Rocket Lamps. A pair of DIY, Mid Century Modern Bedside Lamps

[@charlesvanvalkenburg7592]

I like those lamps. I'll be interested to see what they look like finished. And of course, thank you for the wildlife videos.

[@Preso58]

Thanks. The lamps are finished now. I have added a bit of bling to the stem of the lamp holder and all the wood finishing is complete. Wait until you see the lamp shades! Regards, Mark

[@johnmolnar2957]

Thanks for the shop tour, thanks for the woodworking video . I always like your projects & I'm looking forward to the next video .Oh, BTW, we are the same age!

[@Preso58]

I have avoided a shop tour up until now. Most of the mess was next door in the metal shop! I recently had a discussion with my daughter about anxiety. Millennials love to point out how easy we had it as baby boomers. Sure, jobs were more stable and available and house prices probably seemed cheaper and more accessible but if you were born in the late 50's you grew up in the cold war period. My greatest fear as a child was being vaporised in a nuclear explosion. I recall watching the movie "Failsafe" as a child and it scared the living daylights out of me. Well, I guess we lived through it but it was still a scary period in human history. Regards, Mark

[@grahamjones8126]

I really enjoyed this Mark!

[@StuartsShed]

Excellent design - a really nice change to see some woodworking. It’s something I’d like to get into but time constraints prevent for now, so a real pleasure to see you make these.

[@rexmyers991]

Presso - I so thoroughly enjoy watching you use your OCD to maximum effect. You are a true renaissance man. Art, engineering, graphics all combine for such eye p,easing creations. Thank you, Sir

[@Preso58]

Thanks for that. The OCD thing is both a blessing and a curse. I tend to get bogged down with details. My wife also says I have chronic tunnel vision! 😁 Regards, Mark

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday Preso, I’m not a woodworker in anyway shape or form and closest woodworking tools I have is a Stihl 066 chainsaw but enjoy project like this, looks great so far mate, cheers

[@Preso58]

Thanks Matty. Unfortunately, for woodworking you almost certainly need a separate space. A lot of wood dust will promote rust on shiny machine surfaces and it gets everywhere. I used to just have the one space for all my machines and it was a constant battle to keep everything clean during a woodworking project. I built the extra space onto the back of my shed about 12 years ago. It would be nice to have it a bit bigger but I would have had to excavate a lot further back into the embankment and then I would have needed an engineered retaining wall. Regards, Mark

[@TheAyrCaveShop]

Very cool design.. SpaceX approved 👍👍

[@Preso58]

Thanks Dean. Wait till you see the lava lamp I am working on! Regards, Mark

[@Radiotexas]

Truly you are a multi-talented individual, mate! Love the triangle push blocks on the tablesaw!

[@Preso58]

Thanks. I was told that I was using dangerous techniques on the circular saw. I thought I would get bonus points for at least using one push stick! 😁 Regards, Mark

[@taranson3057]

I love woodworking, I was a cabinet maker many years ago. Nowadays I use my CNC machine for woodworking projects because of a disability. I also do small metal work projects, nothing fancy. That bed frame looked awesome, and the lamp design very interesting, I like it.

[@Preso58]

Thanks. I reckon a lot of workshop tools are underutilised. It's worth looking at what a tool does and then thinking laterally to see what other materials it can cut, bend or form. Regards, Mark

[@taranson3057]

@@Preso58 I really like the hardwood that you used, it almost looks like Koa.

[@outsidescrewball]

Great discussion/build

[@Preso58]

Thanks Chuck. Not exactly metal machining but I did use a milling machine. Regards, Mark

[@sheph7]

Ohooooo very cool design, cool aesthetic. Love the wire routing approach. My vote is for a rocket "nosecone" to cover the threaded tube. I find lamp stuff is its own world of sizes and thread pitches. Some I've worked on were pipe threads, which I find strange, but they do tighten. btw, a clear horizontal surface no matter the size or location is a magnet for everything.

[@Preso58]

Thanks. The stems of those lamp holders were M12X1 and I do have a tap and die for that size. However the stems screw into the bare wood quite tightly. The decorative parts for the stems are finished and they are a bit of a nod to the Jetsons (The Hanna Barbara cartoon series). Regards, Mark

[@stuartwood7252]

Nothing beats a sharp hand plane and spoke shave. Love the mix of old and new wood tooling (about a 300 year span). And the way you have constructed them, they are truly, a handsome set of jack stands. Great content. Stu. Melbourne

[@Preso58]

Thanks. Use the tools you've got I reckon. Regards, Mark

[@generessler6282]

Thanks Mark! I really like the way you can co-opt metal working techniques to get stuff done with wood.

[@Preso58]

I think it's important to look at a machine as a bit of a swiss army knife. Metal lathes can be made to do way more than just turn metal objects and wood lathes can be made to cut metal. I once visited an engineering workshop and the owner told me the most important and versatile machine in his shop was his hydraulic press. He claimed to have used it in ways it was never designed to be used but he got results that were pretty amazing. Regards, Mark

[@Rustinox]

I like the design very much. It's just that working with wood makes a terribele mess in the workshop :) Some nice wildlife clips at the end.

[@Preso58]

Thanks Michel. That wood has a somewhat nasty dust. It stains your skin black and it is a bit toxic if you have a lot of exposure to it. I bit the bullet about 12 years ago and built the extra space on to the back of my garage so I could make wood projects without getting the dust all over my machine tools. It's good but it's not big enough. Regards, Mark

[@rayclark44]

Greate looking start to your lamp legs Mark. I have a rocket light that my wife & I received as a wedding gift from my work mates almost 50 years ago. I rediscovered it in our loft just before we moved so I didn't have the pleasure of making it but I did restore it including the blue spun fiberglass. It now lights up our living room in Westgate-on-Sea. Take care & stay safe sir 🇬🇧🍀

[@Preso58]

I am a big fan of retro and vintage light fixtures and lamps. Modern stuff is a bit too bland for me. Regards, Mark

[@lucpet95]

There's not much I wouldn't do to have a workshop like yours 🙂

[@matthewf1979]

Rocket lamp farings coming in part 2! Nice build Presso!

[@MyMiniHomeWorkshop]

Very nice, well done. 👍 I also enjoy working with timber and turning, but alas, I don't have the room to partake in much of it.

[@Preso58]

Woodworking gear seems to take up a lot more real estate than a metalwork shop. That bed head was about the limit of what I can build in the space I have too. Regards, Mark.

[@MyMiniHomeWorkshop]

@@Preso58 I made a new timber double bed base a few years ago, it took all of the space I had in our driveway to make it and even then it was a squeeze.

[@franksmodels29]

Very cool build 👍🏻👍🏻

[@dreamsteam8272]

The whole Video i had "Connie Allen's - Rocket 69" (1951) in my head.... 😂 Nice one!

[@Preso58]

Ha! I had to google that reference. Cool song. Regards, Mark

[@GDub1958]

Shop looks impressive. I was born 02/20/1958!

[@Preso58]

Me on Feb. 5th! Regards, Mark.

[@garagemonkeysan]

Great project.❤

[@robertwragg9224]

Like it good job dude

[@Warped65er]

Thx for the vid.

[@campbellmorrison8540]

Reminds me of my favorite artist, Alexander Calder.

[@Preso58]

I had to google him. I noticed that he was a contemporary of Mondrian and a lot of his artworks were from the mid century period. I also saw one of his sculpture in Seattle although I didn't know it was by him at the time. Regards, Mark

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Wow you do woodturning as well Mark. I can see you have had some training (or watched a lot of KZbin videos?) by the way you use the spindle gouges and skew. Good to see a wood project and the piece came out really good. I have had a big clean up and some new changes in my shop since you visited a few years ago. The issue is that I have run out of room so I'm starting work on extending the small shed down the back. I will then move all my woodworking and woodturning gear into that space. Currently I find that my metal working machines and gear get a lot of dust on them from doing wood projects.

[@Preso58]

Jon, building the extra space on the back of my garage was the best move I made. I wish I could have made it larger but I would have had to cut a lot further into the embankment at the rear of the garage. Wood dust holds moisture and it promotes rust on things like lathes and mills. The only training I had on woodturning was at college. I think we did a short module and we had the option of including turned parts in a furniture making project towards the end of our training. Mostly I was self taught with a lot of trial and error. Bowl turning scares the living daylights out of me but between centres work is more my style. Regards, Mark

[@okoustrup]

Hi Mark, I follow your videos with great interest. One thing I remarked in this video is you're keeping chemicals on high shelves. When I were working in laboratories (chemical engineer), we always kept chemicals below head height - if they accedentially tip over or the lid is not properly attached, you might spill chemicals over your head on high shelves. If it's paint - it's just a mess, if it's acid or alkaline - it's dangerous

[@Preso58]

Yes, I can see why that would be an issue. If only I had the space to do that. Most of the chemicals stored up there are not toxic. I keep them and the acids in another storage cupboard in the metal shop and at waist height. However, they would still not be nice all over one's melon. Regards, Mark

[@IsZomg]

Reminds me of the famous Philippe Starck lemon squeezer!

[@Preso58]

That was the inspiration but I couldn't recall who the designer was. I just remember seeing those juicers in just about any Italian kitchen featured in a trendy design magazine. Regards, Mark

[@wyohman00]

Galah's were all over Alice Springs. Hundreds of them would land on the football pitch and make all sort of noise.

[@Preso58]

I used to work out at Charleville, South West Queensland. I lived just opposite the school oval and the Principal used to feed the galahs. The racket was deafening, so I know your pain. Regards, Mark

[@BaconbuttywithCheese]

Looking for a good bugzapper. Is your one custom or store bought?

[@Preso58]

I think you might be referring to the blue LED sign that is up high on the wall. It is just a plasma cut stainless steel sheet stencil that was made for me by a very talented metalworker who makes military insignia with a CNC plasma cutter. I just mounted some blue LED strip lights behind it and wired it in with my shop lights. It does look a bit like a bug zapper but it isn't. Regards, Mark

[@BaconbuttywithCheese]

@@Preso58 Ahhh, thanks for the clarity.

[@DanBrideau]

Some folks have an "inbox zero" state for their e-mail, when every message is addressed. I translate that to "workbench zero", when the bench is completely clear.

[@Johannes58934]

I didn't realize we had the same birth year...

[@Preso58]

That's it.... Preso58!

[@Johannes58934]

@@Preso58 and Johannes58

[@seabreezecoffeeroasters7994]

So when will you be machining a channel into the Bandsaw table to set up an adjustable fence? Because there is always time for another project ..... 🤣

[@Preso58]

Believe me. it's on the list. Regards, Mark

[@joshclark44]

Woodworking? I sure hope it does.

[@markneedham752]

Victoria Av, Woody Pt......???

[@Preso58]

I'm sorry. I am not sure what you are asking.... Regards, Mark

[@markneedham752]

@@Preso58 Their was a Pressling family near my Grandfathers at that address, back in the 50's. The father was a teacher at Clontarf School.

[@Preso58]

@@markneedham752 I don't think we had any family living there. It's a different spelling of the surname (ours only has the one "s" and my father migrated from New Zealand when he was a teenager. I do have a distant relative with the same surname living in Newcastle and the rest are still back in NZ around Wellington. Regards, Mark

[@joell439]

👍👍😎👍👍

[@gennadyyakubovich4076]

Mark. You scared a sh!t out of me while sawing on circular saw. it is so much dangerous. Please, use safe tecnique while operating circular saw.

[@iTeerRex]

You should watch Oriental wood workers. With discipline and correct technique they are injury free. I think here in the West OSHA has scared everyone.

[@Preso58]

Fear not! Statistics show that most industrial accidents happen to young people and those new to the job. I am certainly not young and I have been working with circular saws for over 55 years, and I still have all my fingers and thumbs. 😁 Regards, Mark

[@seabreezecoffeeroasters7994]

The blade was more than 2" below the surface of the wood and it was a fairly shallow cut. Any 'safety' benefit with a push block or stick would be questionable when compared to them losing contact over hand held.

[@KarlBunker]

Yeah, what @@seabreezecoffeeroasters7994 said. There was no dangerous or improper technique used in that cut.