Wooden Hand Light With Wood Log Slice Base

Found some inspiration while browsing online and I had a few ideas of how I could make a new lamp.

This was one of the ideas I came up with. This can be used as a table lamp and with some additional modifications it could also be hung on the wall.

The materials I ended up using are as follows:

• Wooden manikin hand - http://bit.ly/2cEHBq6
• Faux antique light socket - http://bit.ly/2d2TtkP
• Fabric rope/hanging cage light - No longer sold, but this is a similar one - http://bit.ly/2d2Uklq
• Edison globe - http://bit.ly/1RakcM5
• Wood log slice.
• Epoxy, glue, and screws.

First up I lightly hand sanded the wooden hand with some 240 grit sandpaper. Then spray painted it in a Matte Black.

While the hand was drying I disassembled the caged rope light I got at my local Kmart and attached the 3m rope cable to the new faux antique light socket I purchased online.

Please note that I'm no electrician, and I did a lot of research before taking this apart and changing sockets. I do not recommend trying this unless you know what you are doing. The cable was unplugged at all times and safety gear was used.

I chose the wood log slice base that I wanted to use, then I placed it all together and tested the light to make sure it was working correctly. (I'm not entirely sure of what type of wood it is, other then it is local to me here in Australia. If anyone knows what type it is, please feel free to let me know in the comments).

I tried a few different globes and then settled on the one I thought looked the best.

The log slice had a crack going through the middle of it so I filled it with a 2 part clear epoxy resin and waited for it to dry overnight. I then sanded it down, starting at 40 grit and working up to 1200 grit for a nice smooth finish.

I then gave it a few coats of some 'Ultra Gloss' clear varnish on both sides to seal and protect the wood.

Once the varnish had dried I chose the side that I wanted to be the top and positioned the hand where I wanted it, making sure the screws would be on either side of the crack in the wood.

I drilled some pilot holes, countersunk and attached the hand to the base with two wood screws.

I then measured out some black felt and cut it to fit.

I lightly sanded the base of the wooden slice with 400 grit sandpaper to make sure the glue had something to stick to.

I used some clear-drying 'Weldbond' glue to attach the felt to the base of the log slice.

I was initially worried about the crack in the wood continuing and splitting it in half. But with the epoxy, the screws, and the entire base covered in the 'Weldbond' glue and felt. I'm pretty sure there would be no problems.

I planned to glue the light socket to the fingers of the hand, but in the end the hand seems to grip it fine, and it allows me to take it off or move it around at any time for better positioning and adjustments. If it was wall mounted I would recommend gluing the two together.

Once it was all together I gave it a test and it works really well. I'm really happy with how it turned out!