This is what no sleep gets me...

My lamps are all finished! I just put the finishing touches on my metal lamp and the trio is now complete.

First of all, I hate my metal lamp. I think it looks fine and all, but it took far too long to make. What was I thinking? I had to cut my 10' steel bar like 80 times and then file each piece's ends! Oh, and the wood block that acts as the face gave me trouble. I chose a poor wood for my first one. Drilled it 80 or so times and then came to the conclusion that I needed a denser block of wood. This one was cracking and splitting all over. I went to the scraps and found some oak. That did the trick. It was a pain grinding the center of it out for the bulb to fit through though. Geez.

Oh, and the chrome-top bulb that I'm using for the lamp gets super hot within seconds. Good thing I bought a can of silver heat-resistant spray paint. That stuff worked mighty well and reflects the light well, too.

Room for improvement? Yes. Just as I was about to connect the face to the base, I got an idea. With the use of many of the shop's tools, I could form four wood blocks to fit onto the "steps" on the lamp's sides, one on each side. These blocks would extend outward a bit and have a lip for restriction. The face would then be able to slide back and forth, changing the lighting. I didn't have time to do it this morning, so I just may make them after the critique today.

G