Introduction: Parabolic String Lamp
This Parabolic String lamp is made out of laser cut wood, yarn, and a pendant light kit.
I was thumbing through some vintage interior design magazines and found all these kind of cool examples of Parabolic String Art.
I examined it closely and figured out how the illusions of curves appeared in the string art. I was curious if the same principle could be applied to a curved dimensional object. I tinkered with a few different designs, and materials - the lamp featured in this Instructable was actually the fifth iteration in my design process.
EDIT: I started selling these lamps in acrcylic as kits you can assemble! Support more great projects from makers like me by supporting projects you love and learning something new!
Step 1: Laser Cutting
I designed the lamp, and it's feet in Illustrator. It was a little tricky to figure out a design for the notches along the wheel, I tried teeth vs. holes vs. notches vs. kerf cuts.
It turns out I needed a notched hole for the best way to catch the string. I used a laser cutter to make my cuts into 1/4" plywood, but I think I could achieve the same effect with a band saw and a drill press. (And a lot more time, this cut took 5 minutes on the laser)
I have attached my files to this step -let me know if you need a different file format.
Step 2: Assemble the Lamp.
I used this Pendant Lamp Kit from Ikea. It turns out these aren't sold in California any more, but we had one lying around.
I designed the hole large enough to fit the socket, but small enough to grab the plywood with the coupler in the lamp kit.
Step 3: Fins and Bulb
I added all of the fins to the lamp, one at a time, making sure to connect it all the way into the notches.
After they were all installed, I screwed in the light bulb. Pretty easy step.
Step 4: The String
By far the longest part of the process, was weaving the skein of yarn into the lamp.
I was able to start the weaving with just a single knot that wouldn't slip through the notch in the fin.
I used cheap red craft yarn and wove it up and down each fin, slowly working my way around, over and over and over and over again.
I was able to end with a single knot in the notch, and cutting the extra off. I pretty much used the whole skein for this design.
Did I iterate that this took a long time? It did.
Step 5: Give It Legs
If you want, you can give it legs, they just attach with a tight tolerance in the notch.
Step 6: It Hangs!
I like it better as a hanging lamp. I think it looks more beautiful suspended from the ceiling - it allows the design to sing a bit more.
I will award a 3 Month Pro membership to the first five people that make this project, let me know using the "I MADE IT" button.
Participated in the
Spring's Coming Contest
Participated in the
Full Spectrum Laser Contest
Participated in the
Woodworking Contest