Post #676603 by Gwen on Sat, May 4, 2013 2:32 PM

I have been making concrete tiki's for my yard and house lately (still working up to a fountain) and I got the inspiration to make a lamp, largely spurred by a Witco lamp pictured in 'Tiki Modern' that has a cool bachelor pad leopard print lampshade. I don't have the chain saw that would allow me to reproduce the Witco look, but I set out to create something that would have that tiki modern feel that my heart so fondly desires.
I went out and purchased a make a lamp kit, and bought an extender (they call it a nipple) that allows you to create a long neck. I cut a length of black bamboo which I have in the yard and reamed out the joints so that it would be hollow, then I fitted it over the lamp nipple. The bamboo is a lot longer than the nipple, by the way.
I then fitted the lower part of the bamboo into a length of cardboard tube. I created a top for the tube with a hole in the center to help stabilize the bamboo. I put a second circle of cardboard in the tube to help with stability as well. You can't see it here, but I cut an opening in the backside of the tube to allow my wiring to go through. I put a piece of tape up on the neck to make the area, so I would know where to later make a hole in the concrete to go through the tube. I covered that hole and the bottom of of the tube with a plastic bag 'window' to keep the concrete out, then covered the rest of the tube with duct tape to keep the whole thing waterproof for it's encounter with the wet concrete.

I cut the bottom out of an oatmeal box and lined the box with a length of plastic sheeting. I mixed three parts sand to one part portland cement (plus some black colorant) together with enough water to make a pudding like texture. I poured it into the oatmeal box around the lamp fittings and put the top with a hole cut into it on the top to help stabilize the lamp while the concrete set. I put the top from another oatmeal box on the bottom. That little window you see cut into the top represented my idea that I could pour the concrete in through that hole. Nope, that did not work.

After about five hours, I carefully peeled away the cardboard and the plastic sheeting.

I used a saw to taper the sides of the tiki to give it the profile I was looking for. I then pinned on and traced simple paper template to help keep things even on both sides as I worked.

Then started carving. The cement was (and is) very soft- just like a sand castle when there is still a lot of water in the mixture. This is great for removing material easily, but not good for getting any kind of detail, as it is VERY easy to screw things up. So I am leaving it at this stage until late this afternoon or maybe this evening, at which point I will start to go in and clean up the wonky lines and generally tidy things up. I will also clean up the bamboo at that point.