785-01W Internet #100671529 Store SKU #348480
3. 12 in. White Neckless Globe: Model # 8188300 Internet #203066102
4. (2) 6 in. White Polyethylene Globe: Model # 8190500 Internet #203066112
5. Solar Black Outdoor Landscape Spot Light with Solar Panel and Wire: Model # NXT-3149 Internet #206267338 Store SKU #1001486802
6. Umbrella base that I got from Target.

I didn’t noticed it until the items were delivered, but the 12 inch globe that I ordered was made from acrylic and the two 6 inch globes that I ordered were made from polyethylene. Because of this, Mickey’s ears are not the same color has his head.

I first made the globe by following the directions on the webpages, so there is nothing new to report here.

For the lamp portion, I was wondering how power the light. I was first thinking of using a flashlight, and I was wondering how to mount the flashlight along with how to turn the lamp on and off. One day I was walking around Target and I saw solar-powered landscape lights. Then I was thinking of making this lamp solar-powered. Then I was wondering how and where to put the solar panel. While looking at the solar-powered landscaping lights on Home Depot’s website, I came across one that has a detached solar panel, wiring that will run the entire length of the pole, and an on/off switch at the solar panel. I decided that this lamp would work for this project.

The first thing that I modified was the globe filter. I first removed the lamp socket. I then drilled one hole that was large enough for the wiring to pass through. I then drilled four smaller holes so that I could strap down the lamp.

I also replaced the self-tapping screws that were being used to hold the globe clamps in place with regular screws and attached a nut on top of the clamps. I didn’t know how well the self-tapping screws would hold after the lamp has been disassembled and reassembled several times.

I then had to modify the lamp. Because this was a spotlight, it was designed to produce a spotlight. Because I wanted the lamp to illuminate the entire Mickey’s head and not just the area between his ears, I first cut off the top part of the lamp. I also had to cut off part of the lamp so that it would fit centered inside the globe. After cutting the landscaping lamp, it now looks like this

I then attached the lamp to the globe filter. I first tied it into place with wires. I then ‘glued’ it in place with J-B Weld (https://www.homedepot.com/p/J-B-Weld-Two-1-oz-Twin-Tube-Cold-Weld-8265-s/100189012). So now, the globe filter and lamp now looked like this:

Because this was a spotlight, I still needed to modify it so that it would illuminate the entire globe. So I went to Goodwill and purchased a very very very very small champagne/wine looking glass and attached it to the top of the lamp. Now, the lamp looks like this:

The last modification that I had to make was to the lamp post. Because the lamp post is so much larger then the metal base for a patio umbrella, I needed to figure how to make the post stable. I decided to drill a hole in the lamp post and use the bolt that came with the base to secure the umbrella to secure the lamp post.

Then I put everything together, and our Mickey lamp now looks like this

And when the sun goes down, the lamp looks like this

Anyway, I do want to say thanks for the feedback on our solar-powered mickey lamp #mickeylamp #solarpowerdmickeylamp #solarpowered