DIY Lighting Very Easy

[tropicalfish]

Me, being a cheap person,... decided to find a way to attach the bulb holder screw thingies to the hood...
Well, I broke the little things that stick up and a screw goes into it, so there goes that option. Well, I decided to use legos







the legoes will be upside down when you put it in. I used a flat cover thingy to top the square yellow block to hold to the hood better. I scratched up the surface of the hood and flat lego piece, put some super glue on each piece, then put it on. Then, I put super glue on the block and put that on the flat piece (white). Then, I took two long pieces of thin heat proof tape (electrical tape does good), and wrapped the long flat lego piece on the bulb holder. Be sure that the bumps face outward, and leave the 4 bumps in the middle free so you can attach it to the block. I then put some glue on the block and put the light holder thing on. It has held quite securely, and can be a good way to attach light holder things to the hood when there are no other things to use.

[GIS Guy]

Tropicalfish, whatever works for you go for it.
I wanted this thread to be one that encourages people to be extremely creative.
Saving on cost also never hurt anyone!

My own hood:
I have begun construction on my new hood.
The front and rear panels have been cut and the first coat of poly applied.
I have also cut out the corner attachments that will hold all the sides together.
Tomorrow I'll get the top and side panels cut and poly'ed.

[Mahamotorworks]

Lego's..... hmmmm Maybe a DIY hood with Legos. You could do a Lego theamed tank. Hmmmm. Soudns like a 10G possibility.

Cant wait to see the new hood GIS.

MAHA

[GIS Guy]

Maha,
The sides (front, back, left, right) have been assembled.
I have to dry fit it to the 20g and make sure it is the correct length.
(I sure do hope it's the right length).
I've got to gut the plastic hood and install the components.
I will attach the components to the top then attach the top.
It should go much smoother in that order, otherwise I'd have to squeeze the tools inside the hood for assembly.

Pictures will come after the completion.

[Mahamotorworks]

WHat are you making it out of?

MAHA

[GIS Guy]

Oak ply.
I am putting a clear coat of ployurethane on it.
It's going to look natural.

[tropicalfish]

I just came up with another idea.. I took another computer power cord that I had extra.. and instead of all four on one line, the two middle lamps is on one line, and the two outer lamps is on one line... The inner lamps turn on first, then outer lamps. And when its turn off time, the outer lamps turn off first, then the inner lamps. There could be maybe a 5 minute delay in between.

[GIS Guy]

Watch the amount of wires coming from the back.
It will become cumbersome:
...wire(s) for fan (depending on the wiring)
...wire(s) for lights (depending on the wiring)

[tropicalfish]

I will have three wires coming out the back, taped together in a bundle and labeled at the plug.

[GIS Guy]

I have completed the new hood construction.
The process was quite a bit more involved than just converting the plastic hood.
The entire project was done without the aid of diagrams, etc. and as I continued along, each step was thought up.
The main idea was to basically duplicate the plastic hood in functionality.
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I began with a 23.5" x 23.5" x 0.25" oak plywood board.
The hardware was purchased at the same time as well as a small can of polyurethane.
I transfered the bulbs/sockets/fans from the other hood.
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I cut the front and back panel out first and coated them with poly on all sides.
Coating it will prevent moisture from entering the wood.
I also added the reflective tape.
Then the sides were built and installed onto the front and back pieces.
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With all of the sides complete, my attention turned to attempting to mount the sockets/bulbs.
I had to take into account that the bulbs are wider than the sockets.
Because of this fact I could not mount the sockets directly to the side of the hood.
I then decided on building spacers.
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Once all the hardware and fabrication was completed, it was time for wiring.
I was able to have only 2 holes out the back which are completely filled by wiring.
The power cord from the plastic hood was transfered over including the grommet.
This was a particularly good benefit because the power cord is now protected.
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The final product is a great one.
It has plenty of ventilation and looks great being made out of oak.
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