Doggy Lamp/Desk Organizer

As a college student, I spend quite a bit of time at my desk.  The other day, when I was working on some mechanics of materials homework, I realized that my desk is quite boring.  There is a grey office supplies container and a holder for pending documents in one corner.  In the other corner there is a lamp.  Most of my desk is usually occupied by my computer and textbooks.  I realized that doing my homework might not be so dull if my desk was a bit more inspiring.  So, when I knocked my lamp off my desk and broke the switch on the back, rendering it useless, I got an idea.

A few days later, after a bit of time on SolidWorks, I designed an inspiring and friendly companion in order to begin my efforts to spruce up my desk; plus, it doubles as a much more interesting container for office supplies and as a new lamp.  I named my new friend, Spotlight, it is a pose-able, dog-shaped lamp and desk organizer.

This Instructable will show you how to make your very own Doggy Lamp/Desk Organizer to keep you company in the early morning hours as you complete your homework or latest DIY project.  Or, since the holidays are approaching, you could make a Doggy Lamp/Desk Organizer as a gift for your favorite desk-lurker.

Step 1 Obtain some Parts

The majority of the Doggy Lamp/Desk Organizer is built from laser-cut MDF.  I used Ponoko for the laser cutting since I unfortunately do not have a laser cutter.  I have made the design files for the Doggy Lamp available for free in my Ponoko Showroom.  You are welcome to use the design files to order your own Doggy Lamp parts or you can modify the design.  Be careful modifying the design too much though because, as you will see in later steps, the pieces of the Doggy Lamp fit together with tabs so you want to be cautious not to mess up the alignment of the tabs.  As for a material, I used double sided white-oak veneer MDF.  
If you have access to SolidWorks 2011, I have also attached an assembly file of the Doggy Lamp to this step.

Other than the MDF pieces, you will need:

• Ten 5/8 inch long, 10-32 bolts
• Ten 10-32 wing nuts
• A light bulb socket (available at your nearest hardware store)
• An electrical cord for the light bulb socket
• A light bulb (I recommend using an LED light bulb, or at least a compact florescent, because these are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, but more importantly, incandescent bulbs can get very hot in the wooden lamp enclosure)
• Optional:  wood glue