How To Make A Flash Wall Light

This is a radiant wall light, or I suppose, simply a Flash Light! It was made with wood source exclusively from my scrap bin!

To start this I scrounged up a couple of 1″ (+/-) maple boards from under my workbench. They were off cuts from some earlier project, and throwing away hardwood scraps is not in my nature!

I set my table saw fence to 1/2″ and ripped both boards down. After that I crosscut the boards to 12″ in length. This step is very important as it builds the foundation of our wall light.

I can then glue up a panel that will be more than wide enough for my light. It will also give it a cool butcher block look to it!

After the glued dried over night, I passed it through the thickness planer.

I was less concerned with parallel side and more just looking to get the panel flat. Sharp knives and light passes will help to reduce tear out.

Now that I’ve got my wooden canvas, I can draw out the logo. The Flash logo is an easy one to re-create with a circle and lightening bolt. But if you need a cutting template, do a quick Google search for “flash logo stencil”

After you’ve got the design, head over to the band saw and rough it out. Stay on the outside of the cut line, or channel your band saw master lever skills and cut the line.

I’m no band saw master, so I left the cut rough and cleaned up the to the pencil line with a few minutes with the rasp.

Starting to look like what I had in my head! Next I wanted a relief cut between the bolt and the circle to give an accent to both. I simply took a razor knife and cut several v shaped passes.

I then used a 1/8 round-over bit in the router table to soften then edges all around the light. You could also do this with some sand paper.

On to the lighting. This could not be easier. I used LED strip lights, cut to length, and wired into a 9v battery.

It is a bit under powered, and a 12v power adapter would be better, but I like it not having a cord hanging down. The battery life is only about 12 hours. Mostly I just have this on for a few hours at a time.

I glued on two pieces of scraps for standoffs and a picture handing mount

Nothing left now, but the finish. I wanted to keep the lighting blot natural, but opted to paint the outer circle. Just some red enamel paint and a couple hours of dry time.

I used boiled linseed oil for the bolt and it really helped to pick up the butcher block feel.

I have had this hanging in my office since it was made, and it looks good either on or off, and works with my other geeky accents!
A really fun project that adds a bit of whimsy to your room.