About a year ago, I started looking for something to make, something to kill my free time. I was hoping to make something that worked and was not just for show. After spending some time online, I came across The Steampunk Workshop. After reading though some of the tutorials, I decided to make a lamp. I went searching for an easy tutorial on how to make a lamp on instructables.com and found a "Mad Scientist's Lamp". After a quick trip to an antique store and a hardware store, I began my work.
An old cigar box would be the base of the lamp. 2 holes were drilled on the top and one was drilled in the back. Very simple wiring.
Two lamp sockets were fastened to the top of the box. I tried to age the metal, but the brass coating did not stain as I had hoped. It simply wiped off.
Each light bulb was given its own on and off pull switch.
Very simple design, but it is different from most lamps.
A quick look at the wiring. Again, very simple.
I soon made another lamp, this one a bit more ambitious. Sitting in my garage was a broken bank teller's lamp. After a good cleaning, some planning, and re-wiring, I started my work. I cut one of the arms and repositioned the remaining arm.
I gathered brass and copper bits for the lamp and aged them using liver of sulfur for the copper and vinegar for the brass. epoxy was used to fasten the metal bits and copper to the lamp.
An Edison squirrel cage light bulb sits in the lamp socket.
A close up of the copper tubing and brass bits.
