Introduction: Making a Modern Wood Lamp From Pallets

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In this Instructable I'll show you how i made a modern wooden lamp from pallets, hope you find some inspiration to make your own!


Be sure to watch the Video above that goes side by side with this article and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for upcoming projects!

Step 1: Materials and Tools You Will Need!

Tools Used:

  • Tablesaw
  • Miter Saw
  • Planer/ Jointer
  • Random orbit sander
  • Cordless Drill

Materials/Supplies:

  • Pallet wood
  • 2 pcs 25cm x 25cm thin plywood
  • 10mm Aluminum tube for connecting the 2 parts and holding the bulb socket
  • 6mm Aluminum rod to connect the "lamb shade"
  • Drill bits, Hole saw
  • Sandpaper, Sanding disk
  • Wood glue
  • Tap & Dye set
  • Nut and washer that goes on the 10mm aluminum tube
  • Light bulb socket, electrical wire, and of course a light bulb

Step 2: Remove the Nails and Make the Wood Usable

After dissembling your pallets cut off the parts where the ugly nail holes are with your miter saw, or any saw will work too) so that you "clean" pallet wood.

After that you can joint one side and one face on your jointer square. Afterwards you can plane them down so that you get two parallel faces. The thickness doesn't need to be constant for all the slats so that the lamp gets a more random ( interesting) look.

Then take all your square boards over to your table saw to make the narrow side parallel to the other.

Step 3: Cutting the Strips and Some Sanding

Set your table saw fence to 12mm and cut all the pallet slats you milled down to equal width strips. After you done with that give all the strips some sanding with 120grit.

Afterwards you can lay out the small strips in the most random way so that the ends don't line up and mark where you want to cut them. You need to cut them to separate the lamp shade from the base. and while you have your pencil in the hand you could mark out the place for the 6mm aluminum rod that goes in the lampshade.

Step 4: Finishing the Lampshade

Drill one 6mm hole in every piece where you marked the slats, cut your 6mm aluminum rod to the final width of your desired lampshade size. i made mine 25cm wide. Slide the rod thru the holes you drilled before so that you can space the slats evenly. you also need to cut a dado in the slats to receive the thin plywood that holds the shade together( cut it so that it matches with the thickness of your plywood.)

Cut your Plywood to size ( mine was 25cm by 25cm), mark your center and drill a big enough hole that matches the size of your light socket.

Afterwards you can put some wood glue in the dado you cut in the slats insert the plywood int the dado and clamp the lampshade together.

Step 5: Assembling the Base

Take the other half of the slats that you cut before ( above the marking) and glue them together side by side making sure that they are flush with each other on the top( that part goes on the ceiling) . after you glued and clamped the 4 individual sides.

After the glue has dried you can remove the clamps and you can cut a wide enough dado int the 1st 1/3 from the top. As in the case of the lampshade make sure your 25cm by 25cm plywood fits in the dado.

Mark the center of the plywood and drill a 10mm hole where the Aluminum tube goes.

Afterwards you can complete the base by gluing the sides to the plywood.

Step 6: Preparing the Connecting Tube

Take the 10mm tube and cut a thread using a dye that matches the inner thread of your bulb socket ( in my case it was a 10x1)

Afterwards screw on the light bulb socket and insert the tube thru the big hole on the lampshade into the base of the lamp where you drilled the 10mm hole.

Mark where you need to cut the tube so that you get the overall length of your lamp( in my case the lamp is 55cm long from top to bottom)

Cut the tube on the mark and cut a matching thread so you can twist on a nut that holds the lampshade to the lamp base ( in my case it was a M10 nut)

Step 7: Finish and Enjoy Your Project!

For protection i chose boiled linseed oil and polyurethane lacquer, the linseed oil gives the wood the perfect color and the poly seals it up so that you can dust it of easily.

Please make sure you watched the build video to get a better understanding from the entire process

I hope you enjoyed this article and found some inspiration to make your own and if you want to see more great projects you can subscribe to my YouTube channel!

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