Steampunk Style Big Drop Lamp

As the Christmas holidays were approaching, I spent a lot of time looking for the best gift for my son. In order not to proceed blindly, I organized a list of objects that could be a gift for him. After careful reading, I subsequently deleted from the list what I considered no longer suitable. He is already forty years old and for this reason I deleted every type of traditional or electronic toy. He is a graduate and this eliminates every type of object useful for school or in any way connected to it. My son is also happily married and this deleted something else (but I won't say what). He is passionate about photography and has excellent equipment. He doesn't smoke, he doesn't have a scooter or motorcycle or even a car.

But, wait a minute... his wife likes lamps.

Material used:

1. A round ½” flanged aluminium base
2. Some ½” piping with joints and sleeves
3. A piece of nylon rope
4. A small electric switch
5. An electric plug with cable
6. 10mt led strip with 100 leds with remote controller and USB connector
7. A power supply 220v/5v
8. A USB socket
9. A wine flask
10. A drill with bits
11. A soldering iron
12. A wooden board
13. Clear silicon tube
14. Sandpaper
15. Some screws for wood
16. Screwdriver
17. Paint brush
18. Dark grey metallic paint
19. Golden acrylics paint
20. Safety glasses

I've seen some really cool “steampunk” style lamps online, made using ½” gas plumbing pipes complete with joints and sleeves, maybe with a valve as a switch. I've also seen some really cool lamps with a faucet that looked like a big drop of water coming out of it. This drop was colored and lit up with light shows. Why not combine the two?

The idea wasn't really that bad, so I started thinking about how to build it.

I quickly got all the tubes and fittings I needed. I found a 10 meter warm white string light with 100 LEDs, remote controlled, with eight functions and powered by 5 V via a USB connector. I bought a 220 V/5 V switching power supply and a small switch. What was missing? The "drop" lamp ... but where could I find it? I have to say that this operation was not easy.

As I have said in other Instructables, I am Italian. Italy, besides being a beautiful country, has a particular characteristic: good food and excellent wine. In the past, different types of containers were used for wine. One of the most used was the "fiasco", expecially with the famous Chianti wine: a glass container in the shape of a drop with straw woven on the outside. With the prompt help of some friends I emptied the flask of Chianti wine.

I had found my "drop".

With a wooden board I prepared the base, painting it with transparent varnish and to which, with four screws, I fixed an aluminum flange with a ½” gas threaded hole. I then built my lamp so that the ½” gas pipes, complete with valve with red tap, reached perfectly to the mouth of the flask. I then dismantled everything to move on to painting.

The tubes had to have an old, used, rusty look. I therefore used a dark gray metallic paint, painting the tubes with an old brush that left many lines and smudges on the parts surface. After the first paint had dried perfectly, I then used a gold acrylic paint to simulate the effect of time and I literally applied it by hand.

To be precise, I did it with my right index finger.

In the base of the lamp I installed the 220v/5v power supply connected to a power cable with its plug, the switch and a flying USB socket for connecting the LED strip. After reassembling the painted tubes, I passed the entire LED strip inside the tubes until I reached the bottle.

After passing the ten meters of LED strip through the tubes and throwing it into the flask, I reassembled everything and checked for any inconsistencies. In reality, there was a problem, and a significant one. The flask was not firmly fixed on the wooden base and could have come off the lamp structure and even fallen, breaking. I therefore used a synthetic fiber cord to make a ring that, properly anchored to the base, would hold the flask in place. I hot-welded the connection and then painted it like the tubes: metallic gray and gold. To complete it, I glued it to the base with a bit of silicone.

The last little detail was to cut one of the connections of the red LED mounted on the power supply whose light, especially in the dark, was too strong.

My lamp was really a great success and my daughter-in-law was truly happy with my Christmas present.