… for my Bialaddin T10 table lamp. Here’s the goal. Nothing on the second-hand market other than an original Bialaddin (or possibly Tilley equivalent) would serve, the crucial factor being a top opening wide enough to stay clear of burner heat, and truncated cone shades intended for electric light don’t meet that criteria. Here’s my work in progress, joints silbrazed/ hard soldered, producing a strong and rigid frame. Lamp itself prepped for painting (it had been hand-painted in mid-blue) and I’m contemplating buying a reproduction hood. The covering’s a greater challenge. I’ve a sewing machine in the loft somewhere (!) but I’m not skilled in its use. The traditional method would be to bind the top and bottom rings with cotton tape, create a cover and a lining out of suitable fabrics and hand-stitch those to the taped rings, finally covering the stitching with gimp braid trim. I have another method in mind using cream-coloured card. Success or failure? I’ll report back. John
It's looking very good so far' If I can make a suggestion, once you've found the material you want to use, roll the shade around so it describes an arc on the fabric and mark the two curves, of the top and bottom rails. Then add about 1/2 inch all round. Sew the ends together so you've made a truncated cone and try it to make sure it fits. Once that's done, hem the top and bottom seams on the sewing machine, pinning them first. Once it fits on your frame, use cotton to hand sew the top and bottom hems to the frame - start with the top first and once that's done make sure the bottom seam is pulled tight as you sew it to the bottom frame. Hope that makes sense. I taught myself to use a sewing machine when I was young and I used it to make all sorts of stuff out of fabric. Haven't done much for years but I really should. Cheers Colin
@ColinG Thin card, four layers bonded with aerosol mount adhesive built up layer by layer and attached to the frame with self-adhesive paper tape. Curiously, it takes on a rose colour when illuminated.
Very innovative, John, and a wonderful effect. @presscall Wondering about the wire diameter? Source; coat hanger size? I got one of those replica hoods and apart from it having the holes the Color was slightly off compared to my fount which I had resprayed. If getting a new hood hold off on the paint! I use the new hood for testing but put the slotted one back on for the shelf and have painted the old damaged hood to match. Nice wire work in that other post too.
2mm Iain. Coat hanger wire would do, but I have a coil of cold-rolled mild steel. For the stove project I used stainless steel wire for service life, given the impact of burner heat. Thanks for the tip about the repro hood colour!
That looks really good John, very well done! My beautifully repainted T10 (thanks Colin!) now appears ‘naked’ after seeing your shade, another winter project.....
Fantastic. I will use this thread as inspiration for crafting lamp shades for one of my Victorian oil lamps. I have bought a silk shade holder but still need the shade! well done!
Repainted lamp. Resembles colour of shade when lit … … and provides a contrast for the shade and the chrome trim when not.
