User:Stever/Projects/halloweenlamp

I've made this lamp for Halloween 2020 out of old bandsaw blades that we took out of service when the got blunt or damaged (mostly damaged, blades seldom last long enough at rLab to get blunt.... :-/ ) Initially I tried TIG welding them into hoops but that was difficult as it was almost impossible to clean them well enough for TIG to work properly as they've got a lot of concreted sawdust and wood resin in the teeth.

It turns out that the Smart-MIG mode on the ESAB Rebel 235 is even better than we knew and it was capable of making a weld on 0.55mm thick tool steel, even when using 0.8mm wire so long as enough care was taken. The welds were crudely ground back but left quite rough intentionally as that fits the aesthetic of this piece. Once the blades had been joined into this Frankenstein cross between an armillary sphere and a bear-trap it was tempered in the materials oven to relieve stresses on the welds and to give the whole piece a bronze effect from the oxides on the steel. It was then put onto a base and fitted with a 300mm tubular LED bulb, I hope that in time it will rust to give a more distressed "post-industrial apocalypse" feel to it.

This lamp is the twin of the circular saw blade lamp