Steampunk Lamp Globe

A few months ago, I found this really cool steampunk themed lamp in the heavily discounted clearance section of my local Bed, Bath & Beyond. For US$10, I couldn't resist! One great feature about this retro style illuminating device is the dual lamp feature: a standard bulb socket on top, and a separate fixture underneath for a miniature bulb.

The design of this lamp was reminiscent of something that could have been on Jules Verne's Nautilus, but without a shade, this lamp certainly looked incomplete.

A few days later, I found a discarded floor lamp on the street, with a frosted plastic semi-globe that was the right design to fit my new steampunk lamp. But as-is, it certainly lacked the requisite flare!

So here's how I turned a plain plastic half-globe lamp shade into a stylish and attractive steampunk accompaniment.

Tools:
• Pliers
• Metal snips
• Screw driver
• Rotary tool
• Power drill

Materials:
• Lamp shade/ plastic half-globe
• Brackets
• Brass machine screws and nuts

• Edison-style Squirrel cage bulb

Select Lamp and Shade

As mentioned in the intro, I bought this lamp, so I can take any credit for the design. (I think it may have been manufactured by Hampton Bay, but not sure). And the shade I found in the trash.

But the simple technique I used for this Instructable can be used on pretty much any type of lamp shade, and for any lamp, which is why I decided to share this project with the Instructables community.

Prepare Brackets

Really all that is involved in this project is applying brackets to a plastic lamp globe, to give it a more industrial look.

I chose to use a strip of gold painted brackets, (the type you would mount inside a cabinet to hang shelves, also reclaimed from the trash;-)

These brackets are extremely maleable, and were very easy to bend to the proper contour of the globe, by gently pressing against my knee.

With the proper contour bent into shape, trim the bracket with a metal cutter. Before cutting, make sure you line up the holes for the screws where you want to screw the bracket to the shade.

Prepare Shade

The reason I chose a plastic shade for this project is that while it looks like glass, it's very easy to drill through the plastic, (and not very easy to drill through glass;-) And the finished project looks pretty much the same as a glass globe.

I pre-drilled holes at the base, but ended-up not using these holes, as the brackets didn't quite line-up. Easy enough to drill new holes!

Attach Brackets

With the brackets bent and cut to size, place machine screw through bracket at the base of the shade, and attach the nut to the screw on the inside of the shade.

With the base screw in place, bend the bracket to the contour of the shade. With your power drill, drill a second hole through the shade, and insert a machine screw at the top edge of the shade, and then bend the end off the bracket over the top edge, and squeeze tight with a pliers.

Repeat this process for all four brackets.

Trim Edges Around Base

Once you have all the brackets in place, trim the sharp edges around the base, where the shade will slide over the lamp.

Use a rotary tool with a blade to trim the excess metal, so the shade will fit onto the lamp.

Note: Be careful when working with sharp metal! And wear goggles when cutting it!

Select a Bulb

Even though it cost almost as much as the lamp, I chose a retro Edison-style bulb with a Squirrel cage filament, for that classic vintage look!

Finished!

Here are a few photos of the finished lamp, with some of my other steampunk creations.

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. Your price is the same, but I get a small commission to help me build more cool stuff!;-)