An Accessory for a Floor Lamp

This project appeared as a result of another reuse related project where I transformed a wooden wine box into a lamp that can be put onto a piece of furniture or the floor. I wouldn’t call this lamp specifically table lamp because I initially planned it to be a light source for the entire room.

Several narrow wooden planks (about 9 mm thick) left after completion of that project, and I thought about a possible meaningful use for them. So, I designated them as material for the present project. I made a small board for an Ikea floor lamp; now, it’s possible to put some small objects on this improvised ‘table’.

Supplies

Tools

To draw the contour and mark the hole’s center: ruler, pencil, drawing curve

To cut the contour: fretsaw or jigsaw

To drill the hole: drill with a drilling bit. The bit’s diameter depends on the outer diameter of the lamp’s rod

Brush for glue, brush for varnish, small wood blocks

Consumables: sandpaper, glue for wood, colourless varnish or wood oil

Step 1: Making the Board

The planks must be joined to form a raw piece for the board. It’s important that the side faces of the planks be perpendicular to their front surface and straight. If they are not, a certain correction (as shown in picture) would be needed; sandpaper 60 would be good for this operation.

After the planks have been prepared, they will be joined by means of wood glue. This operation should be performed on a plain surface to make the resulting upper surface of the board also plain (there will be no ‘steps’ between adjacent planks even if the thickness of the planks is slightly variable).

When the raw piece was ready, I draw the contour of the future board by using a drawing curve; this contour is quite arbitrary. Then I cut the contour with a fretsaw and sandpapered both the side and upper surfaces of the board with sandpapers 80 and 100.

The dimensions in the picture showing the hole in the board are for reference only, the placement of the hole is as arbitrary as the contour of the board itself. However, the diameter of the hole should be equal to the outer diameter of the lamp’s rod; thus, the fit between the board and the lamp’s rod would not be loose.

It’s also important to make the bore as perpendicular as possible to the front surface of the board; thus, the board would be parallel to the floor (at least, not too much crooked).

Step 2: Reinforcing Rib

This piece is necessary to provide a complementary support to the board. The rib is made of a plank like those that were used for manufacturing the board. The length of the rib depends on the size of the board, the form of the rib is arbitrary. It’s important to make the lateral side marked as ‘230 mm’ in the picture straight and perpendicular to the front surface of the rib. The technique used for correcting the planks of the board will also be used in this case.

Attention should be paid to ‘steps’ (if there are any) between adjacent planks of the bottom surface of the board. The area where the rib will be glued to the board must be plain; a wooden block about 15 mm thick with sandpaper 60 glued on it could be used to remove the steps. The rib will be glued to the board so that the side marked as ‘40 mm’ is on the same level that the bore for the lamp’s rod. Thus, the rib will abut against the lamp’s rod after the installation of the board.

After the rib has been fixed to the board, the unit might be covered with wood oil or colourless varnish.

Step 3: Assembly

The floor lamp used for this project could be divided in two parts by unscrewing the upper part of the lamp. The board will be put onto the rod at the desired height and fixed with a cable tie as shown in picture.