Here's something they did at my work a couple weeks back. They had an artwork design contest using industrial supplies sourced from the company. They had done it last year, also, and I'd been thinking I could make something very cool to enter, but never came up with an idea. This year I came up with this idea. My son could really use a desk lamp, and he's appreciator of the Steampunk aesthetic.
My original idea was to use primarily copper and brass fittings, but it turns out, even with the employee pricing, those are some expensive materials!!! Therefore, I made it out of mostly black cast iron and aluminum fittings. It still added up, but only to around less than half of what it could have been.
I had a lot of ideas that changed over time with the project, and once it was as it at the end of the initial construction, I wasn't pleased with the results, so it was already being redesigned in my head as I entered it in the competition. At the beginning concept, I was thinking of having a valve at the base, and the light shade an oblong copper float with one side cut out. A bit later I was thinking the slick thing to do would have been to mount a rotary switch near the base and use a valve wheel on it to turn it on and off. Where the power cord comes in I covered it with mesh sleeving to make it look like that's where the gas or steam or whatever is supposed to run it comes in (which, now that I think about it, it does!!!)
I finished the modifications today, which consisted of replacing the pipe lengths with shorter pieces, especially for the back end where the cord enters. The major issues were that the back pipe was way too long (I'd been thinking running it long like that with the adapter and the brass fitting back there thinking that would help lower the center of gravity and counter balance the light shade's weight) and bumped into everything, and the height made it a bit ungainly. Nice thing about the construction, it's pretty easy to change things around, just unscrew the area you want to change!!!
I'm pretty pleased with it now, but just one more thing I've got in mind. I've ordered an LED spotlight to give it the harsh glare that seems like it would be fitting with this design!!! Also, an incandescent bulb would probably be a bad idea with no venting on the shade. I entitled it "Steampunk Sparklamp". I got a lot of positive comments from my co-workers. A funny question I got asked a couple times was if it works!!! The other thing I got asked about was the gauge. Of course, the gauge was for nothing but aesthetics, but I told everyone that asked that if the gauge shows over twenty pounds, you'd better run!!! I had been thinking of perhaps offering it for sale online for around the retail cost of the supplies (or with the reserve set there, if on an auction site) and see if there's any takers. I'm good with it if there aren't, but if there are I could make another fairly easily, and possibly change things around a bit.
Of course, in the course of construction, I come up with other ideas how I could it all again... only different!!! I was thinking adding in an hour meter would be an interesting touch, but for a really functional touch would be to have it USB powered... and add in a USB hub, probably concealed behind an ornamental brass hatch, maybe sourced from a pocket watch!!!
Last year the entrants were a bit weak, in my opinion. The two I remember were a duct tape wallet, and a layer cake made of buckets. I came in thinking I'd be a lock for best in show, but the other entrants this year were way better!!!
The first shot, the metal flowers, took best in show. Behind it is a chess set made of nuts, bolts, and washers. Even the board is made of square washers!!!
The next shot??? What is it??? The flowers weren't there when I put mine in, and that was the one where I thought to myself that I wasn't going to win the top spot. It wasn't going when I got there, but later in the week it was running. It was entitled "Brass Teardrop", and has a gear motor driving an offset under the first layer. This has a series of strings going to the concentric rings and brass ball in the middle, and as it rotates, the rings and sphere bob up and down in a wave type motion. Fairly epic, but just about the least practical of all the entrants, IMHO.
More flowers, this time constructed from the pages of a first aid pamphlet, dyed with layout fluid. Final shot is a few concrete planters, placed on top of woven rope mats!!!
I already revealed the best in show winner, and the brass teardrop took the most intricate. My creation took most serviceable. I don't remember the other categories, but all but one of us won, and the other one got judges special mention. I completely agree with all the verdicts!!!
My original idea was to use primarily copper and brass fittings, but it turns out, even with the employee pricing, those are some expensive materials!!! Therefore, I made it out of mostly black cast iron and aluminum fittings. It still added up, but only to around less than half of what it could have been.
I had a lot of ideas that changed over time with the project, and once it was as it at the end of the initial construction, I wasn't pleased with the results, so it was already being redesigned in my head as I entered it in the competition. At the beginning concept, I was thinking of having a valve at the base, and the light shade an oblong copper float with one side cut out. A bit later I was thinking the slick thing to do would have been to mount a rotary switch near the base and use a valve wheel on it to turn it on and off. Where the power cord comes in I covered it with mesh sleeving to make it look like that's where the gas or steam or whatever is supposed to run it comes in (which, now that I think about it, it does!!!)
I finished the modifications today, which consisted of replacing the pipe lengths with shorter pieces, especially for the back end where the cord enters. The major issues were that the back pipe was way too long (I'd been thinking running it long like that with the adapter and the brass fitting back there thinking that would help lower the center of gravity and counter balance the light shade's weight) and bumped into everything, and the height made it a bit ungainly. Nice thing about the construction, it's pretty easy to change things around, just unscrew the area you want to change!!!
I'm pretty pleased with it now, but just one more thing I've got in mind. I've ordered an LED spotlight to give it the harsh glare that seems like it would be fitting with this design!!! Also, an incandescent bulb would probably be a bad idea with no venting on the shade. I entitled it "Steampunk Sparklamp". I got a lot of positive comments from my co-workers. A funny question I got asked a couple times was if it works!!! The other thing I got asked about was the gauge. Of course, the gauge was for nothing but aesthetics, but I told everyone that asked that if the gauge shows over twenty pounds, you'd better run!!! I had been thinking of perhaps offering it for sale online for around the retail cost of the supplies (or with the reserve set there, if on an auction site) and see if there's any takers. I'm good with it if there aren't, but if there are I could make another fairly easily, and possibly change things around a bit.
Of course, in the course of construction, I come up with other ideas how I could it all again... only different!!! I was thinking adding in an hour meter would be an interesting touch, but for a really functional touch would be to have it USB powered... and add in a USB hub, probably concealed behind an ornamental brass hatch, maybe sourced from a pocket watch!!!
Last year the entrants were a bit weak, in my opinion. The two I remember were a duct tape wallet, and a layer cake made of buckets. I came in thinking I'd be a lock for best in show, but the other entrants this year were way better!!!
The first shot, the metal flowers, took best in show. Behind it is a chess set made of nuts, bolts, and washers. Even the board is made of square washers!!!
The next shot??? What is it??? The flowers weren't there when I put mine in, and that was the one where I thought to myself that I wasn't going to win the top spot. It wasn't going when I got there, but later in the week it was running. It was entitled "Brass Teardrop", and has a gear motor driving an offset under the first layer. This has a series of strings going to the concentric rings and brass ball in the middle, and as it rotates, the rings and sphere bob up and down in a wave type motion. Fairly epic, but just about the least practical of all the entrants, IMHO.
More flowers, this time constructed from the pages of a first aid pamphlet, dyed with layout fluid. Final shot is a few concrete planters, placed on top of woven rope mats!!!
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