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Bedside table lamp

DLJeffs

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Finished the shade for this one, so it's all done now. On to something else.
finished.jpg

finished lit up.jpg

Not sure making the shade was worth the trouble. I had the frame from earlier so decided to use it. And you do get to use whatever fabric or material you want. But it's kind of a pain.
 
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DLJeffs

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well done Doug! I like everything about it.... you made the shade too?
Yessir, although technically I "covered" the shade. When I built another pair of lamps a couple years ago I ordered the metal frames for two shades because I thought buying completed shades was kind of expensive. But those frames were too small for the lamps I made so I stuck the frames away on a shelf. Since this lamp is smaller, I pulled out the frames and figured what the heck - something to try. So I watched a few videos and then ordered the adhesive backed polystyrene plastic sheet used to covered the sides of the frame. My wife has tons of fabric from her quilting days so we pulled a scrap that was mostly single color. I cut manila folders into shapes to fit the sides of the frame, taping them in place. Once I had the patterns fit the way I liked, I unrolled the polystyrene sheet and it had a very bad curl set from being rolled up. I tried just weighting it down but that didn't remove the curl. So I used a heat gun and that soften the plastic enough to re-set the sheet. Unfortunately, it's a fairly delicate process and I got one or two bubbles in the plastic but I put them in the back. Next I put my manila folder patterns on the plastic sheet and traced the edge and then cut out the shape, leaving a little room for error. Using smaller scissors I then carefully cut right along my lines. Then I removed the protective paper and glue the sheet to my fabric and then cut off the excess fabric - leaving about a 3/8" flap along the top and bottom. Then, I put double stick tape on the frame - top and bottom bars only. I used gorilla glue along the curved side bars. Then stuck the fabric covered form to the bottom bar, carefully aligned it with the side bars and taped it into place until I could stick the form along the top bar. I wrapped that extra 3/8" flap of fabric around the bar to give it a more finished look, instead of seeing a metal bar. Repeated the process on the opposite side. Once those two plates were set, I removed the tape and repeated the process on the remaining two sides. So I had a covered frame but still had the side seems to deal with. I decided to glue trim strips to covered the seams. Because I don't sew and my wife didn't seem to excited to do it for me, I opted to glue the trim bands. Found another scrap of fabric I liked, cut it into 1 inch wide strips and folded those lengthwise into thirds. Bought something called Fabric-tac at Walmart - clear, dries fast, thick enough it doesn't saturated the cloth. Glued the strips into roughly 3/8 wide strips and then used the same glue to glue the strips onto the shade. Like I said, kind of a pain but it worked out.
 

barry richardson

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Yessir, although technically I "covered" the shade. When I built another pair of lamps a couple years ago I ordered the metal frames for two shades because I thought buying completed shades was kind of expensive. But those frames were too small for the lamps I made so I stuck the frames away on a shelf. Since this lamp is smaller, I pulled out the frames and figured what the heck - something to try. So I watched a few videos and then ordered the adhesive backed polystyrene plastic sheet used to covered the sides of the frame. My wife has tons of fabric from her quilting days so we pulled a scrap that was mostly single color. I cut manila folders into shapes to fit the sides of the frame, taping them in place. Once I had the patterns fit the way I liked, I unrolled the polystyrene sheet and it had a very bad curl set from being rolled up. I tried just weighting it down but that didn't remove the curl. So I used a heat gun and that soften the plastic enough to re-set the sheet. Unfortunately, it's a fairly delicate process and I got one or two bubbles in the plastic but I put them in the back. Next I put my manila folder patterns on the plastic sheet and traced the edge and then cut out the shape, leaving a little room for error. Using smaller scissors I then carefully cut right along my lines. Then I removed the protective paper and glue the sheet to my fabric and then cut off the excess fabric - leaving about a 3/8" flap along the top and bottom. Then, I put double stick tape on the frame - top and bottom bars only. I used gorilla glue along the curved side bars. Then stuck the fabric covered form to the bottom bar, carefully aligned it with the side bars and taped it into place until I could stick the form along the top bar. I wrapped that extra 3/8" flap of fabric around the bar to give it a more finished look, instead of seeing a metal bar. Repeated the process on the opposite side. Once those two plates were set, I removed the tape and repeated the process on the remaining two sides. So I had a covered frame but still had the side seems to deal with. I decided to glue trim strips to covered the seams. Because I don't sew and my wife didn't seem to excited to do it for me, I opted to glue the trim bands. Found another scrap of fabric I liked, cut it into 1 inch wide strips and folded those lengthwise into thirds. Bought something called Fabric-tac at Walmart - clear, dries fast, thick enough it doesn't saturated the cloth. Glued the strips into roughly 3/8 wide strips and then used the same glue to glue the strips onto the shade. Like I said, kind of a pain but it worked out.
Well worth the effort! looks great. I may attempt one someday, I have a piece that I think would make a good base but I cant find a shade I like on line or at thrift stores
 

DLJeffs

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Well worth the effort! looks great. I may attempt one someday, I have a piece that I think would make a good base but I cant find a shade I like on line or at thrift stores
That lamp is roughly 11 inches tall and the shade is around 9 inches. I have another of the metal frames plus the left over polystyrene sheet is plenty enough to cover it. If you decide to make one and that frame is the right size and shape, happy to make you a deal. I don't foresee using it myself. We have all the lamps we need right now. Oh, I got the lamp supplies from Grand Brass Lamp Supply

Grand Brass Lamp
 

Webb

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Great looking lamp. I was thinking the panel inserts could be thin cut and backlit for a night light.
 

DLJeffs

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Great looking lamp. I was thinking the panel inserts could be thin cut and backlit for a night light.
I thought about putting a light inside the box part but didn't want to have little dots of light flickering around the room. Might be different if this were out in the living room or something.
 

Webb

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If you put a translucent liner inside like a fiber mat, there would be no light beams. Just a thought.
 

Gdurfey

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Very nice! By that I mean exceptional creativity and use of wood I would not thought to use in a design like that!! Great job Doug.
 
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