How to make oyule lamp

artncraft

8 years ago

The Oyule lamp is an oil lamp made of light bulbs from the artist Sergio Silva, who sells them for $650.
I agree that it does look nice, but the materials only cost about $10:
Paraffin oil
A wick
Two burned out light bulbs
A piece of wood
Black gloss paint
Twelve neodymium magnets
(8 small cylindrical magnets, two large cylindrical magnets, two spherical magnets)
EpoxyMy version of this lamp is slightly cheaper than the original though, the differences are listed on the pictures.

Step 1: Hollowing The Bulbs

For this lamp to look nice the small black piece of glass on the base of the bulb must remain intact, which means the entire base must be removed. (as opposed to breaking the glass off)First remove the small piece of metal on the glass part of the base, it will help to desolder it from the wire inside.
(the small piece of metal is one of the electrical contacts, the other is the part that’s threaded like a screw)

With an X-Acto knife or box cutter carefully pry the base away from the glass, it is attached by some sort of adhesive, but nothing else. Some are attached better than others, and are more difficult to separate.

Next, using a screwdriver carefully break the glass holding the filament.
Clean up the sharp edges as best you can.

Step 2: Wicks

Go to a local craft store and buy a wick, make sure that the wick does not have a wire center and is made for an oil lamp. Depending on the width of the wick you may have to double it like I did. (If the wick is too thin it will not soak up the oil fast enough for a continuous burn.)You may discover that the hole in the base is not large enough for the correct diameter wick, if so you will need to file the hole to make it larger.
(Attempting to drill it would most likely end with a broken base)

Step 3: Reattaching The Base

The base must be removable to allow refueling, and though it would probably stay on because of its weight, I felt it needed to be more secure so I attached it with magnets.On the glass part of the bulb where base attaches to there are two small indentations which provide enough space for a small neodymium magnet to be attached to the inside of the base.
I attached a 1/16in thick magnet with a diameter of 3/16in to each side of the base using epoxy. On the inside of the bulb, where the indentations are, I did the same.
*I tried to do this with super glue, but it melted.

Step 4: Creating the Base for the Lamp

The base of the lamp was made from a 0.75 X 5.5 X 24 inch piece of wood. You can really use any size you want, but for the bulbs I was using I felt this was a good size.After cutting, drill holes for the magnets that will hold your bulbs on. You can put these wherever you want but I separated my piece of wood into four quarters and put the magnets in the center of two diagonally opposite quarters.
(its easier to look at the picture than figure out the explanation)

Because a drill creates a cylindrical hole, cylindrical magnets look the best, and make sure the holes are the right depth, because the magnets are very difficult to remove.

Now sand the surfaces, edges, and corners to smooth out and round the piece of wood.
Apply a layer of sanding sealer, allow it to dry, and sand again with a very fine grain of sand paper.
Paint with black gloss paint (or any other color) and allow to dry.

note: To clean the paintbrush you used for the sanding sealer, use mineral spirits (turpentine) not water.

Step 5: Finish It!

All that’s left to do is:
Place the spherical magnet in the bulb
Fill it with oil

Because of the magnets that hold the base of the bulb on, getting the spherical magnet in can be difficult. To do so easily place a straw in the bulb, put the magnet in it, and push with a skewer.
Use a funnel to fill your bulbs, place the lid (base of the bulb) on, and attach them to the wooden base.

Do not pick up the lamp while the candles are lit, even when they aren’t be careful because the light bulbs rotate very freely.