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| Tipped to the Right. |
Not for momentary joy or by a design mistake. With a way to keep the lamp leaning over at least a few obvious benefits become available. Park the lamp on a corner of a table, then let it tip toward the middle to better illuminate the table surface. Have kids that like to play on the floor? Tip the lamp out to better illuminate the floor beside the table. Using one or more 1"d steel balls and a rim of dished pockets you can move the Center Of Gravity around so the lamp will stay leaned in the direction the ball(s) are positioned at. Maximum lean angle is 12.5 degrees.
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| Maximum Lean |
This design consists of three wood parts. A hub that the light hardware connects to. A simple center post. Lastly a domed base. Simple. Three parts. The lamp can tip but won't fall over. The base is a larger mimic of the top hub. The power cord runs up through the center post which is done in two halves. It exits the side of the base which is also cut in top and bottom halves. The 1" steel balls were ordered from the jungle store, along with the 12mm threaded brass balls. I used two halves each for the post and base to make it easy to route the power cable through. Base is 2.25" thick and the center post large diameter is 1.5".
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| Almost Straight Up |
A 12mm diameter brass ball screws down onto the harp. The shade ring with a 3/8" diameter hole rests on it and stays level no matter how far the lamp tips.
I used the modelling tools in Aspire to make the pockets for the 1" steel ball on the curved surface of the base top. The moulding toolpath was used to shape all the other parts. Nine pockets evenly spaced around the perimeter allow just 3 steel balls to vary how far and in which direction the lamp tips.
This project, as many do, threw a few challenges to me when making the parts. 2-sided CNC projects must be perfectly aligned when flipped over. Even when I think I have that challenge solved it is worth verifying alignment before each new cut.
First try making the bottom of the base proved my design theory was wrong. The curve was so flat the weight of the base itself was so heavy it wouldn't tip even with the steel balls all on one side.
Second try I recut the bottom dome using 1/2 the previous radius. It still was harder to rock the base than I want it to be. Adding the light hardware, bulb, and shade might have made a difference so I added them to check. Testing proved the weight of the light hardware and shade weren't enough to make a difference.
I had a cherry block that was large enough and thick enough to make a new base bottom. 1+5/16" thick. Third try did indeed tip with the steel balls rather easily. A bottom dome with close to a 6" radius center works well.
This concludes my chase to see if this crazy idea works. I'll throw some maple stain and a top finish on the parts next time I have my finish table set up.
Comments welcomed and appreciated.
4D
