Table Lamps

This is my first time making table lamps and it's so easy that I had ideas for about 10 western style lamps. I made three to give you inspiration to create your own. You can purchase the lamp parts at home improvement or hardware stores and they're easy to assemble.

In my husband's shop was this unique looking Padauk wood and I decided to use it for my first lamp. We cut this piece in half on the table saw and routed out each half for the shaft of the lamp. We glued and clamped the halves together.

I had 4 cast iron spurs that have little slits which made it ideal for screwing them to the post.

I was hoping the bottom spurs would support the lamp, but I decided to add a wooden base. This wood is beautiful!

On the bottom side of the base we drilled holes and routed out a place for the cord.

I sprayed the wood and spurs with polyurethane and later added a paste wax to the wood. Then I glued pieces of tooled leather and painted the screws to match the spurs.

I stapled the cord to keep it secure and added peel and stick felt to the bottom.

Here it is with a tin lamp shade with a glass star. I found the star finial at the home improvement store. The wooden part of this lamp is 15 1/2" tall.

The second lamp is made from mahogany and I used our Mahogany Star.

My husband mortised holes into a mahogany base for the posts.

We drilled holes in the star and posts and made pegs from wooden skewers. The star was attached with glue.

When the top piece was screwed on, a hole was drilled in the top for the lamp parts and the back for the cord.

My idea was to staple the cord to the back so it would be hidden, eliminating the need for a metal post down the middle. I applied several coats of polyurethane which gave the wood a rich tone.

The wooden part of this lamp is 14 1/2" tall.

For the third lamp, I glued and nailed pieces of weathered pallet wood.

Before we added the base, we ran a string through the top hole and out the back so we could easily install the cord.

I loved the way this wood looked and hated to add anything to it. With this blank canvas, the possibilities are endless.

I sprayed vinegar on the Steer Star Plaque to 'rustic' it and used brown screws to attach it. I robbed this shade from another lamp I had.

Here it is with the star lamp shade. The pallet wood base is 13 1/2" tall.

I hope you have as much fun as I did when you make your lamps. What ideas do you have?