Easy DIY Oil Lamp

Making your own oil lamp is extremely easy. One of the benefits of making your own oil lamp is that there are many different kinds of oils and fats to choose from.

• Olive oil
• Castor oil
• Vegetable oil
• Fish oil
• Nut and seed oil
• Tallow
• Butter

You can use practically any type fo cooking oil and most fats.

For this DIY, I’m going to be using olive oil. I would suggest that if you plan to use a certain type of oil or fat that you’ll be able to have easy access to it in order to replenish your supply. For instance, you could grow your own olive tree or nut tree. You could also have your own animals and render their fat. Understand how to press olives and nuts for oil and understand the process of how to render fat.

Other than that, there are many options to choose from which is what makes oil lamps a great choice.

You can easily buy an oil lantern from craft stores, Walmart and even could be found at thrift stores. However, many of those lanterns take very specific types of oil. You could certainly stock up on that type of oil if that’s what you’d like to do. However, many of those lanterns won’t accept or work with other types of oils. Do keep that in mind.

In any case, you could do both; make your own and buy a specialized one. Knowing how to make your own oil lamp with simple household items is not only fun, but it’s also economical, easy and convenient.

Here’s how to make your own oil lamp:

Supplies:

• Small glass jar, I used a mini mason jar
• Thick cotton wick, or braided cotton strips from clothing or cut off the seam from old clothes
• Oil

Fill a glass jar with oil, in this case, I filled it with olive oil. In this picture, it is filled a bit too much, but you would want the jar to be filled pretty close to the top. I have these mini mason jars and I would recommend using a small glass jar of some kind.

Prepare your wick. You can buy cotton wicks. Or you can make your own. I cut off the seam from an old onesie which was absolutely perfect because of the thickness. You would want something braided or a bit thick with some layers.

Take a bit of wire (I used the bit of wire that comes wrapped around chicken wire, but any flexible wire like that can be used) and wrap it around wick to keep it secure. Then submerge the wick into the oil and let the wick completely soak through with the oil.

I would like to mention that to make this more secure, you can cut a hole in the middle of the mason jar lid and push the wick through the hole in order to keep it as secure as possible and keep the flame secure, as well.

Once the wick is soaked, you’re ready to use it! It may take a minute to light it at first, but once lit, it glows brightly.

The length of time that the oil will last will depend greatly on the type of oil and even the wick that you use. Experiment a bit and have fun with it.

Of course, always keep anything having to do with fire away from anything that could potentially catch fire.

Some oils will also produce more smoke than others, you may want to place it near a cracked window or consider making and putting a glass shade cover over it.

Enjoy!