Just a quick post here that is mostly photos oriented… While working on a 5 bulb Edison lamp for a customer, I also built some new single bulb versions. These don’t have homes currently, so they’ll sit in inventory unless someone wants to buy them. If you are interested, either contact me directly or just check out my shop on etsy.
If I were to ever go back to my old naming convention this piece would be known as 5 bulb Edison lamp 3. This is the third version of a 5 bulb lamp that I’ve built. While I still think the 3 bulb version of the lamp looks great, the 5 bulb version is superior in my opinion. Not all spaces can accommodate this size however. In that case the 3 bulb looks great, or even a collection of the 1 bulb version I’ve made would look terrific. Regardless of the choice, below are a few photos of the latest 5 bulb Edison lamp…
In addition to the birdseye maple lamp that I just posted, I also finished up a 3 bulb version of an Edison lamp in cherry. There was a pretty broad range of colors in the cherry, so this one might not be to everyone’s tastes. Not to mention that I accidentally knocked it off a table after it was completely finished. As a result 2 top corners got dented. A little rework with a sanding block and now I have my first rounded corner version of an Edison lamp. Definitely still looks nice, but overall this one will have a more specific audience.
After a combination of boiled linseed oil followed up by an oil / urethane blend, I finally finished up the birdseye maple lamp. This is the first version of the lamp that I built with a dimmer switch. I’m sure it’s not evident from the photos, but the switch makes a tremendous difference. The bulbs can put off a lot of heat, and the dimmer allows you to dial in the brightness to just the right level. I’m pretty sure this will be a standard part off all future builds.
Put the finishing touches on the 5 bulb / 36″ version of the latest Edison lamp this weekend. The final piece has three coats of finish applied. It already has great color, but the cherry will continue to darken with exposure to natural light. I mentioned a few posts ago about resawing the lumber so that I could get the top cut from the same piece of lumber. In addition to the benefit of matching tone and color, it also has the benefit of matching the grain and streaking of the board used for the front of the lamp. It will be sad to pack it up, but it will have a new home in its future…
Finished up the cherry Edison lamp. As mentioned before, I made this one out of reclaimed lumber from a cherry table top. This isn’t reclaimed in the sense that it was a table that was hundreds of years old. But it does have history relative to my shop. It was the first table that I made. The lumber was purchased from the hobby shop through the navy exchange system. It was probably built around 1998. 14 years later and it has a new life.
So it’s finally completed. After a final coat of finish last night, it is now ready to go. It’s not a huge coffee table, but perfect for a tiny place. And it is suitable for being used by you and your neighbor as long as you like each other. I chose not to do a close up of the end grain for the photos; there are plenty of other posts on this blog where you can see that detail (and you can see the detail if you go to full resolution views of the photos below). Since it was finished here in the “showroom” I just took a couple of quick shots in my living room to give you an idea as to scale and finish.
Also included in the photos are a small cherry end table, a turned bowl, and my favorite rocking chair. I’m capable of producing the first 2 of those items in my little shop, but in this case these were all made in Maine when I spent a week doing the customer in residence program at Thos. Moser. That was a great experience. My only regret is that I wished I would have picked a simpler piece to make (so that I would have learned some new techniques as opposed to every last thing you would ever want to know about sanding). You can also see their lolling chair hanging out by the window. The carpet is modern mix by flor. And the coffee table book featured here is a collection of concert posters (organized by designer) from the guys that run gig posters.
Only had a little time in the shop before needing to run off to lunch so I figured that I would turn a quick pen out of mahogany. Unfortunately the wood chipped out at the last minute on the barrel on the left. Rather than trash the whole thing I decided to make one of the smallest styluses ever. With the added thickness in the middle it’s actually pretty comfortable despite the very short length.
It’s almost criminal how much people are charged for custom poster frames these days. Now I realize that the people making/selling the frames aren’t likely millionaires, so they have to charge what they do based on the volume of business that they do… Below is a cherry frame that I built for The Kills concert that I went to at the 9:30 in 2011. The piece was constructed from a scrap piece of cherry lumber that I found in the shop. I basically put it together between other projects at the shop (or more likely to avoid spending the time to clean the shop). The mitered joints are reinforced with contrasting walnut splines. Some might debate the value significance of concert art, but I’m thrilled that this piece is now in a one of a kind frame. Original artwork (“Operator Put Me Through”) was done by Third Alert Designs.
The Edison table lamp is a simple box that features through dovetails. The box is built from scrap walnut that I had lying around the shop. While fairly easy to put together, the wiring and alignment of the light sockets managed to kill most of my time in the shop today. It will be a great addition during the winter months, because those bulbs put out a lot of heat.
If anyone is interested in buying this lamp or one similar I’ve just listed this on Etsy for sale.
Claremont Designs 