Def Leppard LED Light

This project can easily be adapted for any design you like. I especially think it would make a great gift for a friend or family member.

I have made a video showing how I made the light if you would like to watch it here:

Materials Used

• Walnut
• Perspex
• Plywood
• USB LED Light Strip
• Screws
• Black Paint
• Spray Lacquer
• Wood Glue
• Super Glue
• Double Sided Tape

Tools Used

• CNC (not needed)
• Hand Plane
• Chisels
• Drill
• Screw Driver
• Sandpaper
• Scissors

I used a cnc to carve my design but that really isnt needed. There are plenty of options to achieve the same results without one. I made a follow up video talking about different techniques here:

I made a def leppard design for this project. I secured the perspex into place with double sided tape and let the cnc do its thing.

The base is literally a block of wood with a rectangle hole in the middle. Which ever way you find best to create this hole will of course work fine. I chose to drill out the bult material and then clean up the hole with my chisels. I used a marking gauge to mark a rectangle large enough to accept the bottom of the perspex. I allowed an equal reveal all the way around.

As far as dimensions go, it really depends on the design you create. I would recommend the block be at least 40mm thick to give you room for the perspex to sit and a place for the LEDs too.

I needed to create a 'shelf' for the perspex and LEDs to sit on inside the hole. I wanted to keep it simple I cut 2 pieces of plywood 18mm shorter then the thickness of the wooden block. This will give plenty of space for a plywood 'shelf', the LED light strip and the perspex to sit in place. To glue them into place I used a mic of wood glue an super glue. Doing this fixes them in place really quickly because of the super glue. It holds it in place while the wood glue dries to give it its full strength.

To cover the bottom I used some more plywood and attached it with screws. The screws will make it easy to access the LEDs if needed.

There needs to be a slot at the back for the wire to exit. I did this with a drill.

I added my maker mark and painted the bottom black so it would look a lot better against the walnut.

Finally I used spray lacquer to finish those pieces.

I used a USB LED light strip because they are very simple and easy to work with. To cut it to length you can just use a pair of scissors to cut along the designated lines.

The strip is self adhesive so I simply stuck it to a piece of plywood I cut to act as the shelf inside the base.

The wire can then thread through the centre of the base and out the back.

The plywood bottom can then be re attached.

The perspex can then sit into place on top of the LEDs.

The LEDs have a remote control but it didn't work very well for me. I had to hold the remote close the strip for it to work. It has different colours and modes to choose from.

The light shines up through the perspex and illuminates the craved areas. I think it gives a great effect.

I hope you have been inspired by this project and give it a go for yourself. There are loads of applications for this.