Wooden Beam Table Lamp

Wood and metal. Two strong materials that cities are built with. Two materials I enjoy working with.

I received some large pieces of wood from a friend. They were remnants from a house they were working on (timber frame house at that, my favorite). The chunks of wood sat in the shop, as most pieces do, until the inspiration bug struck.

Some random day the inspiration bug struck and I had a lightbulb moment (pun intended) of what to make with that piece of wood. As with most things when I get an idea everything else will stop, until I can start working on the idea (I don’t want to miss out on the momentum).

I wanted to build a lamp by segmenting the pieces of wood. I had some rebar laying around and the two pieces just went together. Challenge was the piece of wood was thicker than my table saw blade was high, so with creative thinking I rotated the beam around to cut most of the way through and finished the cut with my handy Japanese hand saw. Next came drilling some holes for the rebar to fit. The holes were drilled so the rebar would fit snuggly.

As the pieces were fit together the vision I had in my head was coming to life. I love thinking of an idea and being able to creatively express that idea into the physical world. I also love when somebody approaches me with an idea for something they want built and trusts me to create it for them.

With the last coat of finished applied and dried the light bulb was tightened into the socket. The lamp was plugged in and came to life. I love the sweet glow from the Edison bulb and really think this lamp would look make a great addition to a boutique hotel or a home office.

If you are interested in this lamp or would like me to design a lamp for your space I would love to hear from you.

Barn Beam Chandelier

I got the idea for this hand hewn barn beam chandelier one day while browsing Pinterest. It looked like a great way to add a big bold statement in a room with a chandelier. After seeing the idea on Pinterest I filed it away in my head for later use.

Fast forward some months and my wife and I were browsing through one of our local antique malls. I remember seeing an old barn beam there on one of our previous visits and after telling her about my idea and remembering seeing the beam we decided to go see.

Sure enough there it was, an old barn beam tucked away in the corner of an antique booth in the mall. The hew marks were beautiful and a testament to the hard work put in shaping the timbers. There was a tenon with a peg hole and a mortise too with an old peg. So we lugged the timber to the cash register and went on our way with the beam.

After getting home that’s when the work started. Holes were drilled, wires were ran, and wires were spliced. Bulb sockets were connected and lightbulbs were screwed in and then the moment of truth. The beam was wired up and the switch turned on and all seven bulbs lit up.

Chain was added to hang the chandelier and give it an industrial look and chain might have been necessary given the weight.

All in all the barn beam chandelier was a lot of fun to build and would make a great addition to any kitchen, restaurant, business, or place where you desire a unique light sure to turn heads.

Vintage Milk Strainer Pendant Light

This is another piece we found from our friends Pat and Linda (P&L Rusty Iron). After a recent trip out west they invited us over to show us what they found. This old milk strainer was sitting out in front of the barn.

Immediately after seeing it I knew it would make a perfect pendant light. There was a beautiful rusty patina that would just glow with an Edison bulb. The next problem would be how to hang the light. Alongside the barn there was some old chain hanging. Pat told me it was old farm equipment chain and the milk strainer and chain made for a perfect combination.

After bringing the parts home I went to work creating this pendant light from the pieces we found. This light would look amazing hanging in a farmhouse kitchen, or in a restaurant.

Fire Extinguisher Lamp

As a firefighter by trade, I am naturally drawn to firefighter decor. I have seen the traditional fire extinguisher lamps that use an old copper extinguisher. I had a vision for something a little different.

I had found an old carbon dioxide extinguisher at a flea market and was able to negotiate a bargain. As the extinguisher sat in my house I thought how it would look good as a lamp. Instead of using a pull chain or a nob to turn it off and on I thought, what if you could squeeze the handle. I set off to the hardware store and bought some lamp making supplies. This was my first ever try at a lamp and with a squeeze of the handle the Edison bulb illuminated and thought I was on to something.

This was in the pre-Maker and Finder days but there was a feeling of satisfaction finding something and re-pourposing it into a piece of functional home decor. When family and friends would stop by they would all comment on how great the lamp turned out.

After creating Maker and Finder, I used that lamp as a prototype to make another. So this is an old American LaFrance carbon dioxide extinguisher turned into a lamp. just like the first one I made, to turn on you squeeze the handle and watch the beautiful glow from the Edison bulb.

Book Lamps

We love to read. One day while browsing the internet I seen a picture of a stack of books turned into a lamp. The light bulb went off! A friend of ours runs a book store that sells $1 books. We made a stop at his store went home and turned some old books into book lamps. And these are some of our favorite projects. Finding something and making it into something beautiful.