Spinning Lamp

TIME TO COMPLETE

An hour or two

WHAT WILL YOU MAKE?

You will learn to use woodworking and other construction techniques to create an artful lamp housing. You will also learn to wire the electrical components for a lamp.

WHAT WILL YOU NEED?

Conductive Tape
Crafting Materials
Electronics
Other Materials
Textiles
Upcycled / Recycled materials
Wood

STEP 1

Using the craft knife, cut your 2 liter bottle into a 5" tall cylinder. Make sure that the top and bottom edges are straight and not jagged. Apply stickers to your cylinder.

STEP 2

Spray paint it black. Allow the paint to dry completely Make a mark at the center of the 1" x 3" face of one of the 1" x 3" x 1/2" pieces of plywood.

STEP 3

Drill a hole with the 15/64" bit where you made the mark in step 4. Sand the edges of the hole down. Glue the two 2" and 3" long pieces of plywood to the smaller bass wood square so that they form four walls.

STEP 4

Pull the lamp cord through the hole that you drilled in step 5. Use the needle nose pliers to bend the ends of the lamp cord into hooks. Follow the instructions that came with your lamp cord to properly attach the cord to the lamp socket

STEP 5

Tuck the lamp socket into the compartment that you made. Use the hole saw bit to make a hole in the center of the larger bass wood square. Make a mark about 1/2" from the edge of the hole.

STEP 6

Use the 1/16" bit to make a hole where you made the mark in the previous step. Starting from the bottom, measure 5" up the floral wire and bend it at a right angle.

STEP 7

Screw the light bulb into the socket. Place the wire into the hole that you made in step 11 and measure where the bent part of the wire is centered above the light bulb. Bend the wire at another right angle so that it extends about 2" above the light bulb when placed into the hole that is drilled into the bass wood.

STEP 8

Glue the wire into the hole. Using the compass and chipboard scrap, draw a circle that is slightly larger than the opening of the plastic cylinder that you made in step 1.

STEP 9

Cut the circle out. Using the protractor, divide the circle into eight equal pieces.

STEP 10

Make two marks on each line segment: one about 1/4" away from the outer edge of the circle and the other 1/4" from the center of the circle. Draw vents onto your circle that span between the two marks that you made on each line segment. Use the craft knife to cut the vents out. Only cut them on 3 sides!

STEP 11

Now make smaller vents between the large vents. Poke a hole into the center of your circle and hot glue the bottom of the snap fastener to the hole. This is where the floral wire will be able to support the cylinder.

STEP 12

Peel off all of the stars that you applied to the cylinder. Hot glue the cylinder to the chipboard circle.

STEP 13

Make two 5" x 7" frames with the square dowel pieces. The remaining square dowel pieces will be used to construct a rectangular prism. Cut out shapes with your tissue paper and use the glue stick to glue them to the vellum. Here's where you can really be creative! What scene will you create?

STEP 14

Glue the remaining dowels to the two frames to create a rectangular prism. Glue your decorated vellum to the inside of the prism. Glue the four remaining pieces of plywood to the bottom corners of your rectangular prism. These pieces will help with air flow.

STEP 15

Carefully lower the cylinder onto the wire followed by the rectangular prism onto the basswood stand. The plastic should not be touching the bulb and the vellum should not be touching the plastic. Plug your new lamp into an outlet and enjoy the show!

Please Note

Your safety is your own responsibility, including proper use of equipment and safety gear, and determining whether you have adequate skill and experience. Power tools, electricity, and other resources used for these projects are dangerous, unless used properly and with adequate precautions, including safety gear and adult supervision. Some illustrative photos do not depict safety precautions or equipment, in order to show the project steps more clearly. Use of the instructions and suggestions found in Maker Camp is at your own risk. Maker Media, Inc., disclaims all responsibility for any resulting damage, injury, or expense.