Veneer Lamp

The idea for this lamp came from pieces of veneer I had at my house. A while back I was walking next to a veneer factory, when I saw a large amount of leftover veneer that was about to be thrown away, and decided to take it.

The veneer was just sitting my house taking space, and I was going to throw it away, when I noticed how flexible veneer strips are. I took time to think, what can it be used for. I experimented with gluing veneer strips and after some sketches (which I sadly didn’t keep) focusing mainly on form, I realized it could be used to create a beautiful light fixture. After playing a bit with the proportions of the strip length to the cube sizes, I arrived at the final result.

Materials:

Enough veneer to produce 24, 1” x 16” strips

One or more square wood planks, large enough to cut down to 6 cubes 2” x 1” x 1”

Paint

Light bulb socket, electrical cord, plug

Light bulb

Tools:
Xacto knife, ruler, saw, drill, cup drill bit, wood glue, clamps, sanding papers, spacers

Step 1: Preparing the Veneer Strips

The strips used for the lamp are composed of 2 veneer strips glued back to back. To glue the strips together, apply wood glue to each veneer strip and clamp them together between two wooden boards. After the glue dries, cut the veneer strips. The double sided veneer is vital for the structural integrity of the fixture. Two plies are enough to give the required strength while allowing flexibility.

Step 2: Preparing the Wooden Cubes

Take the wooden profiles and cut to 6 equal pieces. on each cube paint the inwards facing, and the outwards facing sides in a color of your choice. (I chose black)

Step 3: Placing the Bulb Socket

With a cup drill make a hole in one cube, and sand till a perfect fit.

Step 4: Putting It All Together

Use wood glue, clamps and spacers, to glue pairs of strips on opposite sides of each wood cube. And that’s it :)

Comments

[Luis Chaves Pereyra]

Hola. Excelente proyecto. Los que tienen varias luces, como colocan los cables y que no se noten??? Gracias. Luís.

[Marinus84]

Great! I'm going to try and make this not with a lamp, but with the high-powered LED's I ordered yesterday so that you cannot see the lightbulb sticking out :)

[jimbrody]

Did you start your project? Let me know your progress! Thanks!

[jimbrody]

Can someone provide a part number for the light socket? Also the veneer strips seem narrow at one inch. Has anyone built this project using the dimensions provided? I have my veneer and I'm ready to start!

[aamen]

Awesome! I love it!

[AdnanK38]

Nice job, i will also try. My house is under construction and wood work is currently in progress, lot of veener is going waste after carrying out required cutting. So i can make plenty of veener lamps. Thanks for sharing and making my waste useful

[Gluekoza]

Thanks a lot, I'm sure it will turn out great :) Good luck with the construction

[Robert101010]

I have been looking for a design for our kitchen and other parts around the house that would give a theme to the house and I think you have given me an inspiration to begin!

[Gluekoza]

glad to hear, it's my pleasure :)

[cybergod]

I so want to make one of these ?

[Gluekoza]

where there is a will there is a way ? :)

[stechi]

Very elegant design, well done! And I have some oak veneer somewhere...

[Gluekoza]

Thanks a lot! Let me know if you have any questions :)

[desertsniper]

Awesome design!

[Gluekoza]

Thank you very much :)

[campbell3james]

Beautiful as it is simple and ingenious. Kudos.

[Gluekoza]

Thanks a lot :)

[manuelmasc]

Awesome design!! You've got my vote

[Gluekoza]

Thank you very much :)

[deluges]

So smart, simple and elegant. You got my votes