Arts & Craft Style LED Desk Lamp

Arts and Crafts Style Furniture started in late 1800 through early 1900 in the U.S. It is a broad category, still popular today, and is typically defined by simple straight lines with very little decorative flair, very much unlike that of the Victorian period style. They were simple perhaps but capably built with solid wood. I wanted this latest LED desk lamp to follow that style using the minimum amount of material.  Minimalist, but it must be robustly constructed as to defy its seemingly frail look.  And it can actually be dis-assembled into its three main components.  And re-assembled just as easily. That was the plan.  Don't get me wrong because it did go as planned but it took three weeks on and off to finish.  Well, hobbyist woodworkers who like originals , will have to deal with prototypes and, as prototypes go, this one was a challenge, and not likely go into repeat production.  Once is enough for this one. (Or, it needs to be done a little differently).

The main parts are: one vertical post; two legs splayed attached to the base, as shown; L-shaped arm

First a square base.  Two identical slots were cut on the table saw to accommodate the legs.

The vertical post must have a hollow center for the wires to go through from the base to the arm.  I opted for a hexagonal cross section. 6 narrow slats cut to 60 deg. miter per side.

Packaging tapes or masking tapes will hold the slats temporarily, apply glue per adjoining sides, close and clamp with rubber bands.

The hexagonal theme is maintained with the cap to which the arm will be attached, base-holder and light switch.

The outer arm that will hold the LED strip is barely 1/4 inch thick. A glued laminate of 1/8 inch walnut and 1/8 inch oak provide rigidity to an otherwise thin piece.

A threaded bolt and knurled nut will secure the arm to the top of the center post.

The channels at the bottom of the base accommodate the wires.  In retrospect, this should have been cut on the router table while the base was still a square. The old fashion way was to cut the channel with chisels. 

Shown below is the outer arm with the LED strip.

New and old models below.  The old model is still at work on my drawing/reading desk.

Tip: Buy the light switch from the auto parts store. Typically they are 12 volt switches, which are what LED strips normally run on.  This one has a green indicator "pilot" light.

I can't touch-type and need to look at the key board wile typing so a desk lamp is more than just a decorative item.

Kitchen LED Lighting

Light has a way of defining, even changing, how we perceive our surroundings whether we're indoors or out.  Theater productions take advantage of direct and indirect lighting on stage to manipulate our senses as scenes change along with the story. In a small way, very small way indeed, we can do the same at home. LED lights, cheaper than spot or halogen lights, are a very economical way to do it in terms of initial and operating costs.  And now the availability of RF (radio frequency) remote  controls make it even more convenient. 

Below, for example, with just the LED indirect lights above the kitchen cabinets turned on and the main lights off, late dawn is simulated. I particularly like dawn just moments before the sun peeks out over the horizon, when colors have not come out yet. The light in this case extends that experience.

The project begins with a kit: 16 ft strip LED lights, power adapter and remote.  Each kit is about $15.  I used two of them for this project.

Safety is paramount whether you're a pro or DIY'er when working over tall areas of the house, i.e. walls and over cabinets.  Stable ladders are great but a platform, as shown below, is far safer to work on.

Discussed in previous blog on LED lighting for the library/study, the process is the same.

The next three photos below show the different light effects:  (a) Off; (b) LED indirect lighting; and (c) the main ceiling lights turned on.

This will not be a woodworking blog if I don't throw in a little wood work with it.  There are two remotes which, at the consumer's option, could have been combined into one controller for the two sets of lights.  I opted to use them separately.  Not surprisingly, I had to make a cradle or caddy for the two remotes (as one would for TV and cable remotes).

Going to the scrap heap and the challenge to use the least amount of material I fashioned one out of a piece of oak and thin strips of walnut.

The main ceiling lights comprise of six-48 inch-fluorescent lights that are getting harder and harder to replace (as years go by, the tall ladder and the 14 foot ceiling get more and more intimidating) that someday I may have to hire an electrician to do the chore.  The next project would be to replace those with LED lights as well.  I can see it now with a combination of direct and indirect LED.  But it will have to wait.

Shelf Divider for Photo Albums

In today's digital world, book-bound photo albums are almost an anachronism.  Not quite yet but a new generation of photo-viewing families are already in kindergarten today. By the time they have their own children the photo album will reside solely in the cloud. Meanwhile my wife promises that she's done with the last of the album binders.  She had come around to storing photos into her desk top computer.  However, she still wanted to hold on to those bulky collections already in the library shelves.  

The challenge was to come up with a dividing system for the albums - one that will keep the binders upright and independently stand-alone so that removing one does not get the others to lean like multiple Towers of Pisa. 

Plastic dividers work but so much space is wasted

Compare the top two shelves to the bottom one that has the first divider system already in place.

The dividers are from 1/4 inch oak plywood.  The rail that will hold each of them is from 1/2 inch oak plywood ripped to 2-inch-wide planks.

For aesthetics, they were cut with a taper.  3/16 inch wide dadoes were cut to 1/4 inch deep, spaced 4 inches apart. Each section will hold snugly two albums.

Below, the 3/16 in. grooves (dadoes) were cut on the table saw using the indexing system (yellow with green knobs, discussed in prior blog).

The dividers were secured with glue and clamped until dry.

The completed system (below) insures the albums to remain perfectly upright even if one or several are removed.