A Birthday Lamp, a Tale of Reconciliation

Today I want to show you what my dad and I made for my mom for her birthday (which was just the other day)!  We made this lamp from pieces of cherry wood and parts from a broken ceramic lamp that a friend gave me awhile ago (thank you so much Kristen!!).  I think it turned out pretty well...

My dad did the beginning and end bits (preparing the wood for turning, shellacking the finished turned piece, and installing the hardware/electrical stuff), and I did the middle bit, which was turning the piece on the lathe.  Truth be told I started that a little while ago... Ok, fine, it was back in February.

(Don't you just love the subtle pink tone it has going on?)

I had an awful time turning it.  My tools kept catching in the wood, leaving gouges all over the place...  It was so frustrating, and it felt like I didn't know how to turn any more.  So, before I caused the lamp-to-be any damage purposely, I threatened to turn it into kindling, decided that we were no longer on speaking terms, and put cherry on my list of woods-never-to-turn-again.

The grudge lasted until recently when I decided that a several month rivalry with a lamp was a tad ridiculous.  I was not to be defeated by a chunk of wood.  So I went back out to the shop, had a little chat with the lamp, and went to work really slowly.  But, I got it done!!  I took a few pictures while working on it if you're curious about the process.  

It started with some planed pieces of cherry...

Became a block ready for turning...

Was turned into a rough cylinder...

Then the fun stuff began...

It started to take shape...

After several different grits of sand paper, it was ready to come off the lathe...

Then my dad shellacked and assembled it...

And we have a lamp!!  It didn't end up looking like how I had it planned in the beginning, but sometimes the wood has other plans.  I think this whole project was a power struggle between the lamp and I.  Once we decided to play nice and work together, it all turned out ok in the end!

p.s. I know some of you may be curious about the crocheted doily I put under the lamp for these pictures!  My grandmother made it, and I went through some her old patterns that I have, but haven't found it yet!  I did a quick search on Ravelry too, but no luck.  I'm not sure how well you can make it out in the picture, but does it look familiar to anyone? I haven't given up on looking for it yet...

p.p.s. Cherry is no longer on my list of woods-never-to-turn-again.