Steampunk Desk Lamp
This video is sponsored by Sengled, who asked me to create a project featuring their Pulse light bulb/JBL speaker. It’s really a fun product that screws into any regular light socket and allows you to not only control the light, but play music from your smart phone using a Bluetooth connection. Click here to check out Sengled to learn more about their full line of smart lighting.
The fun part about this project is going to the hardware store and spending time in the plumbing department experimenting with various fittings and designing a completely unique lamp. I used galvanized fittings for mine. The are easy to work with and just screw together.
After playing around with different arrangements, and coming up with something I liked, I took a picture of it and brought all the pieces home. I discovered early on that the lamp cord needs to be fed through the pipes as you build. If you try to fish it through after it’s assembled, you’ll never get it through all the bends.
I really thought the red valve looked cool. It would be great to make that a dimmer for the light. I didn’t do that because 1) Sengled bulbs can be used with a dimmer and 2) I couldn’t figure out how! So it just remains purely decorative.
I spray painted the brass lamp socket black and hooked it up the the end of the cord.
For the base, I cut a few holes in a board from an old wine bottle crate I’ve been saving for years. It looks really cool with this lamp.
Galvanized pipe caps for the feet.
I thread the cord through the center hole and screwed the lamp base to the board.
I hooked up a toggle switch and screwed it into the another hole.
I used a scrap of plywood to cover up all the wiring.
And finally, I screwed in the bulb and attached this wire cage thing I found in the electrical department of the hardware store.
January 17, 2016 @ 11:40 am
Cool project! When the bulb burns out do you have to replace the whole speaker / bulb?
January 17, 2016 @ 2:45 pm
I would imagine the LEDs will last for years.
January 11, 2017 @ 3:19 pm
Made in China led, yea… 10 years, highly doubt it. Maybe a few months, if lucky a year. I burn through led like every year or so and just accepted the fact that cheap led has 1/10 of the life span
January 17, 2016 @ 12:01 pm
Love the design, but it does concern me that should the valve be closed, it would short out the power cord and cause an electric shock to the user.
Is there a way to remove the internals of the valve so that it cannot close?
January 17, 2016 @ 2:47 pm
Yes, you can!
January 17, 2016 @ 12:04 pm
Nice.lamp/speaker Steve. Really like the bulb protector wire cage thingy, it added the perfect finishing touch.
January 17, 2016 @ 12:35 pm
None of the links for Sengled, in the text work, can this be rectified? I love the idea but can’t access the bulb makers Sengled.
Great idea to diversify to add industrial pipes to wood projects.
Your innovation and energy never seem to end Steve.
January 18, 2016 @ 1:20 am
If you turn the tap, wont’t it sever the wire? Potential danger there. Someone might think to use it for on/off.
January 18, 2016 @ 3:39 pm
The only, ONLY thing I would have done differently is to use better screws to hold the flange to the piece of wood, perhaps brass.
January 21, 2016 @ 12:43 pm
@ Glyn Davies
To get the right links replace https:// with http:// It seems they have problems with the cert.
February 13, 2016 @ 1:51 pm
Hi,
What’s the final part that the lamp socket is hanging onto called?
Thanks!
November 22, 2016 @ 10:06 am
HI! What is the wood base dimensions?
January 24, 2017 @ 1:19 am
Hi Steve, really like this, but… Seems there’s a high chance of it having an insulation problem and becoming live. Not just the valve mentioned above, but from repeated pulls on the cable.
Maybe add an earth wire to the metal parts. And secure the cable properly.
July 31, 2017 @ 2:40 pm
HI John, what size and type fittings did you use for the light socket?
September 24, 2018 @ 3:26 am
Like!! Really appreciate you sharing this blog post.Really thank you! Keep writing.
September 25, 2018 @ 3:26 am
Likely I am likely to save your blog post. 🙂