The D.I.Y Wooden Lamp

So, originally I need a lamp for my desk, so I wouldn't have to work on things in the dark. However, with coronavirus making shipping times roughly 4 weeks, and Christmas being 3 weeks away, I decided last minute that this would be a gift that I gave my mom. In the end, the total project took around 10 hours to complete. It roughly cost around 40$. However, it is important to note that most of the materials and tools were free for me to borrow, so prices will definitely differ, depending on what you already have, and what you need to buy. The thing that I like about this project is that it allows the user to make their own design when on the lathe. There are many more things that can be changed about this project like size, and wood type.

Tools

- Wood lathe

- Chisels

- Band Saw

- Planer

- Miter saw

-Clamps

- Tape measure

- Table saw

- Metal cutting hand saw

- Wood cutting hand saw

Materials

- Walnut wood

- White Ash wood

- Mineral oil

- Screws

- Wood glue

- Sand paper

- The lamp kit

- Extend rod for the lamp

- Non slip pads

First things first are cutting the wood to size. You will need to cut all of the blanks, to 17 inches in length, using the miter saw. Try to be as precise as possible when doing this step. Then you will need to run the ash blanks through the table saw, making them 2 inches thick. Repeat this process for the other piece of ash. Then take your piece of walnut and cut it down to 1 inch thick. Repeat this process again for the next piece of walnut.

After you have run everything through the table saw you, will need to make sure that all sides are smooth enough for the wood glue to be effective. To do this, simply run the wood through the planer.

Now it is time to glue your wood together. I wanted the walnut to be sandwiched in between the ash. Whatever way you decided to orient the wood, just make sure that you keep a hole in the center around 1 inch wide. In total, this block of wood together is around 5 wide, and 17 inches in length. Make sure that everything is held tightly together with the clamps. You can´t have enough clamps when doing this step.

Before you begin the exciting part of turn this beast on the lathe, we need to cut the edges off, so that way we have an even surface to mount the faceplate onto. Also, I don't want to spend 5 hours trying to round this blank, so what I am going to do, is the angle the table saw, and cut the edges off, turning it into a rough octagon. By doing this you are creating a more cylindrical shape, making it easier to round.

For this step, make sure that you DO NOT use drywall screws. Drywall screws are made for, well drywall, and are there for VERY brittle. Make SURE you use exterior screws for this. Try to get one screw in each piece of wood, for maximum security. I would recommend spending some time making sure that you tightly secured the faceplate to the wood because accidents happen. One minute your turning on the lathe peacefully, and the next thing you know you are laying on the ground K.O´ed while this chunk of wood stands above you with his new boxing title.

Ok, it's now time to turn this piece. First, you will need to mount the faceplate to the lathe, with the blank attached to it. Then as most projects start, you start by round the blank. Then you can start working on your design. For this piece, I didn't have a certain design in mind, so I just went with what felt right, and that was that. This is the time to just clear your mind (while still paying attention) and work on what is in front of you. When you are happy with the design, you will need to sand the wood. I started by using 80 grit, then 150, then down to 220 grit before I was happy with the texture.

When applying the finish to this project I decided to just use mineral oil. This ended up really exposing the awesome grain that the ash had, while keeping that amazing color of the walnut.

Now that your lamp base looks nice, you are going to need to cut a piece of the bottom out, so that way the cord has a spot to run out of. Make sure you sand the hole, to look really nice.

Ok, now it is time for the hardest part of this whole project, and that is installing this lamp kit. Maybe if I didn't cheap out and buy the least expensive kit Amazon carried, my luck might have been different. Now, the kit comes with instructions for how to put this together. The only thing that you might have to change is the length of the brass rod. After you cut that down, it is fairly simple to put together. For this step, I recommend having some extra washers around (Play around with different sizes until you find one that works).

Congrats! You have almost finished your lamp. Now itś time to add some of these sticky waffle non-slip pads to the bottom of the base, and then put in your light bulb. I know that they have every color of lights you can fathom, however, I think that just plain white lights look the best. After this, simply plug in the lamp. Me personally, I stood as far back away from my lamp as I could, just in case it blew up (this was my first doing anything with electricity). After you confirmed that the lamp works, all you need to do is add a lampshade to it, and you're done. I hope that you enjoyed this project as much as I did. I had a great time honing my skills on the lathe and learning a little bit about electricity.