Another Valve Cover Lamp

[AffableCurmudgeon]

I saw another member here make a similar lamp. I liked his idea a lot. Here is my version of it.

Pulled the parts from a local junk yard.

(Original Idea from this thread http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=348552&showall=1)

 

[jimgood]

Nice!

 

[Rick B.]

Very nice. Wish we could see how the bulbs are attached underneath. Or is it a small fluorescent fixture?

 

[PelicanPines]

Wow..... more detail please

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

Very nice. Wish we could see how the bulbs are attached underneath. Or is it a small fluorescent fixture?

One 60 watt eqv. led candelabra base bulb. Picture attached. You can add as many as you like.
Toggle switch in one of the lug holes in the rotor.

 

[Griff93]

That's a really cool version. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

Wow..... more detail please

Well, Not much for tails. Pretty simple actually.

From my local junkyard, I got a valve cover from a Ford, a cam shaft from a Nissan, a cam drive gear from another Nissan and a rotor from the junk pile. Cleaned all the parts with a degreaser. Painted the rotor and valve cover.

I welded a bolt to one end of a camshaft, welded the cam gear to the rotor from below. Grounded the other end of the camshaft so that it fits snug in the oil fill hole of the valve cover. I put the welded bolt end of the cam shaft through the gear and rotor and put a washer and nut.

Attached a candelabra base to the underside of the valve cover using one of the three bolts on top. Wired the lamp through the rotor using one of the lug bolt holes for the toggle switch. Put on a cheap breather filter on the valve cover. Glued on the oil fill cap.

Put on few coats of clear coat on everything. That's all. Hope it makes sense.

 

[f150skidoo]

That's very cool looking lamp.

 

[Richard Cranium]

thanks for sharing

 

[ducksface]

I'm not a fan of the genre, but that is the nicest execution I've seen on a valve cover lamp.
That's a really nice job.

 

[gear cog head]

Very nice! Just don't knock it off the table onto your foot....

 

[LXCam]

Most excellent. Might I make a suggestion?, too late I'm gonna anyhow

Have the cam drilled or if you can do it yourself even better, then hide that wiring. Or maybe install a brass tube as a chase. Other then the exposed wiring it is with out a doubt a very clean looking unit.

 

[PelicanPines]

If you can't hide the wire... accent it... flex stainless brake line as a sheath?

 

[LXCam]

If you can't hide the wire... accent it... flex stainless brake line as a sheath?

That's a much better idear.

 

[PelicanPines]

That's a much better idear.

I tried drilling a cam shaft once... on a drill press at first... after an hour... I gave up and beat the concrete sidewalk with it.

 

[The Cobbler]

I tried drilling a cam shaft once... on a drill press at first... after an hour... I gave up and beat the concrete sidewalk with it.

guy that works for me gave me a VW bug camshaft, I was going to try to drill it in my lathe , make a lamp with it and surprise him .

 

[PelicanPines]

guy that works for me gave me a VW bug camshaft, I was going to try to drill it in my lathe , make a lamp with it and surprise him .

If I had a lathe... I would do it...

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

If you can't hide the wire... accent it... flex stainless brake line as a sheath?

yes, that is what I was thinking. Either that or a chrome tube. Will see what I can scrounge up tomorrow.

 

[C_F]

That turned out really nice! I'm definitely going to squirrel that idea away for later.

 

[kbs2244]

I don't think I have ever checked.
But don't cams have an oil galley hole through them for oil to the bearings?

(I am sorry, but the exposed wiring just gives a "un-finished" look to me.)
(I would try and use the fill cap or the vent filter as the switch control as well.)

But then, it is easy to criticize other peoples work.
That is something I just would never do.
I am not an artist.

 

[LXCam]

I don't think I have ever checked.
But don't cams have an oil galley hole through them for oil to the bearings?

(I am sorry, but the exposed wiring just gives a "un-finished" look to me.)
(I would try and use the fill cap or the vent filter as the switch control as well.)

But then, it is easy to criticize other peoples work.
That is something I just would never do.
I am not an artist.

Some do, most don't and like pelican said, most cams are as hard as a honeymoon ****. I happen to have a couple stock Hemi 5.7 cans here that are line bored so that part would be a cake walk to pull off. But I like the idea of the stainless tubing, that'd really make this pop.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

Added a chrome tube for the wire. No more exposed wires. Thanks for the comments.

 

[LXCam]

Much more better gooder!

 

[jocww]

Heres mine started yesterday. Making it for father's day

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[jocww]

These sure are getting popular. I got the idea when I saw it in Autoweek.

 

[jocww]

Done. Not as nice as the ops. Painting all the letters was a pain. Not sure how you did it. I did a little patina with coffee grinds over night. Then brake fluid and some burned on 5w30.

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