Make Antler Lamps
Antler lamps are lamps made from the antlers of deer, moose or other horned animals. The antlers typically have been shed off the animal and can be used as a decorating accent. Follow these steps on how to make antler lamps.
Steps
- Clean the interior lining of the antlers. Remove grime, dirt and organic matter by using oil soap.
- Apply lacquer or polyurethane to the surface of the antlers. This will ensure the antler lamp will be easier to clean in the future.
- Stack the antlers into an arrangement that you find visually appealing.
- Place an inverted, large antler close to the top of your lamp. This antler will secure your light socket.
- Drill a hole through the other side of the inverted antler. This will be a path for the lamp cord to pass through.
- Position one more antler that reaches a little higher than the large, inverted antler. This will serve as the piece that will hold the lampshade.
- Hold the stack of antlers together with rubber bands, bungee cords or wire. This will enable you to work on your antler lamp without holding all the pieces together yourself.
- Install the lamp socket into the large, inverted antler.
- Feed the cord through the hole you drilled in the antler.
- Pull the cord gently until all of the cord has made it through the hole.
- Solder all the antlers together. Use a soldering gun to permanently fix all the antlers together in your desired arrangement.
- Screw a bulb into the light socket.
- Place a lampshade on the top of the antler lamp.
- Flip the switch on your antler lamp to turn it on.
Tips
- If you apply more than 1 coat of lacquer or polyurethane to the antlers, make sure that you let each coat dry before reapplying.
- When soldering your antlers together, make sure the shade and socket are positioned near the center of the stack.
- Test your lamp socket kit to make sure it works before installing it into your antler lamp. This will prevent you from assembling your antler lamp only to find out that your lamp socket kit doesn't work correctly.
- Plastic antlers are available for purchase from specialty retailers if real antlers aren't available.
Warnings
- Keep the antlers at least 3 inches (76.2 mm) away from the light bulb. Antlers will burn over time if they're too close to the light bulb.
- Make sure that you do not use a bulb with the maximum acceptable wattage as indicated on the lamp socket. Using too hot a bulb could result in a fire.
Things You'll Need
- Antlers
- Lamp socket kit
- Soldering gun
- Rubber bands, bungee cords or wire
- Lampshade
- Drill
- Lacquer or polyurethane
- Oil Soap
- Light bulb
