the simple PUFFER FLOAT LAMP pictures

So this is the cheapy TIKIVILLE way to dazzle your rum'd out pals under a glowing puffer globe
Ya can use a dremmel to drill a hole in the dried out puffer

then with the "thumb" sized hole in the top of the fish

I searce the second hand stores for discarded childs desk lamps like this ...

to get this outta the inside,

see the socket has this clip that hold the works nicely into the puffer like this
and the low wattage has alot less chance of too much heat

see the happy fish!

I dont have a picture of the glass flower bowl/fishtank but if you go to your craft store ( in this case Michaels) they sell em for about 9 bucks,the hole in the top is wide enough for a medium sized puffer ,ya may have to snip a bit of the spikes here and there.
I dont have access to large real glass floats or the ability to saw a hole in them but as you can see the finished product looks just fine.I hit it VERY lightly with a spit of glass frosting spray to age the glass and help with the glow.
Here is what the top looks like ( next to the ceiling that nobody will see)


the net is easy enough to tie it's just alot of time on knots or you can really "dude" out and use a cargo /fishing net and just wrap and sinch it .
AND here is what they will see when you turn the house lights on and tell em " ya dont have to go home but ya cant stay here"

the finished product all lit up with excitment!

MAHALO for the intrest and good luck!

Looks really sweeet! Talk about stuffing a sharp spiny object into a small hole. Talent. Thanks for the step by step instructions. Keep um coming.

Tikiville -

For my 700th TC post I'd like to say Thank You for this cool primer on puffer fish/glass globe making...

I just contacted PolynesianPop this morning for specific info on where I could purchase the components in So. Cal. to build a couple lamps. Mr. PolyPop responded lightning quick with a parts list, a tool list and source for the puffers.

• Thanks to this thread I'm now going to check out Michaels for glass globes, and the neighborhood Goodwill for cheap childrens lamps to gut for the electrical components - I wasn't thinking the obvious for cheaper sources and I wasn't thinking glass bubbles in a fishnet. Getting turned-on like this is what I like best about the TC Ohana.

I'll post some finished work pics as soon as I finish these projects. Cheers! G

Nice! Everyone should own a dremel!

Nice job Tikiville

Man I like the aging thing you did!!
You know try puting enough rope outside this summer
to do a light.
I think it will take no more than 6? months to get all old looking.
This will not work on nylon rope.
good job!

The rope/string I used for this one is cotton clothsline cord...a little pricey at 3.50 a bag but 2 bags in enough for a bigger glass.
I'm thinkin it could use a little amber shellac too !
( oh and some sea foam green paint on a rag to dab in that barnicle rusty look)
Thanks for the compliments !,I'll try to come up with some more " how I do its "

Man, I was tripping out on how good that thing looked from the pic you posted on my thread, wondering how you did it...then I see this thread and realize it's the same exact way I did mine! We just used a different knot tying approach, and cotton vs. nylon rope. I love the sprayed frost you did, cool touch...I was worried about fogging the whole thing, so I just hit mine with sporadic sanding. I'll try the spray next time.
Also, those clipped candelabra bulb sets can usually be found at the hardware store, prewired if that's the route you want to go. They run right around $5 down here.
Awesome work!

Great looking lamps, thanks for sharing guys!

Nice light kruzer!!
I'm sure when you got into it you went DAM
I needed more stringers going up the light!
Thats why your squares got kinda streched in centro.
AND now that you did it you know what I'm saying.
But great job!

And on the barnicle look thing you could try glues or plaster painted.

On 2010-03-10 17:48, tikiskip wrote:
Nice light kruzer!!
I'm sure when you got into it you went DAM
I needed more stringers going up the light!
Thats why your squares got kinda streched in centro.
AND now that you did it you know what I'm saying.
But great job!

And on the barnicle look thing you could try glues or plaster painted.

Yea I wanted to try it w/a small diameter line to keep the puffer as a focal point, but I couldn't use any more sections of line because of the flat base of the bowl. I would have had to make the starting ring a bit larger, which would show the flat bottom more. The problem is, when I made the first two rows, it was as tight as a damn coaster! But you're right, one more strand would have been nicer for the central spacing on the bowl. I need to learn the other way of tying the netting, like how Tikiville made his float net. Anyone want to show me how?!?!

Sorry for the thread derail... Great work Tikiville!

great jobs and thanks for the post!! There is so many cool things that I see in the old bar pics that are almost imposable to find or way out of my budget. course now I seem to have 4 lights I'm working on building all at once :)

Puffer lamps are cool, inside the glass bowl is a really cool touch too.

But I can't believe you dismantled a Dora the Shrunken Head Explora lamp though, those are rare :wink:

Tikiville, what size puffer did you use on yours? I have one of the bowls from Micheal's already.

Here's mine,
Look ma no glass!!!
And the fish is bigger than the hole on top/bottom.
So the net had to be tied around the fish.

OH, SNAP! lol
The fish I used was a medium size,had to trim a couple points on it a bit and nose first but it fit.
NOW , Tikiskip...no GLASS?!
I have a an idea how....no wait , a baloon wouldn't work,di you put the fish in the bowl ,tie the net shellac it then smash the bowl?
or is there a less destructive way? lol

Ancient Chinese secret.

On 2010-03-23 10:21, tikiskip wrote:
Ancient Chinese secret.

secret or not,, pretty damm cool looking!

Ok guys, I have the net tied, I used Phillip Baker's directions, but he skips the part on how to tie the top loop. ( his sorta looks like he just tied a big knot) Any help?? I'm looking at the pics posted, but can't quite figure it out.
Thanks

Ya TIKISKIP ...I'd be intrested in hearing the masters tech on this too!

All I can say is look at the floats you see
when you see em.
I even take photos of lights when I see good ideas.
Or print them off the internet.
If you look at my lights on my thread here on TC,
It's kinda right there to see how I do it.
I've got a huge idea book right now.

But the way I do it is a way I came up with on my own.
Was trying to write down how to tie floats and got stumped at that part.
Tying the tops that is.
Would need to show you how to do that in person.
And then kill you.

Ah , the "2 can keep a secret if one is dead" bit huh ?
I find that even the one left ALIVE will blab with a turn of the screw or two ! lol
I'll have to examine the phots for clues ...

There are two ways I tie them.
Go here....
Mid page.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=18485&forum=18&start=165

And this.

tikiskip, I like the look of the tops on the 3 red floats together. hmmmmm, oh well off to try it out.

I have been obsessed with puffer in a float for a while, and with puffers in general, :D, lol, so finally decided to post mine, I made this bad boy back in December,

and recently made a few few more.

:D

Excuse me, I have to be Debbie Downer for just a moment....

If you use a dremmel-like tool to cut the opening in your puffer you really need to wear a mask. The stuff stinks, and the fine powder that a power tool makes will lodge in your airways and that is not a good thing. You will smell burnt fugu for like five days after your done.

Now, having said that.... back to the Fugu Lamps!

Here is one of the guys I made. Sorry, no fishbowl for him, that is a future project for me.

On 2010-07-22 18:39, Chip and Andy wrote:
Excuse me, I have to be Debbie Downer for just a moment....

If you use a dremmel-like tool to cut the opening in your puffer you really need to wear a mask. The stuff stinks, and the fine powder that a power tool makes will lodge in your airways and that is not a good thing. You will smell burnt fugu for like five days after your done.

Now, having said that.... back to the Fugu Lamps!

Here is one of the guys I made. Sorry, no fishbowl for him, that is a future project for me.

I totally agree! I learned that a hard way, lol, ugh, smelly!

how awesome is that!?!?!?

Spiked, those look great! Where did you get the globes? I have an extra puffer that's waiting to be stuck into a globe like that :)

On 2010-07-23 12:57, TikiTres wrote:
Spiked, those look great! Where did you get the globes? I have an extra puffer that's waiting to be stuck into a globe like that :)

Check back on page one of this thread.....
did mine in blue, must get pics posted.........

Are you folks using those cheap-o puffer fish with the goog-goog-googly eyes you can pick up in seaside novelty stores? And thanks for the info about using a mask - I have a hyper-sensitive sniffer and would hate to have THAT stuck in my sinuses for a week - yuck!

On 2010-07-23 21:37, ka'lenatiki wrote:

On 2010-07-23 12:57, TikiTres wrote:
Spiked, those look great! Where did you get the globes? I have an extra puffer that's waiting to be stuck into a globe like that :)

Check back on page one of this thread.....
did mine in blue, must get pics posted.........

First one I did, I used the fish tank, the second one- I found an acrylic globe for it, it is more round and safe, so I liked that better. I actually have the second one up on evilbay right now...

"First one I did, I used the fish tank, the second one- I found an acrylic globe for it, it is more round and safe, so I liked that better. I actually have the second one up on evilbay right now"

Nice.

On 2010-07-23 21:37, ka'lenatiki wrote:

On 2010-07-23 12:57, TikiTres wrote:
Spiked, those look great! Where did you get the globes? I have an extra puffer that's waiting to be stuck into a globe like that :)

Check back on page one of this thread.....
did mine in blue, must get pics posted.........

Doh! Didn't see that, mahalo! When I was typing that I was actually thinking "seems like I saw a globe like that at Michaels" :)

On 2010-07-23 22:08, beadtiki wrote:
Are you folks using those cheap-o puffer fish with the goog-goog-googly eyes you can pick up in seaside novelty stores? And thanks for the info about using a mask - I have a hyper-sensitive sniffer and would hate to have THAT stuck in my sinuses for a week - yuck!

Yeah, I picked up a couple from Bosko a couple of years back, made one into a lamp right away and have been saving the other to do as a globe lamp. And I can also verify that as the others said, they are STINKY when you cut them open :) I wore a respirator, but the smell lingers on long after the cutting is done, even outdoors.

Edit to add- I was thinking I had written a how-to on lamp-i-fying a puffer, I just searched and found it on page 3 of this thread (from '08):

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=7028&forum=18&start=30

[ Edited by: TikiTres 2010-07-24 22:48 ]

On 2010-07-24 21:31, tikiskip wrote:

Nice.

:D Thanks! You were right when you said that things get better with more practice. Thank you for the encouragement! :)

I turned about 6 puffers into lamps, globes or by themselves, and another thing that is really annoying is the stuffing inside. Tricky to get it all out. Please wear gloves especially when you dealing with stuffing . Puffers make me bleed, lol! And wear goggles, one of the spikes flew into my eye, all ok, but it was unpleasant, so bottom line, just be careful :)

Thanks for the info and links - I'm gonna make my dad do all the cutting - especially since all the equipment is at his place!