SteamPunk Lamp

[themadman]

I am very proud of this one. I just finished it. It has a long thin bulb and you turn it on by pulling down on the lead ball.

I wish I had a fraction of your creative talent! Do you sell any pieces?

 

[Paul B]

Themadman, thank you. I now have 9 of them and they are all going in an art show in August here in New York. They will be on exhibit for a month. I think, during that time people can bid on them or I am supposed to just put price tags on them, I am not sure yet what I am supposed to do. I am sharing the gallery with a real artist and she likes my "work" so she invited me to join. Either way, I would like to keep one and sell the rest as I have no room for all of them.
More work goes into them than it looks. Those pipes are new so I have to clean them with grease remover and rust them for the age factor. The wooden ones have an electrical box inside them to house the electrical and electronic components because you are not allowed to put live wires in wood.
I really enjoy designing and building them unfortunately I have a plethora of other things to do also as most people do. My boat just went in the water and that takes a lot of work just to get it so I can take friends out and of course it is planting season and I have a corner property that I like to look nice so I do a lot with plants and vegetables.
I love doing things and I have to many hobbies.

 

[themadman]

Themadman, thank you. I now have 9 of them and they are all going in an art show in August here in New York. They will be on exhibit for a month. I think, during that time people can bid on them or I am supposed to just put price tags on them, I am not sure yet what I am supposed to do. I am sharing the gallery with a real artist and she likes my "work" so she invited me to join. Either way, I would like to keep one and sell the rest as I have no room for all of them.
More work goes into them than it looks. Those pipes are new so I have to clean them with grease remover and rust them for the age factor. The wooden ones have an electrical box inside them to house the electrical and electronic components because you are not allowed to put live wires in wood.
I really enjoy designing and building them unfortunately I have a plethora of other things to do also as most people do. My boat just went in the water and that takes a lot of work just to get it so I can take friends out and of course it is planting season and I have a corner property that I like to look nice so I do a lot with plants and vegetables.
I love doing things and I have to many hobbies.

Well when the exhibit is over if you have any left let me know! I love this kind of stuff. Or if you have an online link to the exhibit where they can be purchased or bid on when the time comes. I can imagine it takes a lot of work. I already know how much work a boat is because I've had a few of those as well. Anyways very very cool stuff! I particularly love the one pictured that I commented on.

 

[Paul B]

My Daughter is mad at me for not selling them because there have been quite a few offers. One from her boss. I am not even sure what the price will be but for some, like the little blow torches they will be very cheap because they didn't cost me much to build and they were easy to make. The one with the wooden box here took many hours and it also cost a bit for the materials. It was a difficult build and may go for over $2,000.00. But that is also the one I would like to keep for myself so I am not worried about selling it. I am not saying it is worth that much, but to me it is.

 

[Paul B]

AS you know the boat is a lot of work. It is 30' and is a Sea Ray. It has a nice head, twin engines and air conditioning. In the winter it is shrink wrapped so it gets moldy. I cleaned it superficially and now have to get into the tight spots. I also will crawl around in the bilge with a bottle of Lestoil because I hate grease. My wife cleans the cabin, kitchen and bathroom.
I think of the boat as a hobby as I think of my tank. It gives me the opportunity to re-design the systems that I think were designed by an engineer on LSD. I re built much of the electronics and all of the hydraulics because they were just silly. I would like to meet the engineer that came up with some of the ridiculous things on this boat. I would also like him to add fluid to some of the hydraulic pumps. The ones where you need to remove the water heater, two batteries, power steering pump, remove the alternator then hire Houdini to crawl around this engine on the right of the picture, add fluid and have someone pull you out by your feet. Of course I re designed that so that a normal person can get to it.

 

[Paul B]

I am designing a Steam Punk fish. It looks really great on paper, now I have to see if I can do it the way I want. There is one more Lamp I am building but I am waiting for parts.

 

[themcnertney]

Hi
Never heard of the term "steampunk" until reading this thread and the timing couldn't have been any better. I am remodeling my living room which includes redoing my fireplace with stone veneer, adding a new hearthstone, painting the walls, building shelves for a small collection of beer growlers I have, and lighting. I decided to go with the steampunk theme.

 

[Paul B]

Steampunk is the way to go. To make those pipe shelves more Sterampunkish, mix equal amounts of vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and a little salt. After cleaning the pipes, brush that on and leave it until it dries, then do it again. The pipes will get a slight rust patina on them, then spray them with a clear coating. Or, of course leave them the way they are which are still great.
I like the clock. I have a large Steam Punk clock in my kitchen that is all built out of huge gears, but I did not build it. My kitchen light is also steam punk.
Love the stuff

 

[Paul B]

This one is about half completed. You can see the tubes light up. The crank mechanism was originally inside the box and it was used in 1920 as a telephone call box. It had a phone on top and when you cranked it, the bell would ring at a switchboard somewhere and you told the operator who you wanted to be connected with. I re built the mechanism and the generator now works. I am not sure yet what cranking the thing will do but it will certainly do something.

Of course it will have a large Vintage bulb on top with a cage and probably other things I have not designed yet. It will also have a gauge in front. I love this thing.
A Member on here, Chasmodes donated to me that large copper tube, which was a pump of some kind, I tweeked it for my needs and he also gave me that small tube and a bunch of other stuff that I am thankful for.

 

[Paul B]

Finished. The crank turns on some very bright LEDs on the front left. The tubes and gauge light up and the bulb is dimmable. I think I will keep this one.

 

[Paul B]

There are a few pictures of my lamps on the internet and the people I bought this last phone box put the finished lamp on their web site and it seems they are a hit. Quite a few people want to buy them. I didn't know so many people liked Steam Punk.

 

[Paul B]

That will be my last Steam Pun lamp for a while. I am working on a Steam Punk angler fish that so far is coming out very well but it is a real pain to build. I am designing as I go along and get all excited when I complete another step.
It will be electrified but am not sure it can be called a lamp. I am not sure what it will be called, probably scrap metal but I will see.

 

[Paul B]

The beginnings of my Steam Punk Angler Fish.

 

[NeuroticAquatics]

That is really cool!

 

[Paul B]

My "Nuclear powered" Steam Punk fish is completed.

 

[tcarter1936]

That is amazing. You've outdone yourself

 

[Paul B]

Thank you. My goal was to out do myself so now I can rest because I can't out do what I did.

 

[themadman]

My "Nuclear powered" Steam Punk fish is completed.

Awesome!

 

[pattyxlynn]

I finished my Steampunk Lamp. I would like to take the credit for the design but I can't. I actually saw it on a site called "Intructables". I found it by accident and they have a lot of cool things to build or just to get ideas from. I embellished on this project by adding a water valve that is actually the switch that turns on the thing. There is an air pump inside which pumps air into the glass chamber (wine bottle)
It is built out of PVC pipe which I painted to look like aged copper. That site shows how to do that as I wasn't sure how to get that old copper look but it does look pretty good if I have to say so myself, and I do.

OMG! That is awesomely amazing! I would never have guessed that was not perfectly aged copper.... and I've looked at a lot of copper! I already brought up and bookmarked the site you found this on. I am in trouble... deep trouble... good thing I'm retired. Although it seems when you retire and should have all kinds of free time, it never works out that way. Thanks for the link. Oh, and I'm also in love with your in-progress one you posted.

Awsome Paul you would never guess that was pvc. I love anything unique. great job,
Not to intrude but here's a fixture I made from the side cut of an oak I cut down at my shop and some mason jars. Keep up the good work.

I love this! We had a live oak come down during the hurricane last year and DH is just now getting to it with a chainsaw. He is going to make a mantle. I'm super excited about it! I think your light would be really cool with some of the outer edges. Hope you don't mind if I use it for inspiration.

tcarter, I love it. I built something similar out of a 100 year old slab of a tree I found in a collapsing barn in Vermont. I cut it down and poured that stuff on it that looks like glass and made an 8' shelf out of it. It has no visable supports as I routed grooves in the bottom and used threaded rod in the studs of the wall.
I could build steampunk stuff all day long but my wife thinks it's ugly so I have no place to put it.

Paul, This live edge shelf looks great! I was saying further up in the post that we had a live oak come down during the hurricane last year. DH is getting a slab to make a mantle. The way if fell (totally uprooted) it landed horizontal. He's cutting it in place and will hand hew it. I like the method you say you used to mount it and will suggest that to him. Did you paint the picture above?

 

[Paul B]

I did not paint that picture. It is a thick piece of acrylic that I got at the SeaPort in Manhattan