Muscle Wood Lamp Base With Burnt Wood Shade 10 Steps

This is a project I started years ago when I was strolling through the woods and found a tree with a nice twist in the bottom. That was years ago, so finishing this project feels like a holiday. Hope you enjoy it too!

• Table Saw
• Chop Saw
• Sander
• Torch
• Oscillating Saw
• Small Nail Gun
• Hot Glue Gun
• Muscle Wood base (aka American Hornbeam)
• Light Socket with Cord
• Oak wood (white oak gives the best contrast)

Find a unique root base. I used American Hornbeam although Cedar often has unique properties as well. Pictured above is what you might look for out in nature.

A forstner bit works well. Put in some glue to make it snug.

I made a cut with a skill saw down the back side to hide the cord. Ebony color wood filler fits in pretty well with the dark grey wood.

Time to make a shade! I used scrap white oak about 2 inches wide and sanded them down to 0.101 inch thick. Then I cut 28 of them to 15 inches on the chop saw.

Stack the pieces at least an inch thick and clamp them for cutting. Make a line from about 1.5 inch to the closest corner. Cut on a band saw then make the edges even on the belt sander.

To get a cone shape, overlap the top "ribs" more than at the bottom. Gluing some 1.5 long x 1/4 inch thick sticks between the slats helps light escape. I used hot glue and then nailed each piece with headless pin nails. Try to clean up hot glue before it hardens or use an oscillating saw to clean up excess glue. I added two overlapping pieces of 1/4 thick red oak for the top support.

For a higher contrast and rusticity I torched the outermost ribs. Don't melt the hot glue while your at it! Now it doesn't look like an old fashioned wooden bucket!:)

Drill holes besides the socket and through the center of the top support of the shade. Make a small loop in the middle of your wire to put a bolt through. I used wire from a bucket handle for both strength and flexibility purposes.

I used clear 2 part epoxy for finishing the base because of its odorless quality and glossiness. I decided not to use any sealant on the shade to preserve the rustic look.

Now it fits nicely in a computer corner. How lovely is that!!:)