Lush Lamps of Steel

Everybody loves plants, and I wanted a project that pushed me outside the confines of my 3D printer. The steel-pipe-incandescent aesthetic is ubiquitous and serves an excellent contrast to our new age architecture. Let's make a steel pipe incandescent standing lamp that can hang plants, lots of plants.

Variations of this project have been replicated infinitely -- Google; "pipe lamp". These products continually appeal to "steam punk" or "industrial sculpture" but neglect to employ the inherent strength-value of steel. My intention here was to have fun with steel pipes and provide a home for plants.



	I brought the lamp to various outdoor locations for a natural backdrop

Cleaning All metal parts began with a bath to remove oil and dirt	Paint and Seal A few coats of matte black paint and a protective coat were applied	High Strength Joints Joints were treated with high strength Loctite. The most torque bearing joints were additionally fit with pipe lock nuts. Many 3D printed fixtures were used to ensure all pipes are orthogonal.
Wired Metal joining and cable routing	Brass Fittings These brass fittings are bound at their ends with heat shrink and serve to cover the transition between the braided insulation and the wires that route to the socket	Incandescent Bulbs Long filament "Edison" bulbs provide a warm, dull luminescence
Casting Concrete Pots My first 3 attempts to cast concrete pots failed. In this particular case, the interior molds were compressed by the concrete as it cured. Removing the interior mold broke the pot in two.	Concrete Pot in Mold The shape of this pot was adopted from a concrete pot I purchased for $20. I 3D printed the molds and cast the pots in concrete for about $0.50	Concrete Pot Mold Removal Concrete shrinks when it cures so, I had to design an inner mold that would shrink with it.
Concrete Pot Mold Removal	Finished Concrete Pot	Alpine Butterfly Knot The knots for the original purchased pots broke! I redesigned them to be significantly stronger and more attractive with an alpine butterfly knot and a fisherman's knot.
Fisherman's knot

Lush Lamps of Steel

I brought the lamp to various outdoor locations for a natural backdrop

Cleaning

All metal parts began with a bath to remove oil and dirt

Paint and Seal

A few coats of matte black paint and a protective coat were applied

High Strength Joints

Joints were treated with high strength Loctite. The most torque bearing joints were additionally fit with pipe lock nuts. Many 3D printed fixtures were used to ensure all pipes are orthogonal.

Wired

Metal joining and cable routing

Brass Fittings

These brass fittings are bound at their ends with heat shrink and serve to cover the transition between the braided insulation and the wires that route to the socket

Incandescent Bulbs

Long filament "Edison" bulbs provide a warm, dull luminescence

Casting Concrete Pots

My first 3 attempts to cast concrete pots failed. In this particular case, the interior molds were compressed by the concrete as it cured. Removing the interior mold broke the pot in two.

Concrete Pot in Mold

The shape of this pot was adopted from a concrete pot I purchased for $20. I 3D printed the molds and cast the pots in concrete for about $0.50

Concrete Pot Mold Removal

Concrete shrinks when it cures so, I had to design an inner mold that would shrink with it.

Concrete Pot Mold Removal

Finished Concrete Pot

Alpine Butterfly Knot

The knots for the original purchased pots broke! I redesigned them to be significantly stronger and more attractive with an alpine butterfly knot and a fisherman's knot.

Fisherman's knot

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neville.francis.morris@gmail.com

603.616.5867

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digital content by Neville Morris