DIY Ring Light Tutorial Revised (New & Improved!)

Before I start. Lets make some general assumptions:

1. You are somewhat handy. What you lack in craftiness you should make up with perseverance (like me).
2. You know how to use (and have access to) basic hand & power tools.
3. You have around $75 for materials and a hardware store nearby.
4. You have patience, lots of patience. And maybe a fine pale ale or lager. It'll take about a weekend for a normal person to make this.

Tools Needed

• Jig Saw - A wood fine-tooth blade works best for this masonite which turns to the consistency of baby powder when cut. My black and decker saw was only like $35 so don't let this scare you.
• Power Drill - You'll need this to drill pilot holes and the socket holes. You'll need drill bits and a whole saw bit (1 1/4").
• Basic Hand Tools - Hammer, screwdrivers, wire strippers, etc.
• L-Square or T-Square Ruler - Helps you make a perfect circle and draw straight lines. Any straight edge will do the trick.
• Wood Glue - This helps a ton, glue your pieces and nail/screw them, it makes the bond 10 times better.
• Wood filler - If you're a sloppy cutter like me, wood filler to the rescue. There's more emphasis on making it look good this time around.
• Wood screws - You'll need some wood screws. The route you take will depend on what type. I usually use drywall screws because they have a nice bite to them.
• Sandpaper - Fine and coarse.
• Paint - Whatever kind of paint you want. I'm a firm believer in "use what you have laying around" so I'm using a half full can of flat black trim paint.

Materials Needed

• Masonite - I used 3/16" to keep it light weight. I bought a sheet and had them cut it in half at the hardware store.
• Balsa Wood - Balsa is a really thin, low density / high strength flexible wood. The inner diameter of the ring light is too small to bend the masonite (found this out after the fact). You can buy balsa at most craft stores, got mine at Michaels at a slim $2 for a piece 3" wide by 36" long. You should only need 1 piece.
• Wood Blocks - I bought a piece of wood that measures 1" by 1 1/2" exactly for around a few bucks for a 4' piece. This will provide structure and spacing between the front and back piece of masonite.
• Light Sockets - Made by Serv-A-Lite. The package reads "SOCKET (PHENOLIC) 1-31/64 H X 1-15/64 DIA U-CLIP." Purchased from Lowes.
• Bulbs - I'm using a fluorescent bulb now. (example) I got a 6 pack for around $8. The specs: 13 watt, 120 vac, 60hz, 210mA. The last ring light I built used 100 watt bulbs which puts out way too much heat and consumes way too much power. Just set your white balance, shoot in raw and you'll be fine with these bulbs. In my honest opinion, don't bother with these expensive "full spectrum" bulbs. Sorry I just don't think you're going to get your money out of them (for this application). For the record I like the light that the full spectrum bulbs give off, great for the office or dining room. For a diy "on the cheap" light, it's not worth it. Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury. Click here for information on recycling bulbs.
• Wire - Again, I wanted to "use what I have laying around" so I sacrificed an old PC power cable. I just cut off the part that plugs in to the back of the computer. For the internal wiring I slaughtered an old extension cord I had laying around, no biggie. You'll also need some wire nuts and electrical tape.
• Clamp connector - This holds your power cord in place. Skip this and you will cry hard when your power cord gets ripped out of your ring light and you have no way of re-attaching it. See below for an example image.

Prepare the Square / Circle

1. Make a square - Try to use the factory cut sides to pull your measurements. Using my L-square I made a square 24" by 24". (example)
2. Find center and mark lines - We need to find the center of the square. There are many ways to do this. I did it by drawing a line from corner to corner. You'll also want to measure out 12" from each corner. (example)
3. Make an outer circle - The best way to make a circle is to use a compass. I don't have a huge compass handy so I'll use a string instead. Make a small pilot hole in the center of your square, put a screw or nail in the hole and tie a string around it. Use the string (I tied a knot out 22" from the center) as a guide for your marker or pencil. (example) By the way, I'd go back over it with marker if I were you. You will smudge your pencil markings while cutting your circle, promise.
4. Make another inner circle - Using the same string, tie another knot to get your inner circle. The width of my ring light is 4". (example)

Cut your Square / Circle

You'll want to put two peices of masonite together and cut them at the same time. This way you have two exact circles.

1. Cut square - Put your two pieces of masonite together and tape or clamp them. Cut your square down to size, in this example 24" by 24". Then tape the outside, this helps to keep both pieces together. (example)
2. Drill pilot hole - Drill a pilot hole in the center, big enough to get your jig saw blade inside. I found that cutting the center hole works better because it's easier, don't ask it just was. (example)
3. Cut inner circle - Cut the center hole with your jig saw. Want some tips? Go slow, use a fine tooth blade, go slow. (example)
4. Cut outer circle - Tape the inside and cut the outer circle. (example) Again go slow, let the blade do the cutting. You don't really need to push that hard. This is where I always mess up because I'm terribly inpatient.

Cut blocks / Drill holes / etc.

This is where the ring light starts to look more like a ring light and not a big frisbee. As I mentioned above, we're using wood blocks to provide structure and spacing between the two pieces of masonite. Mark your lines for the holes and wood blocks. You'll want to position your blocks so they are in between the holes. See the images below as an example. Also, don't forget to transfer your markings to the other piece of masonite.

1. Cut blocks - a) You'll want to cut a channel in the block to run wire later. I used a compound mitre saw but you can use a circle saw, jig saw router, teeth, etc. (example) b) You'll want to cut the blocks to length. Initially I cut the blocks to a shorter size so the outer piece of masonite, the one that will wrap the edges, would sit flush. That ended up not being a great idea so here's my advice: Cut your wood blocks so the edge of the wood block goes all the way (sits flush) to the edge of your masonite, not as I did in my example. (example) Hard to explain that so hopefully you can understand from the pictures.
2. Glue and nail / screw blocks - I had the advantage of using a brad nailer. A little dab of glue and 3 quarter inch staple turned this part into a 3 minute job. (example) If you end up having to screw the blocks, take some quick advice. 1) Use glue. 2) Drill pilot holes with a small drill bit. If you dont, you run the risk of splitting this small block of wood. Buy wood screws with heads that will sit flush and not stick out. If you don't you'll have to either live with the screw head sticking out or grind it down.
3. Install sockets - If you bought the exact hole saw bit and the exact socket I did, you'll want to sand your holes down a bit. Press the sockets in evenly and slowly. Take your time. If it's too tight take the socket out and sand a bit more. (you want it to be tight but not to the point where you hear the masonite cracking)

Wiring

Prepare to blow some circuits if you don't know what you're doing. I didn't and I did, if you're picking up what I'm throwing down. I have no clue on wiring something like this.

1. Connect sockets - Check my examples and you'll see I connected the white to the white and the black to the black all around. Don't they call that a series? Errr? Make sure you run your wires inside the little channels we cut in the blocks. (example) I wish I could sound smarter when it came to this. Just check my images and blow a few fuses, you'll get it.
2. Wire nuts and tape - I'm a stickler on this. Use wire nuts and tape the wire nuts. The only thing better is to solder your connections, and even then you should still wire nut and tape. (example)
3. Clamp connecter - (Lowes link) Cut a 3/4" hole in the back of your precious ring light and install your clamp connector. (example)

Casing the ring light

Now is where we sandwich this bad boy together. Make sure your blocks are dry and secure and your wiring is ran. Also, a word of wisdom, check your wiring job to make sure your lights work before you move on.

1. Install the back piece - Put glue on your blocks, place the back piece over the blocks and fasten in place. Use the markings you transferred earlier as a guide. NOTE: Don't drill or nail the blocks in the same location where you cut channels for your wire. This would surely break your heart if you were to drive a screw straight through your wire. That would be enough to make a grown man cry.
2. Install outer casing - Measure the entire thickness of your ring light. Your measurement should include the thickness of the two pieces of masonite as well as the thickness of the wood block. For me that was roughly 1 3/4". It will take 4 pieces of masonite in order to span the curve around the outer edge of the ring light. Measurements will vary so measure twice and cut once. First fasten one end of your masonite strip to the wood block, slowly bend the masonite around and fasten the other side. Here's a tip from captain obvious: Make sure your masonite strip starts and ends on a joint, but leave enough room for the next strip to be fastened. Hopefully this makes sense because I lack pictures of this part.
3. Install inner casing - Better just check your wiring one more time. The major downside to this design is, once you have it sealed, it's sealed. Make sure your lights work before sealing the inner part. Cut your balsa wood and apply as you see in my example below. (example) Balsa wood is much easier to work with, you might even consider using it for your outside casing. Again sand and use wood filler where needed.

Cosmetic

This is the part where you do anything you can to make it look pretty. Don't skimp on this part like I did. I was in a rush to get mine finished, take your time if possible.

1. Sand edges / Wood filler - Sand the edges of the strips you just fastened to be flush with the front and back of the ring light. Apply wood glue where needed, in my case... everywhere. (example)
2. Paint - This is purely cosmetic. Mine actually needs more sanding and paint but I was in a rush to get this posted. It looks good enough to take in front of clients and that's all that matters for right now.
3. Mount - How you mount it to your tripod will vary. I used a flat bracket and attached it to an old strobe light head. (example). In my older ring light tutorial I attached a block of wood to a tripod mount and fastened the wood to the back of the ring light. (example 1, example 2) This is where you really need to rig something up and make jyoseph proud.

Real life examples

We needed this ring light in a major way. That's why I stayed up till 3am building it the night before our shoot with Oliver Studio who is launching a new cosmetic line, RUKUS!

My wife Sarah did this shoot by herself and rather than send her downtown with a full studio setup (which she wouldn't have been able to carry anyway cause she's pregnant), this little light did the trick. It's easy to set up, no hassle controlling the light, you just turn it on and shoot.

Big thanks to the stylists at oliver studio (www.oliverstudion.com) for letting me use these images.

In closing

The ease of use is really the main perk for using a ring light, in my opinion. The effect is very unique and it's well worth the time / money to build one. I have other modifications in store for this light, like using a diffuser to spread the light out more. I'll be sure to post any tips as I come across them. This ring light will be a good base to build on.

Putting together this tutorial took almost as long as making the light iself, so I hope that you enjoyed seeing how I built the ring light. And more importantly I hope you're inspired to build one. Please feel free to link to this page / share this tutorial and give credit where possible. :-)