I recently completed a few custom requested lamps, versions of the solid walnut Edison blocks that featured different species of wood: walnut with maple accent, and maple with purpleheart. Those special orders inspired a whole new line of pieces, featuring over forty different lamps with different hardwoods that will soon be appearing on the website and in shows.

I took pictures during the creation of the first few lamps to share the "birth story" with the recipients, and thought I'd share that with a little more detail for those curious about how the lamps are made, as well as to provide a little info for those who might like to try their own hands at building something.

Click on each of the photos below in the navigation strip to learn about the process.

Moore Newton Warehouse

I can't trace the lumber back further than here beyond their own environmental statement, but this is my recently discovered (though in business since '06) supplier, Moore Newton, in San Leandro.

They have much better prices than MacBeath, and free delivery, and are incredibly helpful and friendly (thanks, Jack!), though I still find MacBeath nice to dig through to find a specially figured board, and for some of the less popular (but just as beautiful) exotics like Cocobolo and Makore.

Getting it home

Though they deliver for large orders which I can easily make on a monthly basis, my first order was in person and with me picking up as I wanted to both see a new supplier in person and starting working right away. For those with astute eyes, yup, those are 20" wide 2" thick clear walnut planks waiting for the right project - anyone need a bench? This is about 1000# of lumber altogether.

Ready for Work

The padauk and purpleheart were surfaced on three sides (S3S), as is the maple, meaning that it is has a nice smooth surface.

Nonetheless much of the maple still had enough defects needing further surfacing, and the walnut is raw unsurfaced.

Before Surfacing

The yellow machine is a planer (or surfacer or thicknesser). Inside that yellow housing are three blades on a spinning drum, and rubber rollers that slowly push the wood into those blades. The blades are held at a precise (and level) height above the table, so that any imperfections - whether rough uneven wood, glue, or otherwise - are planed off the wood leaving a mirror-smooth finish coming out the other side.

It can take off up to an 1/8" of wood at a time, but more typically I remove less than 1/16" in a pass, both to work the machine less and because if I need to take off that much it might be better to "resaw" the wood so that that layer that's being removed might be usable for another project instead of ending up as shavings in the compost heap.

After Surfacing

Though the picture doesn't do it justice, coming out the other end is a smooth board that is ready to be glued to another board, or as the nearly finish-ready surface you'll see in the final product.

I should add this machine is both the least expensive freestanding tool and has the most runtime in my shop, which is a testament to DeWalt, but also indicative of me outgrowing it - anyone have a nice 20" (single phase) planer they need to unload?!

Glue-Up Part I

Here, we're making a three-layer glue-up of walnut-maple-walnut. These are actually 2" slabs for a different project I hope to have finished by late April, but the process is the same for the thinner Edison lamps as well: put a healthy layer of glue on all the wood...

Glue-Up Part II

... and then spread it out evenly so that all the wood has some glue on it. I use some scrap wood to spread it out, but for smaller projects you could also use your fingers.

This step is important because as you cut up this large block to smaller lamps (or to even smaller pieces, like coasters or even buttons - coming soon!), you want to make sure every joint is firmly attached, no matter where you cut.

Glue-Up Part III

And finally, clamp and wait. You want to apply even pressure over the entire surface, which usually means multiple clamps, as well as wooden blocks to both spread the clamping force and minimize any cosmetic damage to that glassy-smooth outer layer we just recently ran through the planer!

However, be careful not to apply too much pressure in clamping - these style of clamps can provide about double the clamping force necessary, so just make them snug without overdoing it. You can read up more about this here.

Though the joint reaches 80% of its strength after an hour, I usually leave this at least 12 and usually 24 hours before I remove the clamps and continue on.

Making a Loaf

If you did a good job in the glue-up, the edges are aligned relatively well, but for bigger pieces, they're rarely perfect. And that clamping pressure are oodles of glue meant that some almost certainly dripped down the sides. So while two faces are still probably in finish-ready state, the other two need to be cleaned up, with a few more runs through the planer.

After this, we have a "loaf" - there's probably a better term! - with which we will be able to cut up many individual lamps.

Drilling the Holes

Now we can drill the holes for the lamp sockets. I use Forstner bits for the larger holes in hardwoods, which leave much smoother edges than the spade bits most folks are probably familiar with. And each of these three holes in the two pieces is itself three stepped diameters: the outer and deepest for the ceramic socket, then something narrower for the metal nipple that comes out of the bottom of the socket, and then finally the smallest hole that goes all the way through for the wiring.

You can see the pile of shavings on the floor from making many lamps - this and the power planing make the biggest mess, all of which gets composted. If there were a way I could remove just a "core" of wood, allowing me to reuse the piece in the middle, I would!

Wiring Channels

Of course, the wires coming from the bottom need somewhere to go, and so I similarly have to work the bottom of the lamp, routing a channel and drilling holes where the wires will be joined.

The second hole in the corner is both so that the power cord can enter from the corner, and also to provide space for an underwriters knot, which provides both strain relief and prevents the wire from being pulled out. These channels and holes are later filled in with thinly-sliced wood dowels fastened with glue, and by wood filler.

Sanding & Finishing

Not shown but just as important for the final appearance (and for safety!), I sand all the edges to remove any splinters and make them less sharp, as well as sand out any imperfections that came about from earlier tools and steps.

With the fully-formed wood block, we can now apply our layers of finishing, to both bring out the grain and coloring, and to provide a protective coat from a little water or minor scratches.

Though some of my pieces are finished with multiple layers of pure tung oil, these here used one coat of rub-on tung finish, and two coats of rub-on polyurethane. This is perhaps the most time consuming step.

Wiring and Testing

I insert each socket; though I initially had to wire the two leads to each socket as well, I found a supplier that provided pre-wired sockets with leads saving oodles of time. The sockets are largely secured by friction, but I've also added an adhesive caulk to keep everything in place.

I then wire each lamp, tying the underwriters knot, using wire nuts (further secured by electrical tape), attaching the plug to the raw wire, and finally, soldering in the dimmer switch.

I test each piece before sealing the wiring channels with dowel slices and wood filler, and then put a cut piece of black felt on the bottom, both to hide the wood filler / dowels, and to provide a protective layer for whatever furniture on which this is placed.

And there we have it, the complete journey!

Here we can see the first 24 of what will ultimately be over 40 unique designs: "sandwich" designs highlighting a contrasting wood between two identical layers, and "highlight" designs showcasing a beautifully -grained or -colored wood in contrast with maple. Thanks to both Kris and Aaron for the suggestions that have become this family of lamps.

I also will be doing some solid maple pieces, as well as - my new favorite - a wenge-walnut-maple piece that looks like chocolate, mocha, and vanilla. All of these combinations are available in 1, 2, or 3 bulb pieces, available on the online store.

Hopefully you can find something to fit your decor!