Steampunk Desk Light

'Confusion Inspired Engineering'

Welcome to my first Steampunk project. I got interested in this artform in 2019 after I saw some amazing projects on YouTube (see links below for examples). Initially, I wanted to try this out myself but I was quickly discouraged as most of the Steampunk artists were experts in metalworking and machining. For a second, I though I could pull this off using simple woodworking techniques but that was never going to work with my skill level. A renewed interest was developed when I got into 3D printing which made it possible to manufacture the required parts using plastic.

One of my other hobbies is cooking and I've always liked the idea of confusion cuisine where elements of different cultures are brought together (e.g. Thai Chicken Lasagna). To me, Steampunk is the engineering equivalent of this idea whereby you take things that don't belong together and still make something functional and cool looking out of them.

On this page you can find a description with pictures, instructions on how to make the desk lamp, parts lists on what to buy, schematics on how to wire it all up and the 3D printed models to 'glue' it all together. All digital assets required to build your own can be found in my Github repository.

Disclaimer: This project deals with lethal electrical current. Use at your own risk!!

Desk Light Overview

This a rather simple Steampunk project. You buy some parts at the hardware store, shop a little on Etsy, Banggoods and/or Ebay, wire up some cables and LEDs, print some 3D parts and put it all together. OK, I admit, that's a lot of work and it took me a few months of figuring out how other people do this and than I had to determine what the best options were for my skillset.

In the end, you can create a functional desk lamp with that old Steampunk feel. The lamp only has three controls. A master power switch implemented in the water valve, a dimmer in the bottom left part of the case to control the Edison LED light bulb (yes, they can be blinding even at 7 watts) and a power switch on the right side of the case to turn the vacuum tube LED lights on and off. So no matter what the bottom two controls are set to, the master switch overrides them. This allows you for instance to preset the dimmer to the right brightness and every time you rotate the water valve, your light comes back to the same setting. The volt meter in the middle of the case is functional and measures the voltage for the vacuum tube LEDs. Below are some more pictures from different angles. By clicking on a picture, you can zoom in and out.

Parts List

The beauty of these steampunk projects is that you can build them a thousand different way. Here are the parts I used:

Edison LED Stand with Water Valve Switch

Item	Description	Picture
Mounting Flange	I used a 3/4" Black Iron Floor Flange that you can buy at any hardware store in the plumbing department.
Black Steel Nipples	Three 3/4 inch Black Steel Nipple. I used two 4-1/2" and one 2". I got mine at Home Depot since theirs are a little "prettier" than the ones from Lowes. Remember we're after looks, not the ability to safely carry gas.
Elbow	One 3/4" Black Iron 90° Elbow.
Valve Switch	As this was my first Steampunk project, I bought a ready-made Water Valve Light Switch on Etsy. In the future, I'll make them myself by using a real water valve and adding a rotary switch. There are plenty of videos on YouTube on how to do this.
Lamp Socket	Again I bought one ready-made on Etsy but these are equally easy to make by combining a Black Iron Elbow or Coupler and glueing in a rubber lamp socket. Both are available at the hardware store.
Edison Light Bulb	This again is all about being pretty. I got a spherical LED Edison light bulb with a spiral filament that is 3" in diameter. Shop around and you can find them in many shapes. I would recommend you stick with LED as the incandescent Edison bulbs get incredibly hot.

Vacuum Tubes on Copper Pipes

Item	Description	Picture
Copper Fittings	I got two 3/4" Copper Threaded Adapter Fittings. The thread is the same 3/4" tapered National Pipe Thread (NPT) used on the Black Steel Nipples. This allowed the same 3D printed adaptors to be used.
Vacuum Tubes	Given that we only use the vacuum tubes for looks, I got a box full of them on Ebay and I simply used the ones that looked the best and fitted in the base. Here I used two small ones.
LEDs	Four 5mm amber LEDS to bottom light the vacuum tubes (two LEDs per tube). I bought mine with a flat top so it was easier to glue them in.
Resistors	Four 120 Ohm resistors for the LEDs. My LEDs were 2 volts. If you get a different voltage, the value of the resistor has to be adjusted. There are plenty of calculators for this on the Internet.

Vacuum Tube on the Right

Item	Description	Picture
Mounting Flange	I used the same 3/4" Black Iron Floor Flange mentioned above.
Nipple	I used one 2" long Black Steel Nipple but you can use any size based on the geometry of your lamp.
Reducing Coupling	One 1-1/4" x 3/4" Black Pipe Reducing Coupling.
Vacuum Tube	From the same box mentioned above but I used a bigger one because it looked better.
LEDs	Two 5mm amber LEDS to bottom light the vacuum tube.
Resistors	two 120 Ohm resistors for the LEDs.

Strange Coil Contraption in the Back

Item	Description	Picture
Coupler	Two 3/4" x 3/4" diameter Black Iron Coupling Fittings.
Washers	Four 1-1/4" washers with 1/4" holes.
Spacers	1/2" and 1" spacers.
Screws	One 4" machine screw with nut.
Wire	One foot of copper wire to create the coil. I used grounding wire which is sold in various thicknesses by the foot. You can also use a single strand extracted from a romex cable.

The Case

Item	Description	Picture
Copper Box	I used an antique copper planter box that I got from a craft store. I guess it was a one off as I can't find it anymore. The good news is that there are plenty available in different shapes and sizes. You can even use a plastic or wooden box and "patina it up" yourself.
Dimmer	One 120 volt Rotary Base Dimmer. Mine is 300 watts but given that the Edison LED bulb only uses 7 watts, any dimmer will probably do.
Volt Meter	One 10v DC panel mount meter. You can find plenty of these on Ebay and Banggoods. Pick your favorite shape.
Switch	One good looking panel mount switch with cover. We're only switching 5v to the LEDs so it can be almost anything.
Transformer	One 120 volt AC to 5 volt DC transformer. I used the Mean Well APV-8-5.
Grommet	Given that the case is metal, I used a 3D printed grommet to protect the cable. A rubber grommet of the right size would also work.
Plug	One 15-amp 125-volt NEMA 5-15 grounded power plug. I decided to go with grounded as the desk lamp has plenty of exposed metal. By grounding the chassis, accidents can be avoided.

Once we put it all together, we will also need some wire, wire nuts, solder, shrink wrap, screws, bolts, nuts, scraps of wood, paint and glue. These are all described in the instructions below.

Construction Instructions

To be written.

3D Models