LAURAS LAMP PART 1.

 I met Laura earlier this year and she has been very patient while I have been working on a few -yet to be revealed projects. She asked if I could help her to make a floor standing lamp to her unique vision.

 We sat down for a chat and came up with a few ideas including using a gramophone horn for a lampshade, next was for Laura to draw up a sketch (above). The drawing helped me to get an understanding of her idea and to source the parts to fabricate it from.

 I put together a rough base with one of the vintage horns from Tom in the south of France [which we now belive to be lighthouse horns!] then arranged to hook up with Laura to see if I was on the right lines.

After our rendezvous in the workshop I realised quite how much detailing was required. We added the cam from my 1930s radial aero engine which is a great piece of engineering and medley of aluminuim and steel...

which will work perfectly with the modifided valve handles that detail the horn.

 Laura also loves the look of polished and green oxidised coppers so I took the horn (which is steel) up to the metal platers. The pic above shows the plating before polishing and the pic below shows how it looks buffed up and the beast of a machine that I used to acheive this.

Standing at almost 6 feet tall here is a photo of how it looks at the mo [The height will be adjustable by about a foot]. Laura bought a super cheap lamp shade from a charity shop to get an idea of how things might look and to get a better idea of  how the gramophone horn was going to work. After some confabulation I am to experiment with some chemicals to create a greenish/turquoise faze to certain areas of the copper horn, then wire the base up so it can be used while I try to find a brass gramophone horn to top things off and compleate the assemblage........

WALL LAMPS.

A few bad pictures of wall lamps I have made recently more on these to come.

 

CHANDELIER PART 2.

 A few shots to show how the ceiling breaker is coming on.

 I used caustic soda to clean this part as an experiment but it ruined the thread inside and actually changed the size of the original piece, never again shall I play with dangerous chemicals.

GOOD PICKINGS 3.

 After loads of dirt, sweat and blood, I have finished the new workshop chair and I am very pleased with it. I played with a few new techniques and some old favourites but stayed away from shotblasting to clean, complete and protect this surprisingly comfy landing pad. I am going to look into casting all the sections in aluminium so I can reproduce clones.....

 

Showing its age.

GOOD PICKINGS 2.

 After lots of cleaning, wire brushing and figuring out I came up with this. A very solid and usable chair, the whole thing is bolted together using brass to contrast with the iron.

 I love the pitting of all of these parts as it shows how long they were neglected, rusting away till I found a new life for them. 

 

 The seat top came from an earlier mission to the same location, I think it was some kind of stepping plate off a vehicle? it could be a drain cover? its now a comfy place to park myself after a long day with a cuppa. I might shot blast the whole piece and add a serial plate to finish it?.

GOOD PICKINGS 1.

 I had a great day totting on Sunday, the sun was shining and pickings rich. Myself or my bike did not enjoy the ride home it was slow and backbreaking.

 I had some great finds at a local market, the best being a copper ended hammer for a £1, worth more in scrap but a lovely usable thing. Then I went on to a secret location I have bloged about before for some sun, sand and rusty ol iron. The lump in the picture above is I think some kind of grabber jaw from a digger, and in the pic below a flame cut off, hot riveted piece of structural steel. both very heavy and fairly old.

 I also found this rusty old bracket and a few large bolts which I put on the lathe to drill the centres out to make a back rest for a small very heavy duty chair for the workshop. I love it when a plan comes together.

 

ALICIAS LIGHT.

Just delivered this lamp to the lovely Alicia light [cool surname] and by chance she actually makes lampshades herself check them out here.

 I am really stoked with the contrast between the silvery bits and the goldie bits, and the blue cable works really well with the original blue paint on the base.

I have now made quite a few similar styled lamps, they are height adjustable and have a flip over lid which enables them to up-light.