Teak Floor Lamp
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Every once in a while you see a project that says, "Build me!" This was one of those projects for me. My wife had been patiently tolerating a floor lamp she hated so she thought making this was a good idea too. The plans for this lamp were featured in Woodsmith, Issue Number 140 (April, 2002). With a little bit of teak wood and a lot of patience, the lamp was constructed and is currently sitting warmly in our living room. Yes, she's happy.
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This floor lamp is made primarily of eight 3/4" x 3/4" lengths of teak stock. Four of these lengths are fastened together to form the main shaft of the lamp. The other four lengths are attached to blocks at the top and bottom spacing them so that the main post can slide inside of them. This makes the lamp adjustable in height.
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| The picture on the left (above) shows the lamp in its tallest position of 69 inches. The center picture shows the lamp adjusted about half way between the upper and lower limits. And the picture on the right shows the lamp shortened to its shortest position of 58 inches. The eleven inch range in height adjustment makes this lamp quite versatile with regard to placement in the home.
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The base of the lamp is made from two teak boards that are half lapped in the center and beveled on the ends. Then 1/2" thick feet are attached to the bottom of each leg to insure the lamp sits level on the floor. A beveled block is attached to the base to which the four "outside" members of the vertical frame are attached.
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The height adjustment mechanism is shown here. It consists of a lathe-turned teak knob that locks the frame and the main post together when tightened. Adjusting the height of the lamp is as easy as loosening the knob, sliding the post to the desired height and retightening the knob.
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The top cap of the frame is shown here. The post slides through the cap and captures it in alignment with the frame. Four countersunk screws hold this cap to the four frame members. Teak plugs covering these screws are visible on the top of the cap.
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At the top of the post, there is another cap. This cap is the base onto which the lamp hardware is mounted. The electrical cord runs down through the center of the main post. A three-way lamp socket tops off the lamp.
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