Little Portable Desk Lamp

The little desk lamp was born after I discovered these bamboo sunglass cases on eBay. I wanted to create a lamp that you could put away after use and I knew that the bamboo case would be perfect for the job.

The ible’ isn’t difficult and only needs a minimal of tools and parts. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible but at the same time fun and practical. Initially I was going to use just some white LED’s for the light source, and then I remembered that I had these LED’s left over from another project. This made it even simpler to make! The LED's come with a remote and have a heap of features and different colours.

I also added a lens that I made from a container to help diffuse the light. The remote fits into the bamboo case so it is out of the way and the LED’s can be positioned anyway you like them.

Hope you enjoy and if you have any questions, please let me know.

Parts:

1. Bamboo case – eBay or eBay. You can also just type "bamboo sunglass case" into eBay.

2. M3 Nut inserts – eBay or eBay. You can also type "Flat Head Threaded M3 nut Insert" into eBay.

3. Knurled, hand turn screw (M3, 12mm long) – eBay or eBay, or eBay. You can also type "knurled head screw M3" into eBay.

4. Brass rod (thickness that I used was 1/16") – Local hobby shop or eBay. You can also type "brass rod 1/16" into eBay

5. Diffuser. I used a lid from a small snack box. You can buy them on eBay . You can also type in "nude food container" and you should be able to bring them up

6. LED's - eBay or ebay. You can also type "10 LED Multi Color Submersible Underwater" into eBay

Tools:

1. Super glue

2. Drill

3. Vice

4. Brass wire buffing brush – dremel. (this is to give the knurled screws a brass finish. Not necessary but it helps with the finish)

5. Small hammer

6. Pliers - needle nose

7. Soldering iron

8. Small blow torch

First thing you’ll need to do is to drill the holes for the nut inserts. The inserts that I used are M3 sized. You could use larger ones if you want to but just remember that the screws need to be the same size. I have added links to the parts list for the ones that I used.

Steps:

1. Mark on the bamboo case where to make the first hole. I made my holes 40mm from the lid. You could make them lower if you wish. The hole needs to be slightly smaller than the nut inserts you have chosen to use.

2. The next hole needs to be opposite the first hole drilled and at the same height. Measure and mark where to make the hole and drill away

3. Do the same for the lid. The holes need to be opposite from each other and line-up with the 2 holes in the body. Just do your measurements and you shouldn’t have any issues.

4. Next you need to add the nut inserts. Push them into the holes (tap with a hammer if necessary) and super glue them on the inside.

Adding the LED’s is quite simple and should cause you any issues.

Steps:

1. Remove the screws holding the case together

2. Remove the circuit board. There is a couple screws holding this onto the case so these will need to be removed as well.

3. Add some batteries

4. Push the battery section of the LED’s into the bamboo case lid. I didn’t have any issues with doing this some I’m assuming you won’t too. The fit is tight but this is a good thing as it means the LED’s won’t fall out and you don’t have to work out a way to secure them into the lid. There is a little flex in the metal battery holders, so if necessary, squash these in a little to make it fit into the lid.

5. Now that you have the LED's inside the lid, you'll find that the edge of the LED's sticks out a little too much and you can't close the lid into the bamboo case. To fix this, you need to trim a little off the edge from the LED's. Mark with a black highlight the areas that are sticking out and with a dremel, carefully remove these areas. I used a sanding drum which worked perfectly. Just take your time and measure constantly. You don't want to cut too much away or you might damage the circuit board.

As mentioned in the parts list, you don’t have to add a diffuser if you don’t want to. I do find however that the LED’s spread the light better and give off a softer glow. If you wanted to, you could just modify the diffuser that comes with the LED’s and attach this if you wanted to.

Steps:

1. Find a lid which is translucent. It should also be sphere like as well.

2. Modify the lid so it fits onto the circuit board. The diffuser also needs to fit through the body of the bamboo case, so make sure you check this as well before attaching to the LED’s. I just used a sander and reduced the size of the lid until it was the correct size.

3. Next you have to stick in place. I used super glue but it probably wasn’t the best choice. Super glue lets off fumes and these leave white streaks on the inside of the diffuser. To remove these I had to get an ear cleaner inside and carefully wipe away. I got rid of most of it but there are still some white marks near the join. A better solution would be to use some hot glue and attach with that.

4. Test and make sure everything still works.

This is a cool technique to add brass coating to any surface.

Steps:

1. Place one of the knurled screws into the vice (I first screwed it into a nut insert and then tightened the vice on that.

2. Heat-up the screw with a small blow torch. I left it on the screw for about 20-30 seconds.

3. Next, hit the hot screw with the brass wire buffing brush. My dremel died recently so I had to use a drill instead. Make sure you go over all of the areas you want to be brass.

4. Repeat if necessary and do it to all 4 of the screws

I’m calling these the arms but I guess they could be considered supports. I went with some brass rod was I found it was the easiest way to make the arms.

Steps:

1. Grab a piece of brass rod and make a 180 degree bend. I used a pair of round, needle nose pliers to make the bend. Don't make it too big though.

2. Work out how long you will need the arms by placing the bend into one of the knurled screws in the lid. Pull the lid up and work out where the next bend needs to be

3. Make the next bend and trim the brass rod so it meets up with the other end.

4. Solder together using some flax and a small blow torch.

5. Do it all again so you have 2 of them.

Steps:

1. Un-do the knurled screws and attach the arms

2. Replace the screws and tighten.

That's it!

slightly un-do the arms and pull up the LED lid up. Angle the lid and tighten the screws into place. Now turn on the LED's with the remote and your away!

You won't be able to have the light section too forward as the lamp will get unbalanced. You could however weight the bottom and this would solve the issue. The remote can be kept inside the bamboo case and when your finished, just un-do the screws and close the lid.

You can also keep pencils or whatever inside the bamboo case.