A Table Lamp that Tips

Tipped to the Right.

Why a lamp that tips?   

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. 

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". 

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.  

Undecided

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

 

A Table Lamp Too (2nd Iteration).

White Oak and Red Zebra Wood

This table lamp is a simple 2nd iteration.  The first you can see here:  First Iteration

In the first iteration I found my strategy for making a clean hub for the legs and light hardware to be flawed.  That left a couple of dings in the edge of the walnut hub.  Not critical to the function of the light, but visible scars showing none the less.  To verify that I could make one with no machine made flaws of course I had to make another.  

Standing in the dark.

The hub is made from white oak.  I had a long narrow length of white oak glued up from two strips. 1.25" x 1.25" square and 21" long.  I cut it into 4 sections each 5" long, then glued them together side by side to make a block 5" x 5" x 1.25" thick.  The new hub was cut from that block.  No flaws. First step was to drill a 1/4" hole through the center.  The block was then impaled on a 1/4" dowel pin.  That allowed easy alignment when it was flipped over to cut the back side.  Three sockets were pocket cut for the legs. The center hole was drilled out larger, then tapped for the light hardware post.  All machining processes done and successful. 

Legs were still needed, so a trip to my garage to find material for the legs brought back some red zebra wood strips, and an unknown strip of wood similar in color to make legs from. There was not quite enough to make three legs from the red zebra wood, so an ancient strip of what may be either Honduras mahogany or rose wood was added to the composition of one leg. 

The back leg was done in two halves.  A slot for the power cord to run through was cut on the inside face of each half.   Next came cutting notched tenons on the top of the leg dowels. 

Power  Cord Through One Leg

The notched tenons allowed easy orientation of the legs to cut the bottom end so they would be flat on the floor.  Once cut all that was left was to sand the legs smooth and apply some finish, then assemble the light. 

This is likely the last of this design.   It has spurred variations that may show up should I pursue them.  A fun, quick project to make requiring a small amount of wood and a few tricks that made the parts easy to make accurately. 

Comments encouraged!

4D 

Self-Clamping Trim Router Bench Edge Table

My Milwaukee trim router came with an extra base plate. It is 5.75" in diameter and has an extra set of mounting holes around the perimeter. I suspect it fits their larger routers using those holes.  It can replace the stock one and add capability to hold guide bushings, or mount on a jig for cutting circles or ellipses, or install into a small router table.  This is the clamp on router table I designed for it. 

14" square

The side brackets slide into tapered dovetail slots on the underside of the top.  They slip over the edge of my workbench easily but clamp down tight with a turn of the cam dowel between them. You can glue the brackets in, but there is no real need. They are snug in the dovetail slots and had to be tapped in the last inch or so.  They won't be easy to remove intentionally. 

Side Brackets

I came up with the clamping dowel idea used here when I made a cargo box for my electric motorcycle.  It clamps the cargo box to the cycle frame beam. This router table is a good application of that idea. 

Cam dowel clamps the router table tight to my bench. 

Ends of the 1" dowel have an offset 3/4" section. Pull the smaller dowel handle toward you and horizontal to release the cam and remove the router table from the bench edge. 

Render from my CNC Software

A dust shroud came with my Milwaukee trim router.  Having the router mounted in a table is a good opportunity to put that shroud in place, hook it up to my dust vac, and see how well dust/chips are collected as it runs. I oriented the router so the shroud opening is forward for easy connection to my dust collector hose.  

Dust Vac Connection

The 14" square top greatly extends the support surface. A fence can be clamped to it for straight guided edge cuts or cuts parallel to an edge using bits with no guide bearing. 

Quick release fence.

All plywood parts except the fence were cut from a 16" x 25" inch rectangle of Baltic Birch 12mm plywood. The dowel used is 1" diameter and 8.25" long.  Offset ends are 3/4" diameter.  I used my CNC to cut the ends, but this could be done on a lathe using offset centers. 

I know I'll get plenty of use from this clamp on trim router table.  Advantages of the design:

• No floor space is needed. 
• It is easy and quick to install and lock onto the bench edge.  Easy and quick to release and remove.
• No other clamps are needed to hold it on the bench.
• The fence is quick to lock down or release to reposition or remove. Flip over the cam levers  to lock or release it. 
• It extends the uses for a trim router.
• The battery powered Milwaukee trim router means no dealing with plugging it in to use.  

I stow it under my bench when I'm not using it.

Comments and Questions are welcomed and appreciated.  No ad links in your comments please.

4D