Custom Length
Extension Cords
One of the easiest ways you can impact
your display (and save some money) is to make your own extension cords.
The problem with store-bought extension cords is that they never come in
exactly the length you want, they only have a few outlets (most of which
are at the end), and some of them are orange! Blech!
The solution is to make your own, and
it's not as difficult as you may imagine. You don't need to have
an ounce of electrical know how (Lord knows, Ryan doesn't have any!) to
make this project work for you. We use items from Action Lighting,
but they all work essentially the same way.
There are two types of wire; SPT1 and
SPT2 (sometimes called lamp cord or zip cord). SPT1 can carry a
load of 7amps and SPT2 can carry a load of 10amps. The plugs you
use are called Zip Plugs or Vampire Plugs (they're called Vampire Plugs
because they "bite" into the wire to create the connection). Make
sure you get the size plug to match the wire, otherwise you will have
problems either getting them on the wire (if they're too big) or not
staying on (if they're too small). |
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For our demo, we're going to make a 6 foot
long cord with an outlet on the end, and another 3 feet from the end.
Above we have one Male SPT2 plug, two Female SPT2 plugs, and three caps.
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Cut your wire the length you need it cut to
(make sure to measure, measure, measure). DON'T Strip the Wire.
Note that one side of the wire is Ribbed, the other is smooth.
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Snip your wire into two sides, about 1/8
inch down. Careful not to expose the wire. You can bend the
wire ends if you want to, but many people do not do that step.
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Your wire should look like the wire above.
Splitting it is important so that wire contact isn't made. Contact
could result in a fire hazard or melt your vampire plug.
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Above is a female Vampire Plug. While
it is hard to see, on the left side it says "Ribbed". That shows
you where the ribbed wire goes.
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This is looking down at the top of the
female plug. The teeth on the top are on the right side, teeth on
the bottom are on the left.
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The ribbed wire is on the left, marked
"Ribbed". Push the ends down into the area under my index finger.
Notice the little plastic divider in there? That keeps the wire
from connecting, provided you have split the wire.
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In this picture you can see that the ribbed
side of the wire is clearly in the side marked ribbed. If you did
this correctly the wire should be snug and should not need to be held in
place.
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Now use your thumb and bend the wire down
onto the teeth. Push it into place. Your wire is now
connected to the plug. Even if it comes out while placing the cap
on, the connection will still be good once you cap it.
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You can slide the cap on now, which will
hold the wire to the teeth in the plug. The connection should be
snug. In fact, it may be very hard to push the cap on. If
that's the case, go to the next step.
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Set a pair of vice grips to the size of
your set up wire, plug, and cap. Squeeze gently... |
...and presto! You have a female plug
attached to the wire with the cap tightly in place. This method is
extremely effective if you have a bunch of plugs and wires to make.
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Here's your final female plug.
Below we'll explain how to add female plugs
to the wire wherever you want them to be for your display. |
The male plug on the opposite end is done
the same way. Make sure you line up the ribbed side correctly, as
the male plugs are not marked as "Ribbed". |
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One end of the female plugs is already "cut
away" to allow for the wire to pass through. When adding these
inline on a custom cord, you easily place them because female plugs are
marked as "ribbed". What you do have to do is cut away the other
end of the plug. We use a wire cutter to score the plug.
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Then, we use a saw blade and cut into the
end of the plug (carefully) along the score marks. Cut down about
1/4" and then snip the plastic out of the side. Other people use a
small drill bit or even a hot soldering iron to do this as well,
although we have never done that before. Ryan has used this method
to make over 100 female inline plugs and never had an issue.
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A female plug inline without the cap (left)
and with the cap on (right). You
can write on the top of the cap with a silver Sharpie so you know what
to plug into the plug. Other people use Ptouch labels as well.
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Our project is done! We now have a 10
foot cord with a female plug 3 feet down from the end. You can use
these methods to make as many cords as you want, as long as you want,
with as many plugs as you want.
Enjoy! Have Fun! |
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