I have wanted to throw out our old metal lamp and get a wood lamp for a couple years now. I searched forever to find a large wood spindle to make a lamp. I found a few online {used and new}… but they were very expensive and more than my budget. So… I had to find a way to make my own wood lamp that would stay within my small budget. I did a little searching and found these great sofa legs at Lowes… $7 each… I can handle that!
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To make them fit together good I had to trim the tops and bottoms of each leg.
{WARNING: trimming these can be very dangerous, so use the right power tools and safety equipment but more importantly… ask for help from someone who is experienced. I tried cutting these legs myself but after a few failed attempts {the saw kept throwing them} I asked my father and uncle for help and they were able to cut them for me.}
After trimming the ends, they weren’t quite even and they were pretty rough. I used a belt sander to even them up and smooth out the ends so they would stack together straight and not look like a leaning tower with gaps between each leg.
After I finished sanding to get everything straight and even… then I drilled a hole through the center of each piece to put the metal rod and wire through for the lamp. I glued all the pieces together with wood glue, making sure the holes lined up in the center and let it dry overnight.
I wanted it to have a slightly larger base to make it more sturdy so it wouldn’t tip over. I couldn’t find one the size I wanted so I just used a pine 2×6 and cut out a circle then routered the top edge and sanded it down. It doesn’t match the other wood exactly but it does give it the rustic look that I love… so it worked out great.
I wanted the lamp to look aged and rustic so I used my favorite stain, Jacobean by Minwax. Jacobean is a really dark stain… and I prefer it much lighter so I use about 1 tbsp stain in a plastic cup then fill the rest of the cup with paint thinner {this mixture goes a long way so its good to have a bunch of projects ready to stain all at once… just brush the stain on and wipe off the excess with a rag}
Once the staining was done I let it dry overnight then I decided to white wash it using a bit of craft paint in a plastic cup with mostly water. I brushed the whitewash on… at first I let it sit too long then it didn’t want to wipe off and I had to scrub it with extra water… so after that I learned just to brush on and wipe it right off. I loved how it turned out and thought about leaving it but then I decided to give it one coat of Mod Podge just to keep the dust off… and even though I used matte it still has a little shine.
Now that the wood was all finished… I installed the lamp bulb, rod and wiring that I salvaged from the old metal lamp that this one replaced. It all fit together perfect! Then to top it all off I found this gray lamp shade on sale at Lowes… SCORE!!!
It turned out exactly like I pictured it! I love it and really enjoy using it each night. This project was a total of $28, which was right in our budget… compared to other lamps I found like this for $100…
hummmmm……. I think I might make one for my bedroom….
Thanks for stopping in to check it out!
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