Your home’s new star attraction: a zigzag-shaped lamp

A home-made lamp lights up a desk.
Your home-made lamp will really brighten up your workspace
  • Difficulty
    easy
  • Cost
    30-38 £
  • Duration
    1-3 h

On grey, overcast days, having a beautifully lit home can really lift your mood. But why buy standard lamps when you can make your own? Our zigzag-shaped lamp made from wood can be made in next to no time.

You need

Let's go - step by step

Video instructions

Step17

Saw and sand down the wood

An abrasive sponge is used to sand down the wooden pieces.
A ruler is used to measure and mark up the wooden strip.
Someone marks up where they want to saw using the steel square.
The wooden strip is sawn into smaller pieces.
An abrasive sponge is used to sand down the wooden pieces.
A ruler is used to measure and mark up the wooden strip.

Then sand down the wood thoroughly to avoid splinters

First measure out the various parts of your lamp using a ruler

To make sure you saw in a straight line, use a pencil and set square to mark up where you want to saw

Use the jigsaw to saw up the pieces of wood for your lamp

Then sand down the wood thoroughly to avoid splinters

First measure out the various parts of your lamp using a ruler

You need:
Jigsaws
,
pocket rule, try square, work gloves, safety glasses, g-clamps, Wooden strip, Wooden panel

To create your lamp and shed a whole new light on your workspace, you first need to saw up the wood. Take the tape measure and the wooden strip and mark up two smaller strips of 5 cm and four strips of 10 cm. To ensure you saw in a straight line, use a steel square to mark up the lines at a 90-degree angle. Before you start sawing, clamp down the strip of wood with screw clamps to prevent it from slipping. Then put on your work gloves and safety glasses, and you can get started.

If the wooden panel that you’re going to use for the base of the lamp isn’t the right size, follow the same steps: measure 15 x 15 cm, secure the wood with screw clamps and saw in a straight line.

If the wooden panel that you’re going to use for the base of the lamp isn’t the right size, follow the same steps: measure 15 x 15 cm, secure the wood with screw clamps and saw in a straight line.

Step27

Find the centre of the lamp base

A cordless combi drill is used to make a hole in the centre of the base.
The centre of the lamp base is marked up with a steel square.
A cordless combi drill is used to make a hole in the centre of the base.
The centre of the lamp base is marked up with a steel square.

Drill a hole for the wooden dowelling in the centre of the lamp base

Use a set square to help you find the centre of the base of the lamp

Drill a hole for the wooden dowelling in the centre of the lamp base

Use a set square to help you find the centre of the base of the lamp

You need:
Cordless Drill
,
Wood drill bit: 6 mm
,
try square, pocket rule, g-clamps

The lamp should be inserted directly into the centre of the base, so you first need to identify where that is. Lie down the set square diagonally across the wooden panel and draw a line from corner to corner. Then repeat with the other two corners. The point at which the two lines meet is the centre. To avoid drilling all the way through the wood (and instead creating a blind hole), use a drill bit stop. This enables you to define how deep you want to drill in advance. With our wooden panel, which is 3 cm thick, the hole should be a maximum 2 cm deep. Once the drill is set up properly, secure the panel to your worktop with screw clamps and drill away.

Step37

Attach the wooden dowelling

The dowelling is inserted into the lamp base.
Wood glue is inserted into the hole to secure the dowelling.
The dowelling is inserted into the lamp base.
Wood glue is inserted into the hole to secure the dowelling.

Now insert the dowelling into the lamp base

To secure the dowelling in the hole, it’s best to use wood glue

Now insert the dowelling into the lamp base

To secure the dowelling in the hole, it’s best to use wood glue

You need: Dowelling, Wood glue

Now you can insert the wooden dowelling into the hole you’ve just drilled. To fix it in place, first insert some wood glue. Make sure you don’t use too much or the glue might overflow when you insert the dowelling.

Step47

Drill holes in the other pieces

A cordless combi drill is used to drill a hole in the longer piece of wood
A cordless combi drill is used to drill a hole for the dowelling.
On this side, a hole is drilled for the screw.
A cordless combi drill is used to drill a hole in the longer piece of wood
A cordless combi drill is used to drill a hole for the dowelling.

Now drill holes for the screws in the other pieces, too

Now drill a hole for the dowelling into the bottom of the short piece of wood

To join up the various parts of your lamp, drill a hole for the screw

Now drill holes for the screws in the other pieces, too

Now drill a hole for the dowelling into the bottom of the short piece of wood

You need:
Cordless Drill
,
Wood drill bit: 6 mm
,
Wood Drill Bit Set
,
g-clamps, piece of wood (5 cm)

Now it’s time to give your lamp some height: drill a hole for the dowelling at the bottom of the 5 cm piece of wood using the 6 mm drill bit. You can also use a drill bit stop here to ensure you don’t drill any deeper than 1.5 to 2 cm, depending on the length of your dowelling. Secure the wood with screw clamps first to help you drill more cleanly and safely.

Then you need to drill a hole at the end of the piece of wood using the 3 mm drill bit. This will be used later on to screw together the pieces of wood that form the lamp stand.

Now it’s time to tackle the longer 10 cm pieces of wood: again drill a hole into the side of each piece, at the end, for a screw. Drill an additional hole in the centre of two of the longer pieces of wood, and in the centre of one of the smaller 5 cm ones: later on, you will feed the cable for the light bulb through here.

Step57

Glue and screw: put together your zigzag-shaped lamp

Another piece of wood is secured using the screw and nut
The first piece of wood is secured to the dowelling with wood glue.
The pieces of wood are joined together with a screw and wing nut.
Another piece of wood is secured using the screw and nut
The first piece of wood is secured to the dowelling with wood glue.

Bit by bit, your lamp is starting to take shape

Secure the first piece of your lamp stand with wood glue

Screw together the various pieces of the lamp

Bit by bit, your lamp is starting to take shape

Secure the first piece of your lamp stand with wood glue

You need: wood glue, screws, wing nuts

Once you’ve prepared the various parts of your lamp, glue the short piece of wood to the lamp base. Leave it to dry for a while, then attach the remaining pieces. To do this, screw together the pieces of wood with the screws and nuts, in a zigzag shape. Put the pieces with a hole in the middle at the top of the lamp; later on, you will feed the cable for the light bulb through here. Adjust the angle of the pieces of wood according to how you want your lamp to look/how tall you want it to be. Secure the top piece of wood so that it is parallel to the lamp base.

Step67

Insert the cable for the light bulb socket

The cable is fed through the wood from above.
The cable for the lamp is fed through a hole in a piece of wood.
The cable is fed through the wood from above.
The cable for the lamp is fed through a hole in a piece of wood.

At the end, the cable is fed through the top piece of wood so that the light bulb hangs from above

To power your lamp, you need to feed the cable through the holes in the centre of the pieces of wood

At the end, the cable is fed through the top piece of wood so that the light bulb hangs from above

To power your lamp, you need to feed the cable through the holes in the centre of the pieces of wood

You need: cable, without light bulb socket

To ensure your lamp shines brightly, you need to provide an electrical supply. To do this, feed a cable through the top three pieces of wood so that the light bulb will hang down from above at the top.

Step77

Hook up the cable and light bulb socket

A light bulb is screwed into the socket.
The light bulb socket is attached to the cable.
A light bulb is screwed into the socket.
The light bulb socket is attached to the cable.

Once the light bulb is screwed into the socket, your new lamp will shine brightly

You’re almost there: now it’s time to attach your light bulb socket and bulb

Once the light bulb is screwed into the socket, your new lamp will shine brightly

You’re almost there: now it’s time to attach your light bulb socket and bulb

You need: light bulb socket, light bulb

You’re almost done. Simply secure the light bulb socket firmly to the cable and screw in the light bulb. Once you’ve plugged in the cable, your new lamp will instantly brighten up any room.