DIY Strip Lights

I've wanted strip lights for a while now, but the dang things are expensive, so I started in on a build to rig up a couple.


Here's what I used:

• (2) 54" pieces of 4" PVC
• (2) 4" PVC Caps
• (2) 2" L-brackets
• (2) 4" L-brackets
• (4) Self-closing overlay hinges
• (2) 1/4"x20 wingnuts
• (1) 2' x 4' sheet of hardboard (clip board material) cut into 3" strips
• (8) 1/8" aluminum rivets with a 1/4" grab
• (16) Total feet of drop-ceiling L-channel
• Some wood
• Some screws
• Some nuts, bolts, and washers

This is what they look like all done and whatnot:



Painted the insides gloss white, and the outsides and barndoors flat black.

Popped the flash:



Some burn at the bottom, but it's much more even than my first test shots. I have some small convex mirrors on order that I'm going to mount in the cap to try to even things out a bit.

This is a shot with the barndoors partially closed:



And, finally, a shot with the door closed completely:



Yes, the flash did fire - I'm pleased to see I have very little light leaking out.