The Scissor Lamp

In the process of making a moving lamp, we came up with this idea of a scissor lamp (a table lamp). As you shift the scissor mechanism up and down, the angle in which light is focused gets changed. We faced many difficulties in making it. The following steps explain the making of this scissor lamp.

1. Pieces of wood

2. Bulb

3. Wires, bulb socket

4. Chart paper

5. Screws

Having gathered the materials now came the time for some action. We took a long wooden piece and cut it into equal parts of the desired length for making the scissor mechanism. A cutting machine was used for this purpose. Then we smoothened the pieces to make the final finished pieces.

Well, thinking about a practically moving product is far away from the reality. We started with drilling holes at the center and ends of the wooden pieces with the drilling machine. This required initial marking. We then fixed the parts accordingly using screws. Now came the problem – We thought that we would fix the first “X” shaped piece at the flat stand. But then we soon discovered that it would make the whole model static. Now we had to think of some other mechanism to make it dynamic.

We discovered a somewhat rounded block of wood which after a bit of planning gave us the thought upon shape of the base.

We thought that making some kind of grooves in the stand would serve the purpose of a moving model. So we cut out a long flat wooden piece that would work as the stand. And we made grooves in it with a chisel. Now, the model turned out as a dynamic one. We chose a heavy wooden piece which would serve as the base, smoothened it and made a kind of empty space in it with a chisel for the stand to fit in.

We drilled a hole at the plastic base of the bulb socket to take the wire out. We fitted it with a screw and took the wiring from the hole to the backside of the whole frame. Then, with a chart paper, we made the shade for the bulb and stuck it with tape.

Well, the total money spent was 305/- which included buying the bulb, screws and some work with the carpenter.

Screws – Rs. 60 ( 6 screws of Rs. 10 each)

Bulb – Rs. 15

Bulb Holder – Rs 30

Carpenter – Rs. 200