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Mission-style lamp
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Don't build one cherry Mission-style lamp, build two
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By Gary Walchuk, photo by Simon Cheung, illustration by Len Churchill
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Mission-style design lends itself to all sizes of projects. This simple lamp is a testament to its distinctive characteristics
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This project is proof that you don't need a lot of space, equipment or wood to make something great. I used cherry for my lamp, but quartersawn white oak would look good too. Since the lamp is the sum of small parts, it makes sense to build more than one at a time. It takes just two to three hours to build a pair-not much longer than a single one. Buy your lamp kits before you start to ensure they fit your plans.
At the Post
I made the post from solid two-inch-thick stock, but you could also glue up some one-inch-thick material if you need to. I recommend you mill the post to finished dimensions, but keep this part longer than necessary for now. Sand up to the 150-grit level, chamfer the corners slightly to a 1/8" bevel, then cut both ends to make a clean, crisp line. By cutting after final sanding, you'll remove any areas that were accidentally rounded over at the ends by the sander. Complete the post by drilling a centred 3/8"-dia. hole along its entire length to accommodate the wires and lamp hardware. I used a 12"-long brad-point bit in a handheld drill for this job.
There are three parts left to cut now: the top cap, the two braces and the two base pieces. These components are all quite small: prepare them with extra care. You'll need some one-inch-thick stock for the base pieces and some 3/4" stock for the others. Sand everything with 120-grit paper.
Shaping the Parts
Cut the detail in the 3" x 3" top cap using a chamfer bit in a table-mounted router for the job. If you want more detail, cut a 1/16" x 1/16" shoulder into the chamfer where it meets the bottom face. Drill a 7/8"-dia. hole through the middle.
The braces come next. Each pair is cut from one brace blank. Draw diagonal lines from corner to corner, then bore a 7/8"-dia. hole into the centre point using a spade or Forstner bit. Make sure you have some solid backing underneath the brace blanks to prevent tearout as the bit breaks through underneath.
Once bored, cut the brace blanks diagonally, creating the four braces you'll need for the lamp. A bandsaw is the safest way to make this cut, although you could also use a variable-speed jigsaw at low speed or a sharp Japanese handsaw.
The base is made of two pieces of wood that fit together with a half-lap joint. But before you do that, the bottom faces of the base members need some routing to create feet. I did this on my router table, using a fence and push block for safety. Starting in the middle, remove 1/4" of stock, then move the fence over 1/4" and repeat until the router cuts extend to within two inches of each base end.
Now it's time to cut the centre half-lap joints. Decide which will be the top and bottom base members, then use the same router-table technique to mill the opposing grooves. You may get some tearout along the back face of each cut. Prevent it by choosing a push block that's wide enough to act as a backing board to support the base pieces. Complete the base parts by preparing their tapered ends.
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