Sunday 30 October 2011

METAL WORK

Here it is guys the eagerly anticipated metal work project!!!!


TA- DA......


As you can probably tell i was in the metal workshop this  and i was set a 3 day project. 

In three days i had to design and make a working lamp using mainly metal but was free to use other materials as well.

Now the last time i had to design a lamp was three years ago for my undergrad final project so it was a little daunting and needed a little metaphorical oil to loosen up my rusty joints, so i headed to the library to look for some inspiration.

I wanted to do something that did reflect a design period and one of my favorite design movements is the Bauhaus movement, but i wanted to steer away from that as i wanted to challenge myself a little.
I started looking into Art Deco designs and then moved into Art nouveaux  and the Arts and crafts movement. I also looked into things like Tesla and the early electricity experiments see if i could draw and inspiration from them. 


This  is a very cool picture of a Tesla coil at work the shape of which i think would have made a very cool looking chandelier but was a little too ambitious for a three day project!!!


I did a little bit off sketching trying out different designs and styles and then i settled on a design that was inspired but the Charles Rennie Mackintosh rose. 
i made a cardboard model at 1:1 scale so i could see the dimensions that i wanted to use. I always find it easier to make a model so i can actually see the proportions.





Cardboard model - with measurements 


After a Quick induction to the various tools in the work shop i made a start.

The first thing I had to tackle was how to attach the bulb holder to the shade... initially i thought great i will just make the top half and weld it onto the base...which seemed like a flawless plan until i realised that for a lamp to work you do need access to the bulb to change it!


I sketch up a holder that used two components that fixed together the lower half permanently attached to the base of the lamp and the upper attached to the 'shade'. In my sketched you can see that it was initially a thin piece of metal after a little experimentation i decided on a circular disc shape to give the 'shade' a little more support and also provided me with more surface area to weld the strips of metal that will make up the shade.

i used 1mm sheet metal cut into 30mm wide strips, using the plasma cutter, these were hard to weld because of the fine balance needed to get enough heat from the MIG welder to penetrate the metal (which mean that the two pieces will 'stick' together) but because the metal is so thin the heat can burn a hole in it. After a few practice runs i got there.
For the stand i used 25x25mm box steel and that was mounted on a plywood base with a wood stain on it. To finish it off i used 5mm steel bar which i curved and welded some leaf shapes on the end of it and positioned it up the stand.
As part of the brief it had to be a working light... i wired it all up and was very nervous in case it went bang lucky it didn't but i am a long way of being a lampy!








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