angiolino Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 advice on construction of a DIY floor lamp in the shape of a stylized crane Hi, I had the unhealthy idea of building a DIY floor lamp in the style of a stylized construction crane to which to apply a spotlight or a lamp to use when necessary, but I don't know what measures to adopt and how to size it so that it is also functional, the arm it should be articulated to direct and direct the light beam where it needs to be illuminated, I had thought for the base of an old brake disc or a flywheel or a recovery gear of adequate dimensions for the upright in a style like a lattice structure for the arm crosspiece I don't know how to articulate and size it so that it is pleasant and functional. What do you recommend? Thank you and best wishes for Easter. Global Truss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Good to see you posting Angiolino, you always give me something good to think about. Have you looked at many images of "tower cranes"? The tower vertical section is usually square, for full length members with cross bracing in a triangular pattern similar to the horizontal piece in photo you show. The Boom, "horizontal" component can be different structures depending on the uses. Triangular in structure is pretty typical. The basics would be pretty easy to make, a wide stand would be a must unless you tie it back to a wall. Put a cap on the tower with a lazy susan turn table and mount the boom to it. If you extend the boom behind the tower and weight it to counter balance the boom and light you have the next important component. All tower cranes have a large counter weight that turns with the boom and a control cab either on the boom side next to the tower that turns with or travels with the winch drum back and forth on the boom. I see lots of possibilities depending on how realistic I wanted it and how much I wanted to spend. The tower and boom are pretty straight forward, run the electrical cord on the inside of one of the tower members. Inside would make it way too complicated. A simple box on the back end of the boom for a counter weigh, holding a counter weight of course could also have indirect light sources, say reflecting ff the wall behind and ceiling above. I'd model one with a mobile control cab containing THE spot light or with the light hanging from it on a gimbal so it could be aimed. Maybe put more indirect lights on top of the carriage and cab. This arrangement would allow the cord to be held on a spring loaded spool so you could move it back and forth on the boom without having cord hanging or feeding the cord through a pully in the tower with a weight on it to keep it neat. If I didn't want that much realism I'd mount the boom to the tower like above with a counter weight to keep it stable and mount a suitable light fixture on the end of the boom. Simple and industrial would let me make it very light weight and still serve. Provided I only wanted to light things under the end of the boom with the fixture. Thoughts? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angiolino Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 Lazy Susan?? thanks for the encouragement I have to go to a mechanic or a scrap dealer to recover a rim or an old pulley or an old gear to make the base the tubes for the upright truss I fix them in the holes of the hub at the moment it's all in my head I have to conceive the right proportions between the floor column upright and the cross arm on which to fix the spotlight, thanks for your precious suggestions, happy Easter '' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 On 3/29/2024 at 1:15 AM, angiolino said: Lazy Susan?? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazy_Susan It could be an easy way to make your crane rotate. Or the boom. You know, you always give me ideas, Aniolino. Now I am thinking about steampunk table top lamps... Or a wall hanger workshop lamp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 There's a train station near me with a rather cool old crane; here's a screenshot from Google Maps street view: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewoon ik Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 Ghent and antwerp have some old cool cranes in the harbor area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 So something like this? curtis jere crane lamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 That thing looks pretty flimsy. They get a pretty nice price for them though. I had a neighbor who had a house fire from a tipped over floor lamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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