Friday, August 26, 2011

How to make an oil lamp

You need just a few things things to get started:

A glass container with a lid such as a jar or bottle, a wick that is made of cotton such as a piece of denim or you can purchase lamp wicks, a piece of metal wire, and oil.  The oil can be cooking oil, lamp oil, bacon grease, or olive oil.

Cut a slit wide enough for your wick in the lid of the jar.









Push the wick through the lid and cut enough to overlap a little in the bottom of the container and stick out of the top.




Wrap the wire around the top of the wick to secure it and to allow for the adjustment of the flame.  A longer wick will give you a bigger flame.


Fill the jar with oil and allow the lamp to sit for about a half hour for the wick to absorb enough fuel.

Let there be light!  The huge flame pictured on the left is the one shown in the other pics.  It was a small jar with a larger, longer wick and it is fueled by vegetable oil.  The one on the right is a mason jar and the wick is made from a piece of garden twine and it is fueled by tiki torch oil for outdoor use. 

2 comments:

  1. If you don't have a wick you can use a old sock and cut it into wick size. It will work just as good.

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  2. Great idea! I figured that you could use any kind of old material that was mostly cotton.

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