Hi Dave, as someone that makes my own haunt props I have some, well, quite a lot, of feedback and suggestions for your Can Light: First, since you're using a metal can, which I agree with you it should be, then a 3-prong grounded plug should be used, the can itself should be grounded for safety. You could crimp a ring connector to the ground and secure it to the can with a small bolt. But This ensures that if the hot wire is frayed or comes in contact with the can that it faults the circuit and doesn't electrocute the person touching the can. Painting it might also be a good idea as well. Secondly the electrical connections on that socket matters, you didn't mention about the polarity of the socket and electrical connections to make a J hook that goes in the direction of tightening the screw... but there is also a convention and a safety concern as well: the black wire is "hot" and it goes to the center electrode of the socket, usually the socket will have two different color screws, the brass screw is for "hot" and the white wire is "neutral" and it goes to the silver screw. While I know a lot of people like that AC doesn't have a "polarity" that's not quite true, there is a safety concern: If someone forgets to unplug the can light and reaches in to unscrew the bulb and touches the side of the lightbulb while they are unscrewing it, they don't touch the "hot" side of the electrical when doing so. The next concern I have is that you didn't install a gromet to pass the electrical cord through, this can be dangerous in a metal can. Over time the edges of the hole can chaff and scrap away at the insulation on the power cord and could electrify the can, also why ground the metal can is necessary. Besides, a gromet dresses up the assembly, looks more professional and makes it a lot more safe. The gromets I talking about have a grove in them, so the hole size needs to be slightly smaller than the overall size of the gromet. Also for strain relief I've used zip ties if the hole is small enough, it looks neater, but a knot works as well. The next area I had concerns about is the metal work, a few suggestions here: I think a deburring tool is essential for this project, it would really help clean those holes up on the inside of the can where it is otherwise hard to reach. Also I recommend first drilling a pilot hole, like an 1/8", before drilling the large holes. If the holes are really bigger, you'll need to drill several sizes, each progressively larger, to sneak up to the final diameter, or better yet, I like using a step bit... kind of looks like a "Christmas Tree" of various steps. Not only do the holes come out cleaner, but they are easier to drill. (The reason they are easier and safer to drill is that the tool pressure needed to cut the hole is greatly reduced because the material was removed by the pilot hole and/or previous holes made... you can experiment to find what works best in your materials and tools) Even with the pilot holes and stepping up the drill sizes, another concern I have, especially drilling in metal, (can happen in wood as well) is that when the flutes of the bit break through the material, the drill flutes will grab and could cause your workpiece to spin around violently, it's call helicoptering and it happens suddenly. You don't want to be holding on to the piece when that happens, instead, the workpiece should be clamped down. Just so you know that I am human and I do this myself, I will admit that I get in a hurry and I skip this step, all I can say is that I've been lucky so far... but you know what they say: shop safety is no accident. I think for making the handle, or bail, of the light can it would be easier If you drill the holes in the ends of your bar stock before bending it into a handle, because after the bar stock it bent, then ends of the handle are in the way. Plus it would be possible to drill the holes with a hand drill directly on the workbench into a sacrificial block of wood, again recommending it be clamped and drilling a pilot hole. I know this was a long comment, and I hope you found this useful. I just want you to know that this comes from a sincere place in my heart, this took a lot of time to write this comment because I am very supportive of the Haunt DIY community, I really like to help out where I can and I want to be sure we're safe. If you'd like to contact me in email and/or chat on FB, I'd be happy and willing to do so freely. My email contact info is on my channel if you're so inclined. Happy Haunting!
Great info. I didn’t read this as critical at all but rather just giving helpful advice for future projects. I was kind of questioning the no ground wire for the metal can as well. This is a great way to get cheap lighting with existing items.
@@rachaelb9164 Exactly, I think it's a great project if you need can lights but don't want to spend hundreds for them. Just a little tweak on the instructions. Dave does a good job presenting.
Building off of this, here are a few additional tips: -Painting the bulbs to get different colors: Look for "Stained Glass Paint" at craft stores. There are several brands (I think we used "Gallery Glass"). It's transparent for making faux stained glass projects using either regular glass or acrylic. They make it in bottles, but I looked online just now and saw there are spray versions as well. (I did it years ago before LEDs were common, let alone RGB lights.) -Need a smaller enclosure? Soup cans. I made lights like these mostly for "party bulb" CFLs because I needed something smaller than flood lights, just big enough to light up the gravestones or a skeleton from a couple feet away. (Note: My assembly was different in those cases. I cut a hole the diameter of the base of the bulb, and the stem of the light went through it. The socket was on the outside. The bulb held the can in place. I used some galvanized wire to push the can into the proper position if the fit was too loose, but most of my sockets were those outdoors rubbery ones for Xmas deco, so they were snug.) -Paint it black. I always painted the outside of the cans either a dark green or matte black so they wouldn't distract from the scene. They're too reflective both day and night while they're still shiny. Like the video says, it also protects them from rusting since you'll probably re-use these for Xmas and additional Halloweens. Remember, they're called "Can lights." You CAN do this!
"...which means *you* will short out, and *you* will no longer work. You definitely have a way with words :-) I've seen lots of lighting DIY videos before, but making your own can lights is a new topic for me. These could be a real game changer for a haunt for sure. Very good tip to not center the mounting bracket; it's one of those "probably wouldn't have thought to do that but it's so obvious in retrospect" sort of things. (Not to complain on a free tutorial, but....the background music was just a bit too loud. It made it a little difficult - for me, anyway - to focus on what you were saying at times.)
Hi Susan, Yeah I think if you need can lights it's a great project, I left a comment about the electrical business on this prop if you hadn't seen that... but I know you had some "fun" electrical problems at your home. Okay, TTYL.
@@susanowen1709 If you add the things I suggested to the project, it would be fine... it's just a little tweak. It's not a high-tech project, but very practical and useful.
Hi Dave, as someone that makes my own haunt props I have some, well, quite a lot, of feedback and suggestions for your Can Light:
First, since you're using a metal can, which I agree with you it should be, then a 3-prong grounded plug should be used, the can itself should be grounded for safety. You could crimp a ring connector to the ground and secure it to the can with a small bolt. But This ensures that if the hot wire is frayed or comes in contact with the can that it faults the circuit and doesn't electrocute the person touching the can. Painting it might also be a good idea as well.
Secondly the electrical connections on that socket matters, you didn't mention about the polarity of the socket and electrical connections to make a J hook that goes in the direction of tightening the screw... but there is also a convention and a safety concern as well: the black wire is "hot" and it goes to the center electrode of the socket, usually the socket will have two different color screws, the brass screw is for "hot" and the white wire is "neutral" and it goes to the silver screw. While I know a lot of people like that AC doesn't have a "polarity" that's not quite true, there is a safety concern: If someone forgets to unplug the can light and reaches in to unscrew the bulb and touches the side of the lightbulb while they are unscrewing it, they don't touch the "hot" side of the electrical when doing so.
The next concern I have is that you didn't install a gromet to pass the electrical cord through, this can be dangerous in a metal can. Over time the edges of the hole can chaff and scrap away at the insulation on the power cord and could electrify the can, also why ground the metal can is necessary. Besides, a gromet dresses up the assembly, looks more professional and makes it a lot more safe. The gromets I talking about have a grove in them, so the hole size needs to be slightly smaller than the overall size of the gromet. Also for strain relief I've used zip ties if the hole is small enough, it looks neater, but a knot works as well.
The next area I had concerns about is the metal work, a few suggestions here: I think a deburring tool is essential for this project, it would really help clean those holes up on the inside of the can where it is otherwise hard to reach. Also I recommend first drilling a pilot hole, like an 1/8", before drilling the large holes. If the holes are really bigger, you'll need to drill several sizes, each progressively larger, to sneak up to the final diameter, or better yet, I like using a step bit... kind of looks like a "Christmas Tree" of various steps. Not only do the holes come out cleaner, but they are easier to drill. (The reason they are easier and safer to drill is that the tool pressure needed to cut the hole is greatly reduced because the material was removed by the pilot hole and/or previous holes made... you can experiment to find what works best in your materials and tools)
Even with the pilot holes and stepping up the drill sizes, another concern I have, especially drilling in metal, (can happen in wood as well) is that when the flutes of the bit break through the material, the drill flutes will grab and could cause your workpiece to spin around violently, it's call helicoptering and it happens suddenly. You don't want to be holding on to the piece when that happens, instead, the workpiece should be clamped down. Just so you know that I am human and I do this myself, I will admit that I get in a hurry and I skip this step, all I can say is that I've been lucky so far... but you know what they say: shop safety is no accident.
I think for making the handle, or bail, of the light can it would be easier If you drill the holes in the ends of your bar stock before bending it into a handle, because after the bar stock it bent, then ends of the handle are in the way. Plus it would be possible to drill the holes with a hand drill directly on the workbench into a sacrificial block of wood, again recommending it be clamped and drilling a pilot hole.
I know this was a long comment, and I hope you found this useful. I just want you to know that this comes from a sincere place in my heart, this took a lot of time to write this comment because I am very supportive of the Haunt DIY community, I really like to help out where I can and I want to be sure we're safe. If you'd like to contact me in email and/or chat on FB, I'd be happy and willing to do so freely. My email contact info is on my channel if you're so inclined.
Happy Haunting!
Great info. I didn’t read this as critical at all but rather just giving helpful advice for future projects. I was kind of questioning the no ground wire for the metal can as well. This is a great way to get cheap lighting with existing items.
@@rachaelb9164 Exactly, I think it's a great project if you need can lights but don't want to spend hundreds for them. Just a little tweak on the instructions. Dave does a good job presenting.
Building off of this, here are a few additional tips:
-Painting the bulbs to get different colors: Look for "Stained Glass Paint" at craft stores. There are several brands (I think we used "Gallery Glass"). It's transparent for making faux stained glass projects using either regular glass or acrylic. They make it in bottles, but I looked online just now and saw there are spray versions as well. (I did it years ago before LEDs were common, let alone RGB lights.)
-Need a smaller enclosure? Soup cans. I made lights like these mostly for "party bulb" CFLs because I needed something smaller than flood lights, just big enough to light up the gravestones or a skeleton from a couple feet away. (Note: My assembly was different in those cases. I cut a hole the diameter of the base of the bulb, and the stem of the light went through it. The socket was on the outside. The bulb held the can in place. I used some galvanized wire to push the can into the proper position if the fit was too loose, but most of my sockets were those outdoors rubbery ones for Xmas deco, so they were snug.)
-Paint it black. I always painted the outside of the cans either a dark green or matte black so they wouldn't distract from the scene. They're too reflective both day and night while they're still shiny. Like the video says, it also protects them from rusting since you'll probably re-use these for Xmas and additional Halloweens.
Remember, they're called "Can lights." You CAN do this!
"...which means *you* will short out, and *you* will no longer work. You definitely have a way with words :-) I've seen lots of lighting DIY videos before, but making your own can lights is a new topic for me. These could be a real game changer for a haunt for sure. Very good tip to not center the mounting bracket; it's one of those "probably wouldn't have thought to do that but it's so obvious in retrospect" sort of things.
(Not to complain on a free tutorial, but....the background music was just a bit too loud. It made it a little difficult - for me, anyway - to focus on what you were saying at times.)
Hi Susan, Yeah I think if you need can lights it's a great project, I left a comment about the electrical business on this prop if you hadn't seen that... but I know you had some "fun" electrical problems at your home. Okay, TTYL.
@@raymitchell9736 Oh, for sure, I'm very antsy about electricity, especially after The Incident™ I do like the versatility of these lights though.
@@susanowen1709 If you add the things I suggested to the project, it would be fine... it's just a little tweak. It's not a high-tech project, but very practical and useful.