Introduction: Sustainable Lamp (1$ Budget)

This lamp was created with the intention of sustainability, all the materials collected were found in recycling/disposable bins

Step 1: Gathering Materials

This Lamp was created by using the following materials

1 recycled/scraped wood plank- cut into 3 pieces

6 chopsticks - 4 for structural support / 2 for binding spines

6 - 1.6 inch nails

as well as any form of Recycled mixed paper to create a lamp shade

any kind of paper will do, i experimented with many different kinds of printer paper, newspaper, rice paper, receipts etc.

Here is a link to a video to help found wrinkled paper - i found this interesting rice paper in a mixed paper bin

this video really did help do the trick to help significantly decrease the creases from wrinkles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJpWVZ4rPsc

Step 2: Sections of Structure

This structure is basically a plank of wood cut into 3 pieces where 2 of those pieces have smaller shapes cut out of them

You have 9 parts to this lamp in terms of its exterior structure as seen on image 1

There are 3 sections

  • Section 1 are the base, lower tier, and top tier - the two tiers are identical in size and shape

The base of the structure is left uncut/untouched while the tiers have a smaller square cut out of them this smaller square is section 2

  • Section 2 acts as the spine of the structure
  • Section 3 are the chopsticks cut to 4 inches from the narrowest region of the stick upward to provide structural support as well as to provide support for the lamp shade

Step 3: In Regards to Wiring Your Lamp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyS3HbsQFV8

i was fortunate enough to find a socket and bulb thrown out but for those of you who need to wire their lamps here is a helpful video/image

Step 4: Drawing/ Cutting

Given the reference draw out the measurements on your plank of wood and begin to cut

you should have an uncut base measuring 6 3/4 inches x 6 1/4 inches

and two tiers with the following measurements on image 3

Step 5: Binding the Spine to the Base

Given the following image you should be able to attach the following spine to the base

the initial image shows an image of the spine where the green filled circles represents the area where the drilling is going to occur

you will drill the base in the following manner and the bottom of the spine, the two will be drilled identically so that they can come together like a puzzle piece

you will drill the base to approximately ½ an inch and the spine to approximately ½ an inch once you have completed the drilling in the designated locations you will apply a cut inch chopstick within the hole and attach the base and spine. The two should be fairly sturdy but if wobbly in any given way apply wood glue to the drilled holes and then apply the inch chopstick.

(as a tangent to the binding of the spine to the base keep in mind that before you place the spine into the base a slight cut will be made in the spine to allow the bulb cables to pass through
this cut will be the exact width of the cables and will take place from 2 inches to 2.5 inches the height of this cable cut will be 1 centimeter after this cut is made pass the cable through the hole in the spine and attach the spine and the base)

once attached you will hammer 3 nails on the top of the lower tier binding this tier to the spine - refer to image 5

Step 6: Structural Support Chopsticks/lightbulb

you will add the 2 chopsticks in the same following manner the two chopsticks in the lower level will be 4 inches in height

the two tiny wood pieces holding up the bulb are 2 inches in height and 1 ½ inches in width these wood pieces help keep the bulb in place and prevent the bulb from falling

it is important that you place the bulb with the two wood pieces for support at least an 1 ½ to 2 inches away from the lower spine so that the bulb doesn't heat the wood

Step 7: Keeping the Bulb Still

you will place chop sticks on the top portion of the two wood pieces to prevent the bulb from moving

you will need 6 chopsticks cut to approximately 2 ½ inches and hotglued to the following positions

Step 8: Binding the Top Tier Spine

Refer to step 4 as the following is the identical situation

Then as you complete the binding of the spine to the top tier hot glue the 2 identical (4 inch chopsticks) for structural support

Step 9: Lamp Shade

You can use any kind of variety in regards to the paper shade, as mentioned before i have experimented with thrown out/recycled printer paper,news paper, rice paper, receipts etc.

follow image one for instructions on measurements

  • you will need 1 of the largest cut paper; this will cover the front portion of the lamp
  • 2 of the upper right cut paper for the front of the lamp shade
  • and 4 lower right cut paper for the sides of the lamp shade