How to make laminated lamps . I go to the Home Depot and buy a 6"x10' plank
of pine or whatever. Have them cut it in half (marking the two sides of the
cut with an X) so it will go in my car. I also buy a Make-A-Lamp kit (about
$10). I also buy a 4" crossbar Tapped 1/8-IP (about $1). I put the two
pieces on my workbench (one X to the right the other X to the left). I
scribe as many circles as the diameter will bear on the two planks giving
the centers a good punch with an awl. I number the circles with a pencil (I
use roman numerals) I mark the first circle "bottom 1/2". Using a square I
draw a line from the center to the edge of the plank facing me (so that all
the grains will match. I cut the circles on a band saw. I get a piece of
metal curtain rod (3/8" diameter) of whatever length you like. Using a drill
press drill holes slightly larger than the diameter of the curtain
rod...but only going 1/2 way through the bottom piece (this is what the
centers marked by the awl are for). I stack the pieces from the bottom to
the top using the pencil lines to match the grain. With a magic marker and a
ruler draw a line from top to bottom so it's easy to match the grains from
the outside. I drill a tiny hole in the center of the bottom piece (so I
know the exact center later on). On the corner of my workbench I glue all
the pieces together from bottom to top using the curtain rod as a guide and
clamp tightly. I mount the stack on the lathe using a Slimline Revolving
Center (page 23 Packard Woodworks Catalog) at the top. Cut to the shape you
want (I scrape everything). At the top cut an indented circle about 1 1/2"
in diameter and 3/8" deep as close to the center as you safely can. Now sand
or finish the lamp any way you want. Using a hole saw on the drill press cut
a 2 1/2" circle out of 1/8" tempered masonite. Clamp the circle to a
workbench and widen the hole to 1/2" or 5/8 ". Sand the circle (I put a bolt
and nut through the center and sand on the drill press). Put the crossbar on
a vise and with a hacksaw cut off the ends leaving only enough to fasten to
the indented top with two screws. I usually round the outside corners on a
bench grinder. Widen the top hole slightly with a 3/4" bit. Using the 3/4"
bit cut about 1" deep in the center of the bottom. From the outside of the
bottom drill a hole to the center large enough to accomodate the wire. Screw
the crossbar (what's left of it) into the center of the indented top. Now
all you need is a piece of threaded hollow tubing (the same size as is in
the Lamp Kit) for the first part of the mounting. I spray the masonite
circle with gold paint so that it will match the brass parts and this goes
over the crossbar before mounting the rest of the parts.
"Michael Latcha" wrote in message
...
Maybe the following link can help you identify what was missing from your
effort. Andy has an entire section of his site devoted to his process and
techniques, and the finished lamps are inspirational enough to warrant a
visit by themselves.

http://www.lampmaker.net/

Michael Latcha - at home in Redford, MI


"Prometheus" wrote in message
...
Hello all,

This evening, I had the basically sound idea that I should turn a
lamp... I went out and got the hardware and decided that the plank of
bird's eye maple I had down in the shop would look great as a lamp
base.
snip
I doubt I'm going to save this piece unless I just fill it with wood
putty and paint it, but I was wondering if any of you folks have had
similar problems, and what my best options for avoiding this in the
future may be...