Steampunk Frankenstein Lab Lamp

[Lunajammer]

I didn't model much this winter because this "art" project consumed all my interest. I've been chomping for a chance to build the right Steampunk project or "found object" art that could be both form and function and a lamp seemed to be the easiest way to accomplish both. It was a long project and there was a lot of building and un-building along the way until I got what felt right. I did have to use my modeling tools and knowledge along the way.

This is a sketch I made about halfway through, illustrating what I was going for.

The base of the lamp is a box I built and stained, taking full advantage of hammers, chains and rocks to mar the wood for an aged look.

This is the blister package from my car's headlight that I primed red, used the salt technique, sprayed, then weathered with Vallejo acrylics. I kind did a hack job of adding bronze tacks, I'm afraid. Plumbed with copper pipe.

I still have my dad's old household plumbing junk and found this rusty faucet, so I made it my lamp's rotary light switch...

The faucet handle was in a junk box in my basement, left by my home's previous owner...

Copper plumbing, faucet switch and the black box will hold a clock... vacuum guages are common on steampunk projects but I think they're cliche and not functional like a good old clock.

I'm using this blackening agent to weather most of my metal parts, shown here with some electrical panel plate or something.

These are PVC parts that I'm metallizing. I chose these over metal parts to keep costs and weight down. The cap on my spray can was a lovely brass, which is what I wanted, but when it came out it was a lovely copper. Meh, I'll take it.

 

[Lunajammer]

No all parts boxes hold plastic. This is part of where the rest of the lamp will come from.

This is a motor from a toy...

Broken down, painted, weathered and rebuilt to look like old clockworks...

 

[Lunajammer]

I stacked ceiling lamp inserts to imply something like a Tesla coil. My Edison light will go inside it.

Found these boot laces at the second hand store for .25¢. They look like appliance wire casing so I'm running wire through it.

This is one of a couple toy pieces I'm using as bezels for some copper rod. But first I painted, weathered and dry brushed it with Testors rust and metallics.

These are lamp parts I found at a Habitat for Humanity Restore. I've glued some washers together, weathered them and they'll be combined with a flicker light bulb found a the craft store. I weathered the socket's cardboard with a brown marker and the socket's brass with the blackening agent shown earlier.

Combined with a piece of gutter screen (keeps the leaves out of your gutter) to make a sort of "power unit" with a protective screen so you don't die when you touch it. At least, that's how I want it to appear.

 

 

[Belugawrx]

So COOL!!

I am diggin this build..

Wayyy outside the box Mike..(pun intended)

Keep it up..Cheers

[Lunajammer]

Pipes are used as a support for the flicker lamp "power unit." I used reproduction vintage cloth braided wire for actual current carrying wire. A bracket strip was weathered and secured to the flicker power unit.

I used rusting paints from the craft store and chalk pastels to weather and ugly up the PVC pipes.

I printed out some clock faces I like and cut them to fit the black clock box on the front. Some foam insulation will help wedge it into the box, offer support for the face, battery and clockworks.

My Tesla coil looks something like this. It contains the bulb socket and PVC mount.

A couple holes drilled and it all just bolts together.

Add some reproduction vintage cord, a worn out old port found in my basement junk and box it up...

[Lunajammer]

...and VOILA!

These little buggers flicker like flames, but mostly I wanted the impression of risky, vintage power. They really bring this lamp to life.

[Lunajammer]

So that's what ate up my winter and why I only got one model car built. But this stupid project was eating a hole in my head and I had to get it out. Glad I did. My fiancee loves it. It makes a nice warm glow in our living room for watching movies and gets immediate attention from guests. It's maybe pretty far off topic for this forum, but it used the same brain rhythm I use for models, mentally it felt the same.

[Belugawrx]

It's funny,..for the last week or so, I've been thinking,.."I'd like to build something bigger , a one off display piece of some sort"... Man you nailed it...well done

 

 

 

 

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[cobraman]

Very creative, I really like it !

[Lunajammer]

Thanks a lot guys. Bruce you're a pretty accomplished maker, lamp lighting is pretty simple and very attention getting since there are so many kinds of interesting bulbs out there. I'd love to do a steampunk War of the Worlds martian war machine lamp. Just gotta find the right body to embellish.

[Lunajammer]

Since I'm as big an idiot as any one of you, I brought this to a lamp repair shop to be inspected for safety. The old guy was confounded and deeply worried about its safety until I explained the whole thing. By the time we were done and he "got it," he thought it was a "wonderful" piece of functional art and passed it with flying colors.

[rel14]

That is AWESOME,  been a steampunk fan for many years,,   its a beautiful work of art,,

[StevenGuthmiller]

That's pretty neat!

Only problem is, if I attempted something like that, it would never see the light of day!

If I tried to display it somewhere, it would inevitably "go missing".

Let's just say that my wife wouldn't understand the concept.

 

Steve

[Scott Colmer]

HELL YEAH!

[bobthehobbyguy]

Very cool. Super creative. Well executed.

[Fat Brian]

That is seriously amazing, I want that in my house.

[peteski]

That is so cool!  Very creative!  All it needs now (for that true Frankenstein feel) is a Jacob's Ladder in the back of it.

 

One thing that looks a bit off to me is the clock housing. The clock face is perfect, but that square housing looks too modern and too pristine to me.  Some sort of antique round housing would fit the design better.  Still, I like the entire concept.

[Lunajammer]

43 minutes ago, peteski said:

One thing that looks a bit off to me is the clock housing. The clock face is perfect, but that square housing looks too modern and too pristine to me.  Some sort of antique round housing would fit the design better.

Yeah, a port hole is really what I wanted. But part of the project was to see keep costs down and use only what I could find. The clock box was an early choice and by the end I might have rethought that. But then, I hadn't found anything I liked that was much better. 

[Lunajammer]

4 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

That's pretty neat!

Only problem is, if I attempted something like that, it would never see the light of day!

If I tried to display it somewhere, it would inevitably "go missing".

Let's just say that my wife wouldn't understand the concept.

 

Steve

Ooooo, yeah. The lovely Miss L was mostly disinterested until she saw parts of it, then loved it in the end. So yes, I consider myself lucky. Especially when she saw me stockpiling pointless junk, the bulk of which remains unused.

[oldnslow]

That looks fantastic .

[afx]

Great project Mike.

[Jantrix]

Mike, that's just tremendous work. I really like the thought and the attention to detail put into it. Outstanding.

[Ace-Garageguy]

11 minutes ago, Jantrix said:

Mike, that's just tremendous work. I really like the thought and the attention to detail put into it. Outstanding.

Agreed entirely. Sounds like your girl's a keeper, too.   

[iamsuperdan]

Very, very cool.

Now I want to steampunk something.

 

 

[89AKurt]

Great, more awesome ideas for things I'll never get around to doing.    That is really cool!