Lava Lamp Stand

This is a wooden stand to support a lava lamp in a child's room to keep it from gettimg knocked over, spilled , or broken.

First All lave lamps are different. The one we choose for our son is very rectangular which is very different than the classic cone shaped lamps. This concept could easily be applied to those cone shaped lamps but this exact design is for a rectangular lamp. This unique lamp has two different glass tubes containing two different colored gel and wax. Essentially making this two lamps in one.

The lamp is almost the same width of a 1x6. So for the wood I used about five linear feet of 1x6 Other materials included, wood glue, drywall screws, some and silver spray paint.

The first picture shows all the different pieces if cut out for the project. The notes in the photo explain what each piece is used for. I used my homemade router table to cut a rough rabbit down the base piece to make installing the upright stronger and easier.

There is a flat base with a rabbit in it to hold the upright piece. Then two angled pieces on each side for support. Then a cup top to keep the lamp in.

The first shot shows the cup top. The third shot shows the counter sunk holes in the back of the upright to hold the top cup on. It is not glued so the top can be removed. The second shot shows the small lip the cup fits into. I drilled five holes to hold the cup on but am only using three in case down the road one of the screws strips out it can be replaces without drilling a new countersink. The fourth shot shows a different angle of the cup top. Also you can see the silver paint. It actually matched the silver base of the lamp almost perfectly.

The next pictures shows the hole in the back of the upright for the power cord. Most American power cords need at least and 1 1/4 round hole to fit the biggest part of the plug through. I used a spade bit to bore that large of a hole.

I also bored some extra large holes and then used a round over bit in the router to allow the lamp to be seen through the upright. I knew the lamp would be in the window and these holes allow some color to pass through to outside.

For the final step I tested that the wood would not get hot from the lamp. After running it for a few hours I checked its temperature and there the wood was barely warm to the touch. There is a 1/4 inch between the top and edges of the lamp and any wood so there is air movement where needed. I left it on all night just in case and it worked great.

As for final installation, the lip behind the upright and underneath the base of the lamp has screws going into the kids homemade shelf to make it solidly attached. It will not move, fall, nothing. The only danger to breaking is if something external hits it. This was a quick project designed to enhance the quality of a desired gift. Kids will be kids and accidents happen, this is to help minimize the damage and it works great without taking anything away from the fun experience of using the lava lamp.