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As part of the <a title=”kitchen make over at our 104 year old farmhouse” href=”http://www.grit.com/tools/kitchen-renovation-cabinet-facelift-progresses.aspx”>kitchen make over at our 104 year old farmhouse</a>, my Partner In Culinary Crime and I decided to build an antique canning jar light to replace the shabby 1970s vintage fixture that dangled over the sink. We sourced an old Mason jar with a tin screw-on lid at the local antique store and I dug through a box of outdoor electrical junk I had collected over the years and came up with a plan. We did stop at our local big-box home improvement store for a pull switch and small-diameter 40 watt bulb to help it all come together. We opted for a rigid stalk-mount on our antique canning jar light but you could just as easily make it a pendant if you use electrical cord rated to bear sufficient weight.</p>
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<p>Since the canning jar’s lid had a glass liner, I smacked it with a hammer to crack it (safety glasses a must) and it came out without damaging the tin lid. Next I took my 1.5-inch diameter hole saw and chucked it into my trusty Milwaukee 1/2-inch chuck Hole Shooter and slowly and carefully cut a 1.5-inch diameter hole in the center of the tin lid. You need to be a little careful here because it is tough to clamp the lid without distorting it but if the hole saw grips while spinning fast, there’s a decent chance for some serious rash on your hand. I have lots of experience cutting holes in sheet metal with hole saws so I managed to make the cut with no damage to my hands or the lid.</p>
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<p>I needed to remove the light stalk from the box to slip the canning jar lid down over the inboard socket end. The socket was molded with a flare and small flange, so I carefully pressed the canning jar lid down the taper to rest against the flange. After reinstalling the stalk, I wired it up (power was off to that circuit), buttoned it up, flipped the breaker and voila, light. This project was quick, fun and didn’t cost much. If you had to purchase the parts you would be out a minimum of about $20 depending on the antique canning jar market in your area.</p>
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<a href=”http://www.grit.com/biographies/oscar-h-will” target=_self>Hank Will</a>
<em> raises hair sheep, heritage cattle and many varieties of open-pollinated corn with his wife, Karen, on their rural Osage County, Kansas farm. His home life is a perfect complement to his professional life as editor in chief at GRIT and Capper’s Farmer magazines. Connect with him on </em>
<a title=Google+ href=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/117459637128204205101/posts” target=_blank rel=author>Google+</a>.</p>