Started today to build a new single bulb Edison lamp. This one will be a little unique. It’s still going to be square still, but this one will approach 6.5″ square. In theory this isn’t a big deal, but the challenge is related to my bandsaw. I have a pretty nice bandsaw, but it’s resaw capacity is just shy of 6″. In order to make the top of the lamp, I need to resaw a board to get the 1/4″ thick top board. Technically I could just plane a board all of the way down the the right thickness, but that just seems like a complete waste of lumber. Fortunately, I was able to make this work by keeping the sides of the lamp a little thicker than normal. The thinking is that the outside dimension of the lamp is 6.5″ square. If you use lumber that is 3/4″ thick, then the interior dimension of the lamp is only 5″ (6.5″ – .75″ -.75″). From there you need to add back about 5/16″, so that it will be able to rest inside the groove for the top.

After a lot of math and woodworking, I was able to get the lamp into the clamps. The first photo shows the sides of the lamp before it’s pieces are cut to length. My goal is to always get the lamp out of a single board. By using a single board, you can have the grain wrap around the piece. Unfortunately, I had to use a different section of the board for the thin top piece. The lumber just wasn’t thick enough to get it out of the same section of lumber. When I get it out of the same board, I at least attempt to match the top to the front of the lamp. When it works properly, you get a top that is bookmatched to the front. The second photo shows the lamp after the dovetails have been cut. It’s been a long time since I’ve used the 7 degree dovetail bit, but with my jig it’s necessary for stock this thick. Hopefully, soon I’ll have a post on this site that isn’t just WIP…