Blender Lamp

After all these years, I finally found a good use for a blender -- it makes a great lamp.

I found this old blender at an estate sale, and what caught my eye was its style. The base was chrome plated steel, and the top part was heavy, fluted, slightly frosted glass. And instead of having a bunch of push button switches, it had one simple on/off rotary switch. As soon as i saw it I began envisioning a lamp.

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Step 1: Dis-assembly

The first thing I did was to remove the rotary cutter from the bottom of the glass container, which involved unscrewing a retaining ring from the bottom, and sliding the cutter and rotating mechanism out the top.

The next step was to remove the motor from the base. Three screws held a cover plate to the base, four bolts held the three pieces of the base together, and four more bolts held the motor in place. Dis-assembly took only about ten minutes.

I left the original switch in place, since it would be used to control the light that I would install.

obsoehollerith says: Feb 25, 2012. 3:24 PM

Hey! Gorgeous Golden Age Deco on a home appliance is a design ethic that has not just fallen by the wayside, but has been fatally mistreated in the generally all-encompassing loss of pride in the design work of itself, and nearly everything else produced these days. That blender was meant to be an elegant accessory at the ubiquitous 'Cocktails before a late dinner' that has been brutally trampled by supposedly socially 'reforming' movements that have left us with nothing to replace what was meant to be a casually chic, universal bow to the opulence that we all deserved, regardless of weather we are Old Money Snob, or just a working couple who deserved a taste of the good life,if only for a minute after work.
Enough rant. Enter Envy. That's an absolutely gorgeous lamp! So hey- break out the Ardweenies, add the RGB ambiance, add a second interior blender container,
and have your new intelliblender make your drinks as it hears the garage door opener, and (through a passive IR sensor in the Kitchen) announce: Youah Drinks,Suuh!

knife141 (author) in reply to obsoehollerithFeb 26, 2012. 5:14 AM

Interesting comment -- thank you!

foobear says: Feb 24, 2012. 4:18 PM

cool, love the metropolitan effect

knife141 (author) in reply to foobearFeb 25, 2012. 5:31 AM

Thanks for your comment!

rimar2000 says: Feb 23, 2012. 4:56 AM

Good idea!

knife141 (author) in reply to rimar2000Feb 23, 2012. 5:34 AM

Thank you for the kind words, Osvaldo!

Winged Fist says: Feb 22, 2012. 8:38 PM

Wow! What a sp-BLEND-id idea;-) This blender has a great Art Deco look to it... Kind of reminds me of the Empire State Building back in the 30s, the first time King Kong came to visit;-) 5 star-worthy!

knife141 (author) in reply to Winged FistFeb 23, 2012. 5:33 AM

Thanks! I bought this blender at an estate sale because of its design, and as soon as I saw it I immediately thought of a lamp. Thanks for the kind words and the rating.

ironsmiter says: Feb 22, 2012. 1:30 PM

Simple, but a beautiful final product.

If you ever get sick of it being a lamp, remove the lid, and mount it to the ceiling, or wall(in a hallway). It'd look fabulous as a downlight.

knife141 (author) in reply to ironsmiterFeb 22, 2012. 2:24 PM

Thanks for the comment. It would indeed look good as a down light, but mounting the glass securely onto the base might be a challenge. It simply sits on the base and is very heavy. I think more modern blenders may have a way to lock the container to the base, but this one does not. Thanks again for your comment.