How to Make a Lamp

For this project I used the X-Carve CNC machine by Inventables. The software I used to program the CNC is called Easel which is also by Inventables. So all my steps for this project are based on using a CNC machine. You don't need a CNC machine to do this project, you can use a scroll saw.

All of the .svg file can be found here: https://www.inventables.com/projects/lamp

For this project I used Wenge which was 1/8" thick. The base is made from 3/4" Wenge and 1/4" Maple reveal. The white film i used to diffuse the light is called "Light Diffuser Film".

Laying out the Wenge pieces is a little tricky. The 1/8" Wenge pieces that come form Inventables are 6″×12″. So I stacked four pieces vertically on their long edge and the 5th piece to the left with the short side on the x-axis. See picture. In Easel you may need to move your lamp pieces around to make them fit in the 6″×12″ rectangles. I used double sided tape to hole my pieces down.

Load the Lamp file to cut out the lamp sides, top and bottom pieces. This file uses a 1/16" bit. Double check your material thickness. The pieces I received from Inventables were not consistent.

Without moving anything, load the Lamp Voro file to cut the Voronoi pattern in the sides, top and bottom pieces. This file uses a 1/8" bit.

If you use double sided tape, be careful when prying the pieces off. Take your time. I used a putty knife and it worked out great.

Cut the light diffuser file into rectangles. Make sure you over size it so that it goes past the voronoi patter. I used a craft tacky glue and it had a hard time sticking. I would recommend using something else.

Now this is where it gets tricky. At first, I tried gluing everything together…that didn’t work. So I ended up gluing one pieces on at a time. Just take your time and make sure everything is tight so you don’t have any gaps were light can shine through.

It will be easiest to glue in the magnets before you glue on your last side. I bought some 3/4" magnets at my local craft store. I only used 3 magnets.

For the base of the Lamp, I used a 3/4" piece of Wenge cut into a 6″×6″ square. Load “Lamp Base” in Easel. This will cut the hole for the light fixture and a slot for the cord. You may need to adjust the cut outs if you use a different light fixture.

I used epoxy to glue in the light fixture. I only glued in the metal pieces, not the cord.

I used a pieces of maple to act as a reveal. I cut it into a 5″×5″ square. There is a 2" hole in the center, which is enough room for the light fixture. I also recessed the other magnets into this pieces. Again I used a 3/4" magnet, so you may need to adjust the holes in the file to fit your magnets. Load “Maple Base” and cut away.

Before sanding, check and see if you have any gaps in your joints. If you do, mix up a little epoxy and add some Wenge saw dust to it and fill and gaps with this mixture. I used a flat sanding block when sanding my lamp. I didn’t want to use a orbital sander as it was to risky and I didn’t want to break any of the voronoi pieces.

I used a polyurethane finish and applied one coat.

Put a light bulb in, attach the lamp to the base and plug it in. Enjoy!!

I made a YouTube video about this Lamp, check it out.