Another post that isn't really on theme, but I've been renovating an apartment so my building time has been going into more practical things. I've been looking for a floor lamp for my living room for a long time. I haven't been sitting and reading at night because I only have the bright ceiling light. But I can't find anything nice. My sister, who is an experienced designer and renovator tells me that "lighting in Australia is a wasteland", perhaps she is right!
Anyhow, it seemed easier to build something, so I whipped this up over the weekend. I had to order the brass pull chain light socket online (can't find these anywhere locally), and it was only a few dollars from china. And the critical piece is the thread adapter that goes from a 1/2 NPT, to 1/8 NPT, I think I got this from RS components, they have pretty much every kind of fluid and gas fitting you can think of (almost), either that or I found it on ebay. I had that piece sitting around from the last lamp I made so I don't recall. The rest is copper plumping from the hardware store, and an old hardwood fence post that was sitting around. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves:
Laying out the copper pipe and fittings on the ground.
The old hardwood fence post. It was from an old termite riddled fence, this part is still in good condition, with a very weathered surface. Actually the wood underneath is a beautiful red coloured dense hardwood, but I decided to keep the rustic look. maybe I'll tidy it up at a later date.
A simple base, not the prettiest, but functional, and I kind of like it. 1/2 inch hole in the top for the copper pipe, and a smaller hole that goes deeper and then runs out the side for the cable.
Initial assembly. The pipe fits tightly enough into the base that nothing extra is required to secure it. At this point there is no way I can pull that cable further through the pipe, too much friction, so I better get it right when I cut the end to length.
Thankfully I didn't stuff it up.
And that's it, lamp done! It's hard to capture the colour and shade of light on a camera phone, it just doesn't convey it. These were the best photos I was able to get.
Really happy with how this turned out. I don't think it matches my decor that well, but it's better than anything I could have bought for the price. Probably cost about $70 AUD in parts, so not bad. Would have been half that if I'd just had it as a straight pole without the S-bend in the pipe, which added a lot of copper fittings. I put that in to make it look more interesting, and make more of a feature out of the pull chain, and functionally it is good because I can sit in the chair and easily reach up and reach the chain. Also, I may add a shade to it later, and the kink allows it to have a shade but still sit close to the wall.
Any thoughts or questions, post them below. And if any of my real life friends want to build something like this, let me know! Pipe lighting fixtures have become popular, but buying ready made ones is expensive. Luckily, they could hardly be easier to make yourself :)
