Thursday, September 18, 2014

Porcelain Rabbit Table Lamp

Lamps can be made from anything. We have seen a wide range of items come in the shop wanting to become a lamp. Often items are not lamp related, but that shouldn't matter. If you want to make it a lamp, make it a lamp.

A customer brought in this porcelain rabbit and wanted it to be part of a lamp. There are ways to make items in to lamp parts (drilling), but in this case we are only going to make it part of the lamp and not modify the piece. Porcelain is brittle and may create more problems with drilling than it will solve. The lamp parts needed to convert this porcelain rabbit to a lamp include a wooden lamp base, bent brass lamp rod, push trough lamp socket, lamp cord, lock washer, knurled nut, and lamp harp base.


First, put the parts next to each other and make sure you have the right length rod and all the parts you need for the project.


Next, connect the lamp rod to the lamp base.




With the rod attached, make sure it is straight. Using a vise, with a cloth to protect the finish, the rod can be tightened and straightened.



Next the harp base and the socket cap is added to the rod. The rabbit (not yet attached) sits on the base so we can get the orientation of the lamp parts in the right place. TIP: When you make a lamp or build a lamp, always think about the focal point of the lamp. Everything else on the lamp should work for the focal point and not against it.




The set screw on the socket cap is tightened and the lamp cord is threaded through the lamp rod.



A UL knot is tied in the lamp cord and the cord is attached to the socket interior. The smooth lamp cord attaches to the brass screw and the smooth cord attaches to the nickel screw.



The socket shell is attached to the socket cap.



The only thing left to attach to the lamp is the ceramic rabbit. In this case we used a heavy duty epoxy to bond the rabbit to the wood base. It is important to be generous with the adhesive without making it run.


A bulb is added and the lamp is tested.


Viola! This lamp is ready to go! Total Cost <$35.00 Total Time < 40 minutes.

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