Bedside Lamps

gbeeton, member

24 users recommend

Bedside Lamps

Gary Beeton

Frame Components

Underside

Base Details

Completed Frames

Bedside Lamps

Photo: Gary Beeton

Add Comment
Print

These bedside lamps (6-7/8" x 6-7/8" x 19" tall) are make from cherry and ricepaper.  Construction is mortise and tennon, and rice glue was used to attach the paper panels to the frame.  In order to keep the heat under control (and energy useage low) I used compact fluorescent bulbs as the light source.  The diamond-shaped african blackwood applique provides both visual and tactile feedback for locating the touch-sensitive panel used to turn the lamp on and off.  The base of the lamp also features a soft LED under-glow the help you find the lamp in the dark.

Add Comment Print

Big Squam

Back to List

Rudolph and a sleigh

Comments (12)

woodgear writes: great work
Posted: 2:42 pm on October 17th

gbeeton writes: rwtrip: A datasheet for the touch sensor IC can be found here:
http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/251974/QUANTUM/QT102.html

The IC is only available in a surface-mount package and I don't have the skills or tools necessary to work with surface mount components. So I cheated a bit. I bought an evaluation boards for that chip and connected my electrode plate to its input and my relay circuit to its output.

Unfortunately since I first started this project it looks like Quantum Research have been bought out by a company called Atmel and it is not clear if the QT102 IC is still available. I bought my evaluation boards from Digikey and they currently show zero stock for both the eval board and the IC:

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Cat=2622557&k=e102
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Cat=2556696&k=qt102

However you should be able to find something comparable by doing a search for "Touch Sensor" or "Capacitive Touch".
Posted: 2:30 pm on August 6th

gbeeton writes: GEide, I have a sketch with dimensions that I can share. Let me know how I can send it to you.

Unfortunately I have no sketches of the joinery or construction details as I did most of that in my head.
Posted: 12:47 pm on August 6th

Jurgen01 writes: This is beautiful work. What great lamps!
Posted: 5:36 pm on August 5th

4545 writes: I see a FW article here.
Posted: 8:52 pm on August 4th

rwtrip writes: Gary, thanks very much for the additional pictures. I'm still not quite understanding the electronics set-up though. Can you give some more details and possibly sources?
Posted: 9:57 pm on July 29th

GEide writes: Great lamps Gary. And your Web site is certainly not lame. LOL. (http://gbeeton.shawwebspace.ca/) Do you have any drawings for this that you'd like to share? If so, I can post them so people can check them out. -Gina, FineWoodworking.com
Posted: 4:59 pm on July 29th

gbeeton writes: Higher resolution images of the above photos can be found here:
http://gbeeton.shawwebspace.ca/
Posted: 4:16 am on July 28th

gbeeton writes: Thank you for your kind words. I have added a few more photos to help explain the construction technique. It is fairly basic frame-and-panel construction. The stiles are each mortised on two sides to accept the top, middle, and lower rails. The middle and lower rails, as well as the stiles, have dados cut to accept the four face panels. The middle rails also have another dado cut on the inside face to support the lamp-base panel.

The kumiko (aka lattice) is captured by mortises in the top and middle rails as well as the stiles. The kumiko is cut to just the right length to achieve the desired curvature.

The stiles have a rabbet cut on the inside corner to provide a gluing edge for the rice paper panels. The paper panels are also glued to the top and middle rails, as well as the kumiko. Rice glue was chosen for the rice paper panels because a) it will not discolour the paper, and b) it is water-soluble so that the panels can be sponged off and replaced if they become damaged.

I didn't want an obtrusive power switch compromising the aesthetics of the design. Nor did I want to use a switch on the power cord because it would have been impossible to have the power cord both hidden and readily accessible at the same time. My solution was to make one of the face panels a touch-sensitive switch. The "front" panel (the one with the diamond) is backed with a copper-clad circuit board that acts as the anode for touch-sensitive electronic circuitry. The electronics is based on the Quantum Research Group QT102 integrated circuit, which is used to drive a relay to do the power switching. The circuitry is mounted to the underside of the lamp-base panel.
Posted: 2:58 am on July 28th

HoldenR writes: I like the design very much. What type of hardware do you use for the switch? Thanks for the post.
Posted: 1:36 am on July 28th

jbrasher writes: Wow these are very elegant, I would love details on how you made these. Awesome job!
Posted: 9:32 pm on July 27th

rwtrip writes: These are beautiful! I would love to get some more details on how you made these if you are willing to share...
Posted: 9:24 pm on July 27th

You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.