Use easily accessible and, in many cases, free materials to create a functional table lamp in the shape of an octahedron!! All you need is scrap wood, caution tape, glue, a wire and socket for a lightbulb, and an LED lightbulb.

Step 1: Laser Cut Your Scrap Wood.

Open the illustrator file provided on any computer attached to the laser cutter. Put your wood in the laser cutter and check that you have entered the correct settings for whatever wood you are using. Personally, I recommend the 1/8 inch bass chipboard. The place where you are laser cutting should supply you with specific instructions on how to get that machine running. Laser cut your wood and you should end up with 8 equilateral triangles with a 5 inch base. Within those triangles there should be a 3inch equilateral triangle hole in each (as pictured).

For this step, you could also use wood working machinery but the laser cutter is the best option due to its precision.

Trash Lamp Skeleton.dwg
Download

Step 2: Sewing Strips of Caution Tape Around the Wooden Triangles.

Cut strips of the tape in orientation you want and then wrap them around each triangle so that one face of the triangle is completely covered by the tape. Sew the ends of the tape to the back of the tape through the hole in the wood. Four triangles should have caution tape the right way up and four should be the upside down. The one in the picture is one of the upside down ones.

Step 3: Attaching the Triangles Together.

Use pro-bond Elmer's glue, hot glue, or super glue to secure four of the triangles with the same caution tape orientation together into one pyramid shape. I recommend that you set the triangles up without gluing them first so you can see the angles at which they meet. Then I would take two down and glue the other two. Then connect the third and fourth.

Step 4: Attaching the Lightbulb.

Turn the pyramid part so that the inside is facing towards you. Cut a thick piece of scrap wood into a small rectangle using either a hand saw or band saw. Drill a hole with a 1 inch diameter in the middle of the rectangle. Push the lightbulb socket through it and then glue it to the base of the pyramid on the inside (as pictured). Then screw the lightbulb in.

Step 5: Attaching the Remaining Triangles.

Next, you must attach the other triangles to the pyramid to form the full octahedron. I recommend gluing one triangle at a time. You will have to thread the wire into one corner while connecting the triangles. It will leave a small amount of space between two of the triangles. Don't worry, this will be resolved shortly.

Step 6: Adding More Tape.

Cut four more strips of caution tape in any orientation you would like. using pro bond glue or any liquid glue to attach them to the sides where the bases of the triangles meet.