Steampunk Table Lamp From Copper Tubing

I love the techno-industrial, sci-fi look of steampunk design. I've been doing a bunch of soldering for plumbing lately, so I thought I'd try something artistic and crafty.

A pile of parts and fittings ready for Tinker Toy play time.

I used a Bernzomatic TS-4000 with MAP-Pro fuel to quickly heat a cleaned, fluxed union between each of the parts.

I assembled several pieces in smaller assemblies.

The piece quickly took shape. Rather than a clean, polished lamp. I left flows of solder, cooked, discolored copper, and scorch marks. I wanted the piece to look rustic.

When the body was done, I drilled a hole for the cord.

A lamp making kit came with all the hardware I needed. A threaded plug fit nicely in the open copper elbow at the top.

I wired the socket to the cord and popped the whole thing together.

A decorative gauge got scuffed up and painted with metallic paint. I cleaned the print off the ball valve and scuffed it with sandpaper.

Fully assembled and lit with a vintage-style (LED) light bulb, it lit the living room like candlelight.

This was a really fun project. There are countless ways to assemble plumbing fittings to make variations of this lamp. Check out more info and a step-by-step over on the blog:

Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/13529491/steampunk-table-lamp-from-copper-tubing site