home projects Arching hobby / desk lamp

[John Kimball]

I've wanted to make this hobby lamp for quite a while. One of the problems with scale modeling is getting enough light on the small parts to see what you are doing. Your hands or head will cast shadows on your work and make it very difficult to work on them. Regular desk lamps just don't provide enough light and headlamps don't always place the light where you need it. The arch desk lamp casts light from dozens of angles to help eliminate shadows. 

I started by bonding 2 carbon fiber pultruded rectangular strips together with 3M DP420 adhesive in an arch shape. I used the 3M DP420 adhesive because of its superior shear strength. This allowed me to form the carbon fiber strips in a natural arc very similar to bent wood processes. the arch you see in the photos is the natural shape of the bonded arch and is free standing. The rivets seen in the photos were used to aid in locating while bonding, but I liked the look, so I left them in.

Next I used some 5" roll wrapped tubes to create the base for each end of the arch. I used simple hand tools like rotary tools and sand paper to create the cutouts and recesses for the electrical and USB outlets, and light controls. The ends caps were created from resin infused plate made from chopped strand, 3k 2x2 twill fabric, and Pro-Set Infusion Resin for a forged carbon look (check our youtube channel in the coming weeks to see how I made this plate). 

The supports are made from 3 sections of telescoping tube from Rock West. I used sizes 03, 04, and 05. I could have been more creative with the design, but its design is mostly for added strength in the bond between the base and the arch. The smalIest tube passes through the base. I also wanted to use as many off-the-shelf items as possible in order to minimize fabricating special parts.

After attaching the LED light strips and routing the wiring, I bonded the arch into the support tubes and then bonded the support tubes into the base units all with 3M DP420 adhesive. After it cured, I cast the support tubes full of epoxy casting resin. some rubber edge strips to close out the edges for some table friction and the lamp was compete.

All of the non-composite hardware was purchased from another unnamed online reseller, so the options are plentiful.

The final product is extremely stable and sturdy, and provides incredible light. I like the low profile aspect of it. There's a lot going on on my work bench, so It may seem large, but it stays out of the way of my screens and camera, and gives me plenty of room to work without getting in the way. Not to mention it gives me great lighting for shooting images and video while I'm building.

The entire project was probably around 10-15 hours of design, part selection, planning, and assembly.

[Tyler Crouch]

This is awesome John! I've thought about designing something similar for puzzling. When you get 3-4 people around a table there are not enough lamps in the house to remove all the shadows. Very well done. 

[lo_0l]

On 7/10/2023 at 11:22 PM, John Kimball said:

I've wanted to make this hobby lamp for quite a while. One of the problems with scale modeling is getting enough light on the small parts to see what you are doing. Your hands or head will cast shadows on your work and make it very difficult to work on them. Regular desk lamps just don't provide enough light and headlamps don't always place the light where you need it. The arch desk lamp casts light from dozens of angles to help eliminate shadows. 

I started by bonding 2 carbon fiber pultruded rectangular strips together with 3M DP420 adhesive in an arch shape. I used the 3M DP420 adhesive because of its superior shear strength. This allowed me to form the carbon fiber strips in a natural arc very similar to bent wood processes. the arch you see in the photos is the natural shape of the bonded arch and is free standing. The rivets seen in the photos were used to aid in locating while bonding, but I liked the look, so I left them in.

Next I used some 5" roll wrapped tubes to create the base for each end of the arch. I used simple hand tools like rotary tools and sand paper to create the cutouts and recesses for the electrical and USB outlets, and light controls. The ends caps were created from resin infused plate made from chopped strand, 3k 2x2 twill fabric, and Pro-Set Infusion Resin for a forged carbon look (check our youtube channel in the coming weeks to see how I made this plate). 

The supports are made from 3 sections of telescoping tube from Rock West. I used sizes 03, 04, and 05. I could have been more creative with the design, but its design is mostly for added strength in the bond between the base and the arch. The smalIest tube passes through the base. I also wanted to use as many off-the-shelf items as possible in order to minimize fabricating special parts.

After attaching the LED light strips and routing the wiring, I bonded the arch into the support tubes and then bonded the support tubes into the base units all with 3M DP420 adhesive. After it cured, I cast the support tubes full of epoxy casting resin. some rubber edge strips to close out the edges for some table friction and the lamp was compete.

All of the non-composite hardware was purchased from another unnamed online reseller, so the options are plentiful.

The final product is extremely stable and sturdy, and provides incredible light. I like the low profile aspect of it. There's a lot going on on my work bench, so It may seem large, but it stays out of the way of my screens and camera, and gives me plenty of room to work without getting in the way. Not to mention it gives me great lighting for shooting images and video while I'm building.

The entire project was probably around 10-15 hours of design, part selection, planning, and assembly.

Super cool and impressive John! I've been wanting to design some lighting for my back room/shop. This definitely gives me some good ideas!

[Julia]

Fantastic idea and what a cool setup! This would be handy for so many craft projects. Nice work!!