A rock lamp?… Am I crazy? I have actually been doing this for a few years and when done correctly the end product is beautiful and extremely unique. If you decide to go on this adventure, be prepared for your family and friends to be amazed by your wonderful new creation. A stone lamp fits wonderfully in that cabin of yours in the woods or can be placed in that special rustic corner of your traditional home.
Let’s start with the tools and parts you’ll need. These tools are essential to getting this project done right and may require a bit of financial investment to get started.
A drill. The press doesn’t have to be a large floor model…it can be a tabletop type for now. It has to be set up to allow the drill to travel fairly slowly through the rock. A setting of around 200-300 rounds per minute is best.
A 3/8″ mortise bit. The mortise bit for this purpose only needs to be about 5″ long. DO NOT buy a carbide coated bit as they seem to not work as well. Both Home Depot and Lowe’s have a standard 3/8″ mortise bit for around $5.00.
A lamp kit with harp included. These lamp kits are easy to use and come with everything you need to put together your lamp. You’ll also want to make sure the kit comes with a harp if you plan on using a screen that requires a harp. These sell for about $8.00 at most hardware stores.
A 3/8″ threaded rod about 10 inches long. This rod can be purchased along with your lamp kit in the lighting hardware section. Lengths typically come in 24″ to 36″ and cost about $4.00 After you put the lamp together, you’ll want to cut the rod to length and I’ll walk you through how to do that.
A hacksaw to cut the 3/8″ bar to size.
A good strong epoxy glue that sets in 30 minutes.
An angle grinder with a wheel suitable for grinding rock.
Turkish
The best place to get your rock for your lamp is to find a dry riverbed. Rocks from dry riverbeds tend to be easier to drill through and lend themselves more easily to making a lamp. Please note: We do not want to disturb the riverbeds that are in use by our natural rivers and streams, but collecting rocks from dry sources does not harm the environment. You will need a base to start. Look for a fairly flat base that, when placed on a table, won’t rock back and forth, but rather sits stably. For this project, your base should be about 8 inches square and about 1 inch to 2 inches thick (any variation is fine as long as it’s fairly flat). Once you’ve found your base, look for smaller rocks of different shapes and sizes and choose ones that are also fairly flat on both sides. This will make it easier to drill and fit into the lamp. These should be about ½” thick or so. You will need about 6 of these smaller rocks.
drilling the rock
Now that you’ve gathered the rock you chose for your lamp, it’s time to drill. Place the base of the rock in your drill press and find roughly the center of the rock. (You don’t have to be exactly perfect to find the center as this is a rustic lamp and if you’re a little off it just makes it more rustic and interesting.) You want to make sure that the place where you are going to drill is relatively flat so that the bit does not dance on you. (Before drilling, make sure you have some water handy to spray or splash on the bit, as the bit can get very hot and break if not kept cool.) Start drilling slowly, about 200 to 300 rounds per minute, and keep going until you’re completely done. Yes, you did it! Now repeat these steps with the remaining smaller rock until all are drilled and ready to assemble.
pre-assembly
Take your length of 3/8″ rod and cut it to about 10″ or so. Place the rod on the larger base and start stacking the smaller rock on top of it. Since none of these rocks are exactly flat, you may have to move them around a bit to make sure they fit snugly so that the inner rod doesn’t show. Once you have completed this process, you will most likely have an extra bar at the top that needs to be cut off. Considering the parts of the lamp, you will need to leave enough rod to support the coupler, the piece that holds the harp, and the actual base of the lamp. Usually this means leaving about 1 inch above the last stacked rock. You can test this by taking out all the pieces of the lamp, placing them one by one on top of the extra rod, and then making a mark just below the first piece (coupler) to see which extra rod you should leave sticking out. Mark your cane where you need to cut it, remove the rock one by one keeping them in order, and cut your cane to length.
final assembly
Put your pre-cut rod back into the base and put some of your epoxy around the hole where the rod fits and around a small area where your first small rock will sit. Take your first small rock and slide it down onto the rod and place it on top of the glued area on your base. (It’s important to keep the glue area small so it doesn’t show after you put the rocks together.) Continue this process until all the rocks are well together on the rod. Make sure the inside of your rod is completely clear through the center with no obstructions so you can slide the lamp cord through it in the next step. You have now completed the most difficult part of making this lamp. Let the lamp sit for a couple of hours or so for the glue to set.
Using the instructions in the light kit box, assemble the rest of the light fixture parts as shown. You will need to push the cable all the way from the bottom of the base. (Sometimes depending on the bedrock, the cable will not sit properly under the bed and may cause the bed to wobble a bit. This is where you will need your angle grinder with a proper rock grinding wheel. Flip the lamp over upside down. and take your angle grinder and dig a small indentation from the center of the rock where the rod is to the back of the lamp. Just make sure the slot is deep enough to hold the lamp cord).
Finally, spray the lamp with a semi-gloss or satin clear lacquer to seal the rock and bring out the stone’s natural colors. Apply two or three coats of lacquer. After the lacquer is dry, you may want to place a piece of felt on the bottom of the lamp so it doesn’t scratch the table it sits on.
Congratulations, you have now made a beautiful rustic stone lamp!
