Mechanical expanding cardboard lamp - This way up!

Step 6 Materials

You will require:
Corrugated cardboard
These are made from recycled waste and by law need to be recycled, commercially at least. Corrugated cardboard can be found in loads of places once you're looking for it. Finding big pieces without creases and holes is harder though. You want the double-ply stuff. Art shops get their mounting boards delivered encased in big beautiful boxes, so try there, and bicycle shops get their bikes wrapped in it. Your supermarket produce might be packed in good sturdy tray-type boxes, but has often got holes in, and is squashed from the weight of melons etc. Appliances (white goods) usually come with good quality boxes so look out for anyone in your street getting a new fridge delivered. I spotted a delivery man in the street getting ready to crush some good quality boxes when I was out getting some lunch, and stepped in and offered to take them off his hands. Commercial customers have to pay a lot of money to get these cartons collected and recycled, and will usually be pleased to have someone else do it, unless it's got their address all over it. Don't be shy to ask.

From these boards, you'll be cutting (plans attached):
- 16x long struts (from double layer sandwich of board)
- 8x short struts (as above)
- 4x uprights
- 2x base connector panels
- 1x counterweight gondola
- 2x base side panels
- 2x base end panels
- 1x top handle
(all the above double-thickness corrugated cardboard)

Additionally you will need to source:
- bamboo skewers (kitchen-wares department / supermarket)
- wine bottle corks (may be new ones, or used ones if they aren't broken - brew shop)
- 100W (or more) electronic 12v lighting transformer (electrical shop)
- 4x 12v capsule lamps (household wares)
I used two 35W ones with GY6.35 size bases and two 20W ones with G4 size bases.
- 4x ceramic lamp holder with leads
These are actually the most tricky things to find and the cost varies wildly - Maplin sell some but they aren't cheap. Get the round kind with leads attached. Some have slots rather than holes, so you can fit bulbs with different sized bases, but mine don't. I dug out two for GY6.35 base bulbs and two for G4 bulbs. I originally got them from National Lamps and Components (online).
- some screw-terminal connecting blocks (3 amp ones will do).
- enough multi-strand wire to go up and down the lamp when it is fully extended half a dozen times (thicker is better, but it should be narrow enough to fit down the tubes of your corrugated cardboard - I used lamp flex, which is just less than 1mm).
- a switch for the mains power lead (foot switch)
- some fairly thick-gauge (1.5mm ish) copper wire without insulation (I used the green and yellow striped earth cable with it's insulation stripped off - DIY sheds)
- some mains cable and a plug (I used the braided flex from an old iron - swapped the 13 amp fuse for a more suitable 3 amp one)
- something heavy to use as a counterweight (I used wire nails - but anything that's heavy will do nicely)

Tools:
- Knives - lots of knives. Something with a long blade for slicing corks and making long cuts in board, and something with a pointed blade for piercing in corners.
- Scribe or skewer.
- Wire cutters (I used pliers - can also be used for snipping the ends off bamboo skewers if you don't mind splinters).
- Needle file (you might be able to get away without this if you are smart, but I needed it for filing out the holes for the skewers).
- Screwdrivers (at least a small flat one for screw terminals, perhaps one to open your transformer)
You'll also need a pencil and a ruler, obviously.