gahrajmahal
Well-known member
Recently a new “harp mount” lamp shade came available and the Mrs. Said, “maybe you can fix that lamp you made for me”. What she didn’t say, but I read the thought bubble over her head was, over five years ago!!!
So the story starts many years ago with my wonderful father-in-law Jim. He was a master craftsman and worked in the mining industry keeping all the heavy equipment going with his company. He had two nice daughters, one that I married. Coming on the tail end of the depression, his generation was of the “make do with what you got” mindset. So, when his youngest daughter (my sister-in-law”) came home and announced that her class had gotten a hamster and everyone in the class was to take care of this animal. Initially, I guess they tried to take the large size cage home on the weekends, but I think they were probably in grade school, so not many students could take the cage and the critter home. Listening to this tale, Jim, an adept problem solver, went into his basement workshop and whipped up this small “weekend cage” so everyone could take their turn looking after the hamster over the weekend. I think this worked out fine for a while until one weekend my sister-in-law had a turn. She brought the hamster home successfully in the cage, but here is where the story is a little fuzzy, the hamster either escaped or met his maker. I’ll ask the Mrs once she returns home later.
So, the hamster cage ended up in their garage, never to house a rodent again. It was there we found it when the home was being sold after Jim had passed. As with many of the items there, it ended up at our house where it landed in our garage, dirty and dusty and forgotten.
Several years later I was cleaning our garage and saw the nice little cage. I got it out and admired Jim’s excellent craftsmanship and had to laugh that he had placed a Snoopy toy in the squirrel cage. My Mrs. Told me the story of the demise of the hamster by her little sister and I got the idea to make something out of it. I disassembled it, and scrubbed it with a brush and soapy water. I was surprised to find a linoleum floor. The wood cleaned up nicely too. I decided to make a lamp out of it minimally altering it to do so. I didn’t have a lamp shade, so I bought an Edison bulb and socket. I fashioned a “desk lamp” style adjustable arm system and wired it up. I presented it as a gift for some occasion and the Mrs. Loved it! But… we didn’t love how it looked with the bare bulb, plus the adjustable arms kept creeping down, so once again it sat in a corner of the basement not being used.
Enter the new harp mount lamp shade.
So, I adjusted the arms and added external lock washers between the wood hinges. This made the joints much more stiff. I cleared a small spot in the Mrs. Craft room and presented it to her once again. Let’s hope it doesn’t sag again and is used on occasion, reliving that funny hamster story.
So the story starts many years ago with my wonderful father-in-law Jim. He was a master craftsman and worked in the mining industry keeping all the heavy equipment going with his company. He had two nice daughters, one that I married. Coming on the tail end of the depression, his generation was of the “make do with what you got” mindset. So, when his youngest daughter (my sister-in-law”) came home and announced that her class had gotten a hamster and everyone in the class was to take care of this animal. Initially, I guess they tried to take the large size cage home on the weekends, but I think they were probably in grade school, so not many students could take the cage and the critter home. Listening to this tale, Jim, an adept problem solver, went into his basement workshop and whipped up this small “weekend cage” so everyone could take their turn looking after the hamster over the weekend. I think this worked out fine for a while until one weekend my sister-in-law had a turn. She brought the hamster home successfully in the cage, but here is where the story is a little fuzzy, the hamster either escaped or met his maker. I’ll ask the Mrs once she returns home later.
So, the hamster cage ended up in their garage, never to house a rodent again. It was there we found it when the home was being sold after Jim had passed. As with many of the items there, it ended up at our house where it landed in our garage, dirty and dusty and forgotten.
Several years later I was cleaning our garage and saw the nice little cage. I got it out and admired Jim’s excellent craftsmanship and had to laugh that he had placed a Snoopy toy in the squirrel cage. My Mrs. Told me the story of the demise of the hamster by her little sister and I got the idea to make something out of it. I disassembled it, and scrubbed it with a brush and soapy water. I was surprised to find a linoleum floor. The wood cleaned up nicely too. I decided to make a lamp out of it minimally altering it to do so. I didn’t have a lamp shade, so I bought an Edison bulb and socket. I fashioned a “desk lamp” style adjustable arm system and wired it up. I presented it as a gift for some occasion and the Mrs. Loved it! But… we didn’t love how it looked with the bare bulb, plus the adjustable arms kept creeping down, so once again it sat in a corner of the basement not being used.
Enter the new harp mount lamp shade.
So, I adjusted the arms and added external lock washers between the wood hinges. This made the joints much more stiff. I cleared a small spot in the Mrs. Craft room and presented it to her once again. Let’s hope it doesn’t sag again and is used on occasion, reliving that funny hamster story.
