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Tripod Floor Lamp

7K views 37 replies 9 participants last post by  MrWolfe 
#1 ·
Introduction

I was casting about for ideas for a floor lamp, and I stumbled across this Mid-Century Modern gem. I say "stumbled" because with all the google powers I could muster, I was only able to find two sites that had example photos of the lamp (here and here) so running across even one image in the first place was fortunate.

The tripod lamp is attributed to Alder Design in Boston, MA in the 60's. I couldn't find anything about the company, and assume they went out of business long ago.

Here are some photos taken from one of the sites above:

Wood Street light Lamp Lampshade Balance


Wood Chair Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


Wood Tableware Clothes hanger Cutlery Tints and shades


I'm not entirely sure why it stood out to me - I guess the simple lines and the fact that it looked like something I could tackle. But it also had a couple challenging parts to hold my interest:
  • I didn't want the cord to be visible, so it had to feed down the center of the three legs where they meet at the top. I think the original probably had some internal hardware holding the legs together at the top, with the bungs concealing the end of a machine screw and nut. It wasn't immediately clear how I could do that, so I would use a triangular piece of wood instead.
  • The spokes that hold the legs apart at the bottom meet the triangular hub at an angle. I'd need to figure out a way to make an angled mortise in each face of the hub.

Sounds like a fun project to me.
 

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#2 ·
Introduction

I was casting about for ideas for a floor lamp, and I stumbled across this Mid-Century Modern gem. I say "stumbled" because with all the google powers I could muster, I was only able to find two sites that had example photos of the lamp (here and here) so running across even one image in the first place was fortunate.

The tripod lamp is attributed to Alder Design in Boston, MA in the 60's. I couldn't find anything about the company, and assume they went out of business long ago.

Here are some photos taken from one of the sites above:

Wood Street light Lamp Lampshade Balance


Wood Chair Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


Wood Tableware Clothes hanger Cutlery Tints and shades


I'm not entirely sure why it stood out to me - I guess the simple lines and the fact that it looked like something I could tackle. But it also had a couple challenging parts to hold my interest:
  • I didn't want the cord to be visible, so it had to feed down the center of the three legs where they meet at the top. I think the original probably had some internal hardware holding the legs together at the top, with the bungs concealing the end of a machine screw and nut. It wasn't immediately clear how I could do that, so I would use a triangular piece of wood instead.
  • The spokes that hold the legs apart at the bottom meet the triangular hub at an angle. I'd need to figure out a way to make an angled mortise in each face of the hub.

Sounds like a fun project to me.
So how much of the curve is cut, versus bent do you think? Nice lines and my money is on bent.
 

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#3 ·
Introduction

I was casting about for ideas for a floor lamp, and I stumbled across this Mid-Century Modern gem. I say "stumbled" because with all the google powers I could muster, I was only able to find two sites that had example photos of the lamp (here and here) so running across even one image in the first place was fortunate.

The tripod lamp is attributed to Alder Design in Boston, MA in the 60's. I couldn't find anything about the company, and assume they went out of business long ago.

Here are some photos taken from one of the sites above:

Wood Street light Lamp Lampshade Balance


Wood Chair Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


Wood Tableware Clothes hanger Cutlery Tints and shades


I'm not entirely sure why it stood out to me - I guess the simple lines and the fact that it looked like something I could tackle. But it also had a couple challenging parts to hold my interest:
  • I didn't want the cord to be visible, so it had to feed down the center of the three legs where they meet at the top. I think the original probably had some internal hardware holding the legs together at the top, with the bungs concealing the end of a machine screw and nut. It wasn't immediately clear how I could do that, so I would use a triangular piece of wood instead.
  • The spokes that hold the legs apart at the bottom meet the triangular hub at an angle. I'd need to figure out a way to make an angled mortise in each face of the hub.

Sounds like a fun project to me.
I'm pretty sure it was just bent. I wasn't going to mess with steam-bending. I relied on the spokes at the bottom being able to hold the bent the legs under tension. Time will tell if that was the right decision.
 

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#4 ·
Introduction

I was casting about for ideas for a floor lamp, and I stumbled across this Mid-Century Modern gem. I say "stumbled" because with all the google powers I could muster, I was only able to find two sites that had example photos of the lamp (here and here) so running across even one image in the first place was fortunate.

The tripod lamp is attributed to Alder Design in Boston, MA in the 60's. I couldn't find anything about the company, and assume they went out of business long ago.

Here are some photos taken from one of the sites above:

Wood Street light Lamp Lampshade Balance


Wood Chair Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


Wood Tableware Clothes hanger Cutlery Tints and shades


I'm not entirely sure why it stood out to me - I guess the simple lines and the fact that it looked like something I could tackle. But it also had a couple challenging parts to hold my interest:
  • I didn't want the cord to be visible, so it had to feed down the center of the three legs where they meet at the top. I think the original probably had some internal hardware holding the legs together at the top, with the bungs concealing the end of a machine screw and nut. It wasn't immediately clear how I could do that, so I would use a triangular piece of wood instead.
  • The spokes that hold the legs apart at the bottom meet the triangular hub at an angle. I'd need to figure out a way to make an angled mortise in each face of the hub.

Sounds like a fun project to me.
Nice challange, bow building with a light. ;-)
A lamp of it's time, I can see it for me in a sixties home, cool.
Best thoughts,
Mads
 

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#5 ·
Getting started

The two auction sites referenced in the last entry did not agree on the overall dimensions so I'm eye-balling it. I had some anigre planks lying around that I decided to use for this project. I cut three overly-long strips, drum sanded smooth and ended up with a cross section of 1" x 0.44". I think the original may have been slightly larger in both directions.

I aimed for the legs to describe a circumference of about 14". To start figuring out the proportions, I setup 3 blocks on a piece of plywood for each of the legs to rest against. With the tops temporarily clamped together around a couple triangular pieces of solid wood, I bent out the legs at the bottom to rest against the 3 blocks. I kept shifting down the clamping location until I got a curve that looked right. I wasn't able to step back and take a photo at this point because the legs would immediately jump up off of the blocks.

Wood Gas Human leg Hardwood Natural material


Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plywood Varnish


Brown Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Once I had the curve I liked, I transferred the leg angle to the T-bevel. This turned out to be almost right at 15-deg off vertical, so I used 15 for all my calculations. The spokes will be at right angles to the legs, and will enter the center hub at 15 degrees off perpendicular.

For the height, I cut all of the legs to 57".

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Stairs Floor
 

Attachments

#6 ·
Getting started

The two auction sites referenced in the last entry did not agree on the overall dimensions so I'm eye-balling it. I had some anigre planks lying around that I decided to use for this project. I cut three overly-long strips, drum sanded smooth and ended up with a cross section of 1" x 0.44". I think the original may have been slightly larger in both directions.

I aimed for the legs to describe a circumference of about 14". To start figuring out the proportions, I setup 3 blocks on a piece of plywood for each of the legs to rest against. With the tops temporarily clamped together around a couple triangular pieces of solid wood, I bent out the legs at the bottom to rest against the 3 blocks. I kept shifting down the clamping location until I got a curve that looked right. I wasn't able to step back and take a photo at this point because the legs would immediately jump up off of the blocks.

Wood Gas Human leg Hardwood Natural material


Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plywood Varnish


Brown Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Once I had the curve I liked, I transferred the leg angle to the T-bevel. This turned out to be almost right at 15-deg off vertical, so I used 15 for all my calculations. The spokes will be at right angles to the legs, and will enter the center hub at 15 degrees off perpendicular.

For the height, I cut all of the legs to 57".

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Stairs Floor
I guess the grain have to quite the same on all three legs for the curves, so come out the same, if you don't steam bend, but I can see that it can have it's own charm.
Always a pleasure to see how you work.
Best thoughts,
Mads
 

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#9 ·
Preparing the triangular core for the neck

I tried 3 different options for making the triangular filler for the neck of the lamp:
  • Cutting some 4" pieces on the tablesaw and then drilling-out the center on the drill press. This would have been my first choice if I could have cut them uniformly. I had a kick-back accident and abandoned this method for the time being. Still have 10 fingers, though.
  • CNC cut triangles of some cherry I had that was an appropriate thickness. I got too much tear-out.
  • CNC cut triangles of birch ply. This is what I ended-up using, but I don't think I'd do it again. It's a little too fiddly gluing up a stack of them.

Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring Wall


The CNC method is also very wasteful. Double-sided tape holds the plywood down and I leave a few thousandths thick skin between the pieces. This keeps the pieces anchored securely. The skin is trimmed-off later with a utility knife.
Rectangle Wood Font Typesetting Symmetry


Held up to the light:
Brown Wood Triangle Rectangle Font


Broken apart:
Wood Font Art Pattern Creative arts


Cleaned up:
Wood Art Creative arts Font Pattern


I settled on a 3/16" radius for the outside edges of the legs. The inside edges are just sanded-over a little.
Wood Publication Finger Flooring Hardwood


Next I glued a stack of the ply triangles to the top of one of the legs. I glued-on about 12" worth to the top.
Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor Road surface


Wood Wall Line Brickwork Beer


Wood Flooring Hardwood Ruler Tool


Then another test fit.
Wood Cutting mat Circle Rectangle Adhesive


Next I'll make the leg mortises that will receive the spokes.
 

Attachments

#10 ·
Preparing the triangular core for the neck

I tried 3 different options for making the triangular filler for the neck of the lamp:
  • Cutting some 4" pieces on the tablesaw and then drilling-out the center on the drill press. This would have been my first choice if I could have cut them uniformly. I had a kick-back accident and abandoned this method for the time being. Still have 10 fingers, though.
  • CNC cut triangles of some cherry I had that was an appropriate thickness. I got too much tear-out.
  • CNC cut triangles of birch ply. This is what I ended-up using, but I don't think I'd do it again. It's a little too fiddly gluing up a stack of them.

Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring Wall


The CNC method is also very wasteful. Double-sided tape holds the plywood down and I leave a few thousandths thick skin between the pieces. This keeps the pieces anchored securely. The skin is trimmed-off later with a utility knife.
Rectangle Wood Font Typesetting Symmetry


Held up to the light:
Brown Wood Triangle Rectangle Font


Broken apart:
Wood Font Art Pattern Creative arts


Cleaned up:
Wood Art Creative arts Font Pattern


I settled on a 3/16" radius for the outside edges of the legs. The inside edges are just sanded-over a little.
Wood Publication Finger Flooring Hardwood


Next I glued a stack of the ply triangles to the top of one of the legs. I glued-on about 12" worth to the top.
Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor Road surface


Wood Wall Line Brickwork Beer


Wood Flooring Hardwood Ruler Tool


Then another test fit.
Wood Cutting mat Circle Rectangle Adhesive


Next I'll make the leg mortises that will receive the spokes.
;-)
 

Attachments

#11 ·
Leg mortises

There's not a lot to show here except for a little clamping block that I made for the mortising jig. Since it would be difficult to directly clamp the thin edge of the legs against the jig, I made this block that provided a shelf for the leg to sit on and a lip to press it tightly against the mortising jig. The shelf width is just shy of the width of the leg. The bottom of the block has a piece of veneer to shim it out to the same width of leg, keeping the shelf level when clamped.

Wood Rectangle Window Floor Wooden block


Shelf Wood Shelving Material property Security


I centered the 1" x 3/8" mortise 6" up from the bottom of each leg, and mortised 1/4" deep.

Textile Wood Gas Wire Electrical wiring


Wood Automotive tire Motor vehicle Font Gas


After routing the mortises, I finished up the outside edge roundovers, sanded all the legs, and then glued the legs together at the neck. I used masking tape and rubber bands to clamp the legs in place and on the lower portion, I used the wedging rings to get some extra pressure.
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Pedestal Flooring


Next up is the jig for the angled mortises in the hub.
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Leg mortises

There's not a lot to show here except for a little clamping block that I made for the mortising jig. Since it would be difficult to directly clamp the thin edge of the legs against the jig, I made this block that provided a shelf for the leg to sit on and a lip to press it tightly against the mortising jig. The shelf width is just shy of the width of the leg. The bottom of the block has a piece of veneer to shim it out to the same width of leg, keeping the shelf level when clamped.

Wood Rectangle Window Floor Wooden block


Shelf Wood Shelving Material property Security


I centered the 1" x 3/8" mortise 6" up from the bottom of each leg, and mortised 1/4" deep.

Textile Wood Gas Wire Electrical wiring


Wood Automotive tire Motor vehicle Font Gas


After routing the mortises, I finished up the outside edge roundovers, sanded all the legs, and then glued the legs together at the neck. I used masking tape and rubber bands to clamp the legs in place and on the lower portion, I used the wedging rings to get some extra pressure.
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Pedestal Flooring


Next up is the jig for the angled mortises in the hub.
The mortising jig looks versatile. I assume you made the templates on your CNC?
 

Attachments

#14 ·
Triangular hub angled mortises

The cherry triangular hub is 3" long and 2" wide on each face. I needed a way to place an angled mortise in the same location on each face. I started with a little cradle that would hold the hub securely.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain


Wood Table Rectangle Road surface Outdoor furniture


Blue Wood Rectangle Wood stain Brick


I could then clamp the cradle to the mortising jig. There's enough room on the back side for a 15-deg template to ride along the top edge of the cradle to set the mortise angle, which is clamped in place once I got it positioned properly. Not shown here, I clamped a stop block to the mortise jig back so I could reposition the cradle in the same place as I mortised each face.
Surveillance camera Wood Gas Plumbing Engineering


I used some double-sided tape to hold the work in place:
Rectangle Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain


Here you can see the stop block on the left. It was a simple task then to rout the mortise, drop the cradle, rotate the hub, and move to the next face.
Wood Rectangle Wood stain Table Hardwood


I knocked off the corners of the hub and gave it a good sanding.
Triangle Finger Wood Tints and shades Font

Hand Wood Finger Rectangle Wood stain


Next is assembling the hub and spokes.
 

Attachments

#15 ·
Triangular hub angled mortises

The cherry triangular hub is 3" long and 2" wide on each face. I needed a way to place an angled mortise in the same location on each face. I started with a little cradle that would hold the hub securely.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain


Wood Table Rectangle Road surface Outdoor furniture


Blue Wood Rectangle Wood stain Brick


I could then clamp the cradle to the mortising jig. There's enough room on the back side for a 15-deg template to ride along the top edge of the cradle to set the mortise angle, which is clamped in place once I got it positioned properly. Not shown here, I clamped a stop block to the mortise jig back so I could reposition the cradle in the same place as I mortised each face.
Surveillance camera Wood Gas Plumbing Engineering


I used some double-sided tape to hold the work in place:
Rectangle Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain


Here you can see the stop block on the left. It was a simple task then to rout the mortise, drop the cradle, rotate the hub, and move to the next face.
Wood Rectangle Wood stain Table Hardwood


I knocked off the corners of the hub and gave it a good sanding.
Triangle Finger Wood Tints and shades Font

Hand Wood Finger Rectangle Wood stain


Next is assembling the hub and spokes.
Lovely idea, with the little cradle.
Best thoughts,
Mads
 

Attachments

#16 ·
Hub and spokes

The spokes are essentially just long floating tenons, 1" x 3/8". The mortises in the hub slightly overlap, so the ends of the tenons have to be tweaked a little to get maximum depth for each one. I marked the border of the excess of each tenon through the adjacent mortise holes and then used the disc sander to remove the excess.

Wood Beige Automotive design Audio equipment Hardwood


Hand Wood Gesture Finger Font


Hand Wood Gesture Hardwood Nail


Now the tenons all meet snuggly at the center:
Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Plywood


Wood Musical instrument accessory Font Musical instrument Symmetry


After more sanding, I glued in the spokes and set the assembly aside to let the glue dry.

Next is final assembly and finishing.
 

Attachments

#17 ·
Hub and spokes

The spokes are essentially just long floating tenons, 1" x 3/8". The mortises in the hub slightly overlap, so the ends of the tenons have to be tweaked a little to get maximum depth for each one. I marked the border of the excess of each tenon through the adjacent mortise holes and then used the disc sander to remove the excess.

Wood Beige Automotive design Audio equipment Hardwood


Hand Wood Gesture Finger Font


Hand Wood Gesture Hardwood Nail


Now the tenons all meet snuggly at the center:
Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Plywood


Wood Musical instrument accessory Font Musical instrument Symmetry


After more sanding, I glued in the spokes and set the assembly aside to let the glue dry.

Next is final assembly and finishing.
Sexy! The devil is in the detail, and so are the beauty.
Best thoughts,
Mads
 

Attachments

#20 ·
Final assembly and finishing

With nothing left to sand, final assembly was simply putting some glue into the leg mortises and popping in the hub and spokes. The tension of the bent legs provided enough clamping pressure. I left the wedging rings in place an extra day just in case.

Wood Flooring Tripod Floor Wood stain


Brown Wood Wood stain Flooring Floor


I used Odie's Oil on the Z Chair project and really liked it, so I used it again for this lamp.

Wood Chair Flooring Rectangle Hardwood


Product Wood Flooring Floor Bookcase


Wood Outdoor furniture Outdoor table Table Rectangle


Next up is wiring, which will happen tomorrow after the lamp kit arrives.
 

Attachments

#21 ·
Final assembly and finishing

With nothing left to sand, final assembly was simply putting some glue into the leg mortises and popping in the hub and spokes. The tension of the bent legs provided enough clamping pressure. I left the wedging rings in place an extra day just in case.

Wood Flooring Tripod Floor Wood stain


Brown Wood Wood stain Flooring Floor


I used Odie's Oil on the Z Chair project and really liked it, so I used it again for this lamp.

Wood Chair Flooring Rectangle Hardwood


Product Wood Flooring Floor Bookcase


Wood Outdoor furniture Outdoor table Table Rectangle


Next up is wiring, which will happen tomorrow after the lamp kit arrives.
I may have missed it, did you put a channel in one leg for the wire?
 

Attachments

#28 ·
Test lighting

It turns out I had ordered a lamp kit with the wrong harp size, so I frankensteined some salvaged lamp cord and borrowed parts from another lamp to try out the new floor lamp. The new shade is also going back for something slightly taller, slightly wider. But, it did let me get an idea of the finished product. I figured I would need to cut down the neck of the lamp a bit to get the right proportions, and this test light-up confirmed that.

I used a small zip-tie on the near leg to keep the cord in place. I think that will be fine.

I'll post again once I have all the final parts assembled.

Brown Light Wood Flooring Floor


Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Door
 

Attachments

#29 ·
Test lighting

It turns out I had ordered a lamp kit with the wrong harp size, so I frankensteined some salvaged lamp cord and borrowed parts from another lamp to try out the new floor lamp. The new shade is also going back for something slightly taller, slightly wider. But, it did let me get an idea of the finished product. I figured I would need to cut down the neck of the lamp a bit to get the right proportions, and this test light-up confirmed that.

I used a small zip-tie on the near leg to keep the cord in place. I think that will be fine.

I'll post again once I have all the final parts assembled.

Brown Light Wood Flooring Floor


Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Door
Excellent. I have something similar in my to-do list. Tell me more about your motising jig. It looks worth taking the time to make.
 

Attachments

#34 ·
Final tweaks and done

My niece lives with us, and I promised her the prototype lamp for her room. To make it a bit of a surprise, I opted for a shade I knew she'd like. It's not a traditional mid-century shade, but it fits her rooms color scheme.

Rectangle Wood Natural material Tints and shades Hardwood


The overall lamp proportions with the shade looked a little off, and I cut off 3" of the top.
Table Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire


The 2" piece of threaded lamp rod was a minimally snug in the center hole, and to firm it up I wicked-in a little bit of CA glue.
Wood Hood Flooring Vehicle door Hardwood


Finished.
Blue Wood Lectern Architecture Wood stain


And in my niece's room.
Christmas tree Interior design Wood Architecture Comfort
 

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#35 ·
Final tweaks and done

My niece lives with us, and I promised her the prototype lamp for her room. To make it a bit of a surprise, I opted for a shade I knew she'd like. It's not a traditional mid-century shade, but it fits her rooms color scheme.

Rectangle Wood Natural material Tints and shades Hardwood


The overall lamp proportions with the shade looked a little off, and I cut off 3" of the top.
Table Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire


The 2" piece of threaded lamp rod was a minimally snug in the center hole, and to firm it up I wicked-in a little bit of CA glue.
Wood Hood Flooring Vehicle door Hardwood


Finished.
Blue Wood Lectern Architecture Wood stain


And in my niece's room.
Christmas tree Interior design Wood Architecture Comfort
Very nicely done!

Cheers!
 

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