The first 2 Lamps

I've finished 2 lamps at this point. They take a lot of time, most of which is spent shopping at thrift stores, hardware stores and online, looking for fun little doodads and such. I have ideas and partial plans for several more, but it will take me a while to get any more completed.

Lamp 1 - Captured Firefly

Step 1: Buy a flickering LED tealight candle.
















Step 2: Unscrew the case and cut off the LED.
















Steps 3-finished: Cover the LED with silicone caulk. Buy a box, stain it. Cannibalize a dust buster for the motor parts. Put the parts and a bunch of other doo-dads on the box. Build a lightning bug out of the LED and some wire and beads and brass. Mount it on the motor. Rewire it to the original tea light circuit. Cover it with a glass. Tada! It even flickers like a firefly. Interesting side note. The control circuitry for the LED uses a soundchip where the varying output current which would normally drive a small speaker now drives the LED. Many of them play the song "Fur Elise".

You can see a lot more detail if you click on the pics to see the full size version.




























































Lamp 2 - Brass Tube

Uses 2 round 40W candelabra base incandescent bulbs. Fully dimmable. Works as a desk lamp or for task lighting. The stuff on the front of the box is just for decoration. I got the parts from a cheap winding alarm clock I had lying around. The clock gear on the side is attached to a variable resistor type dimmer switch with a push on/off. Rotating the gear dims the light bulbs.