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Thread: Looking for plan of veneer lamp

  1. #1

    Looking for plan of veneer lamp

    Hi all,

    I ran across a picture of a curved based lamp with a veneer lamp shade and thought I had seen a plan of this in a woodworking magazine at some time. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate the magazine or plan and google has turned up no info on it. I'm particularly interested in how to construct the lamp shade. Has anyone seen a plan for this anywhere?

    lamp.jpg

    Thanks,
    Steve.

  2. #2
    Did you track down the maker, John Lang? See: http://corriecroft.com/corrie.htm and http://corriecroft.com/shade.htm

  3. #3
    Hi Dave,

    I did find his website but as he is selling these lamps commercially, I think it unlikely he would be willing to supply a plan. I felt sure I had seen a plan before but as I said, I just can't locate it. Thanks for the info, though. Much appreciated!

    Regards,
    Steve.

  4. #4
    Maybe someone else also does wooden lampshades. Seems like the sort of thing you might find in Woodsmith or Wood magazine.

  5. #5
    Dave,

    I thought along the same lines as you and have checked woodsmith index but didn't find anything. I have looked at Wood magazine yet, though.

    Regards,
    Steve.

  6. #6
    Best of luck.

    I'm thinking with a little puttering, it wouldn't take a whole lot to make a plan for a lampshade with wood. It might take a little experimentation to see how thin you can get away with and not have issues with the shade pieces warping. I'm guessing that LED lamps might be ideal for this sort of shade due to their reasonably cool operating temperatures.

  7. #7
    Thanks, Dave.

    From looking at an enlarged photo, it appears the slats in the lamp shade are wired together. I think the use of the wire stiffens the shape and stops it from losing shape. It's the technique used for the wiring that I can't work out.

    I agree with you that heat may be an issue for the slats but a low wattage LED would work fine.

    There were a number of listings in the Wood Magazine index for lamps but unfortunately they don't show pictures. I will keep searching to see if I can find it anything further.

    Regards,
    Steve.

  8. #8
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    I think a key issue is to find veneer which is translucent -- that is, lets some light through. I don't know of any species which can do that unless you make it so thin that it would not hold its shape.
    Maybe Norfork Island Pine? I've seen translucent bowls turned from the stuff. But you'd like have to mill your own veneer.
    Last edited by Jamie Buxton; 01-16-2018 at 10:43 AM.

  9. #9
    Hi all,

    I found an article in Wood magazine Issue 118 that shows how to construct a lamp shade similar to the one in the posted picture. Basically, a PSA-backed veneer is attached to 1/32" clear acrylic sheet to stiffen the veneer to hold it's shape. The veneer is cut to required shape for the slat and attached to an upper and lower wire ring using polyester thread to give the final conical shape. Wood magazine was selling the lamp as a kit but did supply a template for the shape of the slats as a lift-out in the magazine. I don't have access to the template but it possible that with some math and experimentation, one could produce a suitable template.

    I'm guessing that the lamp shown in the image above must use a similar method. I can't think of another way you could have sufficient strength in the slats to hold shape and still be sufficiently thin to allow light to pass through.

    Regards,
    Steve.

  10. #10
    Steve Imber,

    Googlizing images for "john lang fan lamp" produces this image location:

    http://s3.amazonaws.com/finewoodwork...17_xl-main.jpg

    That source is referenced to Fine Woodworking. However, I don't see this one at the moment in their Projects and Plans section.

    Pintrest has a big page of DIY veneer lamps:

    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/56787645274564986/

    That design would not be too difficult to draw in Sketchup.

    Alan

  11. #11
    Alan is right. It wouldn't be difficult to draw in SketchUp. This is just a quickie drawn without thinking much about dimensions. Obviously it can use some refinement.

  12. #12
    Dave Richards,

    It is an interesting drawing problem. The key seems to be to control the rotation on all three axes to place the blades in consideration of the overlap thickness. That requires to run the blades as components with the component axes coincident to the blade but with the model axes still at World.

    Veneer lampshade_partial model_1.18.18.jpg

    The details of the design are difficult to discern from the small photos, but it appears to me that the blades are straight cut top and bottom and the overlap dimension is constant - not tapered.

    It's been a long while since I've seen a lampshade like this, but my memory is that the blades are wired together by running a pair of thin wires through a hole in the overlap portion and then are crossed/twisted on the trailing edge of the blade before being drawn through the next blade.

    I've been working on some speaker designs lately (passive monitors), so I've been looking at cones more.

    Fun!

    Alan

  13. #13
    Yes. I started with a truncated cone and drew a slat on it which I made into a component. I rotated it so one edge would lie over the next slat and made a radial array.

  14. #14
    Hi all,

    Thanks for all great input on this topic. Much appreciated!

    I'm not conversant with Sketchup at all but it has been interesting reading your posts on how this design could be produced in that app.

    I was more interested in the construction details of such a design and one possible method is detailed in Wood Magazine 118. One aspect of the design in the magazine article is that they have aimed for maximum possible light transmission by using a thin veneer bonded to 1/32" acrylic sheet to main shape and minimize warping. For John Lang's design, he appears to have used thicker veneers as light transmission seems low through the shade. I guess the construction choices (thin versus thicker veneer) could depend on intended usage and desired lighting effect. My original thought was of producing a shade for a ceiling mounted bulb, so thicker veneers with no acrylic backing may be the best construction method for me as there is not a requirement for illumination through the shade. However, I would want some light penetration through the shade to give a "warm glow" and highlight the grain of the veneer. Additionally, with my intended usage, the "inside" of the shade would be visible and I think a design using acrylic sheet would make it less attractive when viewed from underneath. If I was making a table lamp, using the veneer bonded to acrylic would probably be best as it would maximise light transmission through the shade.

    Regards,
    Steve.
    Last edited by Steve Imber; 01-18-2018 at 8:07 PM.

  15. #15
    I agree with you about the use of the acrylic sheet in your case. I've been thinking about your lamp shade and wondering about other options. I have an idea about impregnating the thin pieces with epoxy. That would stiffen them up and also make them transmit light better.

    Some years ago a boat builder by the name of Robb White built small boats from tulip poplar. He would impregnate the planks on his boats with epoxy. In his case he'd have the boat all formed up and he'd heat his shop to over 100 degrees and let it sit until the boat was that hot. Then he'd apply the epoxy and it would soak right in.

    In the case of your lamp shade planks, I'm thinking you wouldn't need to overheat your shop but you could make a hot box to put them in. Use a couple of high wattage bulbs for a heat source. Pull them out one at a time and coat them with epoxy on both sides. Then clamp them between two pieces of the thin, smooth Acrylic until the epoxy cures. This would keep them flat and the smooth surface of the Acrylic would leave a smooth shiny surface. The Acrylic sheet will pop right off when the epoxy is cured. (Another boat builder rolled thin sheets of polyester over the epoxy and fiberglass on his boat which left the surface of the epoxy so smooth he had to sand it where he wanted paint to stick to it.)

    I suppose you could add layers of very lightweight fiberglass cloth if you want to.

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