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Wooden Floor Lamp


Ok so this is a blatant copy of other similar lamps available but it was so easy to make I just had to post the details here. The total cost is around £30 if you have to buy everything, but you may have some (or all) of the parts knocking about the house already so it could be built for much less. I wanted the lamp to look simple and be simple and to this end it is just three pieces of wood bolted together and these don't even have to be cut to size. Parts for the main wooden structure were obtained ready made off the shelf from the local DIY and general stores, those parts being two 32mm x 900mm hemlock stair spindles (£2.49 each from Wickes) and a chopping board (£5 from Asda). The chopping board actually came in a pack of two (large and small) so the smaller one I just use as a bread board!

The spindles are joined together with a single 80mm M6 stainless steel socket head bolt, three 30mm penny washers and a wing nut. Even when assembling a simple thing like this there are still design considerations. I had at first thought the upper arm would pull itself down under it's own weight and that the leverage would not be overcome by the tension of the bolt, but this is not the case. The bolt, if tightened well, easily holds the arm in position. Another factor was... would the whole thing be front heavy and topple forward. Again this is not the case if the lower section is attached towards the back of the chopping board. For this I used some wood glue and a single 7mm x 50mm confirmat screw

I have seen designs where a counter balance weight is used which does solve a lot of these issues but I feel detracts from the simplicity. This lamp is very stable without such measures. The wooden spindles can be stained or varnished to taste, but as I wanted the finish to be as natural as possible, I just used several applications of linseed oil to get the effect I wanted. Details of the construction are shown to scale in the diagram below
       








The electrical hardware consists of a standard pendant lamp holder (in the UK this is a BC bayonet type but could easily be an E27 screw type), a foot operated on/off switch, a mains plug and a length of 2 core 6A round cable (Wilkinsons). A 6mm hole is drilled at the end of the upper arm for the cable to pass through (where the shade hangs from) with the rest of the cable literally draped over the junction of the spindles. Finally, a word about the shade which is entirely a personal thing. I went for a plain 30cm 'coolie' type because I like the simple lines which suit the lamp well, and the neutral colour gives out more light. So there it is... a modern minimalist floor lamp that can be built easily, quickly and cheaply


                         

                     The spindles drying after their dose of linseed oil                                                                The finished lamp in action
ELECTRICAL WIRING SHOULD ONLY BE CARRIED OUT BY A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN