hay trolley lights

I love to restore and repurpose vintage items, and I was especially taken with two hay trolleys I found in my barn. They were from a manufacturer here in Ohio: The F.E. Myers & Bro. Company from Ashland, Ohio. One of the trolleys still had the original metal tag with the manufacturer information - very neat. 

I cleaned them of the dust and dirt and we sent them to Skinners Powder Coating in Piqua. They did a great job of prepping them for me, even though they had never done trolleys before. Next, I painted them a vintage bronze with Rustoleum 2x spray paint. (I love this paint for projects....coated well and dried quickly) We found vintage-looking glass pendants from Home Depot to hang from each trolley. The bulbs are the old filament style. 

Jeremy hung them for me, as they are very heavy. He had to rig them a special way to hold the weight and not take away from the look of the trolley. We are very happy with the final product. They fit right in our southwest-themed conference room with local antiques.

barn dirt and all

after initial cleaning - not bad patina

original tag

fresh from Skinners and ready to paint

both units side by side

painted and hung

nice patina without the rust

with lights on in the room

I will post more on this room as we continue to work on it. It is a special labor of love as we try to salvage as much as possible from our farm, family, and local history.

clay pot lights

I posted about my garden shed last year, and said that I would share about my clay pot lights that I created for in the shed. We finally ran electric to the garden shed, so now they are working and I thought this would be a good opportunity to show you how it turned out.

My light fixtures working.

These lights were super easy to make and really captured the garden theme. The whole project (all supplies included) was less than $20.00.

Supplies (per unit):
12 inch clay pot
Threaded pipe
2 large flat washers
2 lock nuts
1 complete work light (remove cage)
1 black metal cage
Heavy rope, natural color
1 energy-efficient light bulb

Topside

Inside  

black cage with light bulb

First, I put the large flat washer and the lock nut on one end of the threaded pipe. Next, I put the pipe through the center of my pot and put the other set of washer and nut on the opposite side and tightened all. I then snipped the plug end of my work light and ran the cord through the pipe. Next, I pulled my rope through with the cord. I knotted the rope on the inside to securely hold the pot when in hangs. I placed the black cage on the light socket and inserted my bulb. The rope was run to the top of the shed, through an old pulley and secured to the wall with a hook. A plug was put on the end of the electrical cord and plugged to the outlet in the ceiling.

Old pulley found in our barn.

Hanging from the ceiling. 

Thanks to Jeremy and Blake for running the electric for me so these will work this spring. I'm so excited.

custom lantern lights

One of our projects this year was to finish a meeting room off the shop for groups to come in, as well as a place for Jeremy to meet with clients. He wanted a rustic theme and I will do a complete post of the room when it is finished. I have designed most of the light fixtures for the room. The first group of lights are old lanterns wired to work with modern electronics. We did not want to change any of the physical features of the lamps so as to preserve their originality.

Most of the lamps only required cleanup with a rag and cleaning solution, but one lamp was so rusted it needed restored. I had found this lamp in the cellar at our house, and it is an old Dietz. I wiped it down, then took steel wool and made it smooth. Next, I sprayed it with Rustoleum polished bronze paint. The final step was to clean the glass.

before

after

To wire the lamps, I used three components: 

1. 18-2 brown lamp wire (2 feet per lamp)
2. Leviton 15-amp 125-volt 2-pole light duty plug
3. Leviton 167 outdoor pin socket

I assembled the lamps by running the wire through the top of the lantern on the backside (most were through the ventilator), down into the globe. The lanterns pull apart so the globe can be removed for cleaning. I stretched the lanterns part, wired the socket and screwed in the light bulb. I closed the lamp and wired in the plug end. All finished! The hardest part is getting the lights to hang straight in the lamp. We purchased wrought iron hooks from Hobby Lobby to hang the lanterns from the wall. (At 50% off, they came to under $3.00 each.) 

Here are some photos of the finished products:

An art-deco lamp. We left this one rustic-looking as it has a nice patina.

A Dietz fire truck lantern.

Dietz large skaters lantern.

Another Dietz large skaters lantern.

Two of the lanterns in the room.

Most of the lanterns came from Jeremy's parents collection that they purchased in Maine several years ago. We enjoy upcycling antiques, or doing the same thing they were intended for, just in a modern way.