Uplighting (par) bases I made - pics

With more demand for uplighting or accent lighting I went ahead and built 8 bases to hold the par cans. I had a couple people interested in the design (which is very simple and basic by the way) so I thought I'd post the pics and how I made mine.

I used some 3/4" plywood I had laying around and cut a 12" x 12" plate. I then ripped a bunch of 2" wide strips from the same plywood. I glued and nailed (nail gun) the two inch strips to the base of the main plate, making essentially a shallow box without a bottom.

I drilled a 1.5" hole towards the back third of the top plate (for the cord of the par can to drop into and hide the cord...it has to be wide enough for the head of the cord to pass through), then put a half hole (.5") on the bottom of the back plate to allow room for the extension cord to sneak into the box. I bought 1.5" bolts and wing nuts to fit. I used a simple bracket and screwed it over the head of the nut on the underside to hold it in place permenately (see pic).

I sanded and spray painted about 3-4 coats and it was done. I may add a piece of trim around the exposed cut edges on the top sides, but also may not. It looks pretty good for the amount of visibility it gets.

Hope this helps. It was basically free for me (had all the materials laying around except the bolts) and only took about 2 hours to build all eight. and stopped in for a new coat of paint about every 12 hours.

Sorry, you may have to turn your head on a couple pics - oops.

This is when I wish I wasn't mechanically challenged

Kris,
They look good, the bad thing is that the regular PAR cans can get hot so you need to be careful with the fabrics and the guests. Since you're getting booked as you mentioned in the other thread I would look at some LED PAR cans just to be safe.

Kris,
They look good, the bad thing is that the regular PAR cans can get hot so you need to be careful with the fabrics and the guests. Since you're getting booked as you mentioned in the other thread I would look at some LED PAR cans just to be safe.

Yeah, I here that. I will definetly upgrade one of these days. How nice would it be to hit a button and change the color scheme of the entire room!

nice job kris

Looks really good! For a nice finish, go to Walmart and buy a can of rubberized gravel-guard and put a coat of that right over the black; you'll love it! You can try it first on a scrap piece to see if you like it.

Looks really good! For a nice finish, go to Walmart and buy a can of rubberized gravel-guard and put a coat of that right over the black; you'll love it! You can try it first on a scrap piece to see if you like it.

Speaking of Wal-Mart I was actually thinking of taking the carpet off my yammies and coating them with truck bed liner stuff.... thoughts?

Speaking of Wal-Mart I was actually thinking of taking the carpet off my yammies and coating them with truck bed liner stuff.... thoughts?

It's very easy to do Rob,

1). Tear off old carpet.
2). Get a couple of cans of "Brakecleen" (red and black can, found at local car parts store) Spray brakecleen on the leftover adhesive, let it "tack up"
a bit, Then take an old rag, and Roll the goo off in ONE direction.

It will come right off.... Just besure to do this in a well VENTILATED area!!

I used "Herculiner" on mine, works well, doesn't retain cigarette smoke.
I would thin out the bed liner with a bit of Zilene...(Really strong paint thinner) any ??? 920-858-4127

Just be sure to do this in a well VENTILATED area!!


Unless you want the funkiest roller coaster ride of your lifetime :D:D:D:D:D:D:D