Desk Lamp (let There Be Light)

Hi all,

This is hopefully a nice little project to have a go at yourself.

I have omitted the cutting and prepping of the block of wood but I will mention the drilling aspect of it.

I drilled an initial 6mm hole on the top side of the lamp base the full depth of the block, on the reverse side I drilled 10mm half the thickness of the block through the same 6mm hole to take the cable.

I changed my mind as to the orientation of the cable and drilled an additional hole through the lower rear half of the block in line with the initial hole so that I did not have to create a groove on the underside of the block.

I also used this hole to catch the power cable and feed it through the metal stem of the lamp as I had to strip the outer plastic cable from the 3 core to fit through the inner core.

So here are the steps

1/ Collect stone from the beach (very washed and smoothed from lots of wave action)

2/ Center drill stone 10mm

3/ 10mm rod to length you desire for your lamp

4/ Tap the block of wood and Die the ends of the rod to 8mm

5/ I used 5mm power cable rated to 240 volts to 3 amps (you can change the lamp shaft to your preference

though) and use thicker power cable

6/ Because I had to strip the outer cable I had to tape the ends together, I then used a loop through the

base hole to catch and direct the cable up and through the block of wood.

7/ Assemble the rod onto the block of wood and then the stone. I used a descending order of size on mine.

8/ I bought my lamp fitment from a well known DIY store as I like the look of the brass fitment, in reality it

wont really be seen though so it's your call there.

Drilling the stone, pilot drill the stone to release any pressure and to prevent any splitting. Then drill to your desired width.

Die both ends of the metal rod and tap the block of wood. Be careful not to strip the wood if you tap too quickly. Use even pressure and turn very slowly, pausing to back turn occasionally.

The inside diameter of the rod was too slight to allow the wiring to pass through with the casing on so I had to strip it off. Pass through the block and up the rod. Tighten rod to block and pare back to connect to light fitment.

Assemble stone in you orientation

I always prefer to have an earth wire, so this is 3 core wire 240 volts rated to 3 amp capability.

Having the luxury of wiring yourself allows you to have an extra long cable which I opted for. Trial bulb for testing. Final bulb will be Low wattage so as to not burn the wooden lampshade.

Driftwood has a unique look and texture you just cant replicate in my mind so spend a few day collecting for the nearest beach was was 20 miles away. I think the results is very nice personally.

This has a temporary wire frame for the lampshade which was merely bent into shape. The final one will be welded, which Santa was kind enough to supply recently.