pool table stained glass light,billiards stained glass light,pool table lighting,billiard table lighting,custom pool table lighting,pool table light,custom stained glass lamp shade

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custom pool table lights
In the winter and spring of 2015, I built this custom designed pool table light for a family in Columbus Ohio. The clients had contacted some local stained glass studios, but were turned down concerning this project. I can understand that decision because this was like nothing I had undertaken before, and it required figuring out how to create a one of a kind pool table lampshade that would be both enduring and beautiful.

The design itself took many months to complete. The final drawings are as you see here...
pool table light
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custom pool table lighting

They had originally wanted accents of blue, green and purple mixed in with the yellows, reds and oranges that were the main color scheme (as in the photo to the right). At the last minute, I convinced them to leave out the blue and purple and go with a green accent that color-matched a green swirl in one of the yellow-orange glasses.
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billiard table light




Constructing this billiard table light began with figuring out the undercarriage that would provide adequate strength to this large, heavy, fragile artwork. I designed a steel framework to which I would afix the eight stained glass panels. I contacted a local welding shop and the owner suggested that 3/8" square steel bars would be strong enough to support the weight of lead and glass with minimal internal bracing. The result is the frame you see to the right.
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custom stained glass lampshade


Construction of this artwork required that I learn several new techniques. For example, once the eight flat panels were completed, attaching them to the steel frame required that I learn to solder vertically. At one point, I found that if I moved the lampshade so that 1/3 of it was hanging off the edge of my work table, I could stand up inside the shade. This made it possible to solder in place the brass wires that hold the stained glass panels tightly to the steel frame.
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pool table stained glass lamp shadeHere you can see the completed pool table lamp shade just prior to moving it off the work table for the first time. To make it possible for two people to carry it, I constructed special handles that attached to the hanging-points at the top of the steel frame. These did not work well, so carrying it meant lowering it onto a wood board and picking it up from underneath. In this way, my son and I were able to carry it out of my basement, where I work in the winter months.

The original plan was to ship this artwork, and I have a lot of trust in my usual shippers. But as I neared the end of this project, I decided that I wasn't 100% sure that my shippers would get this there unbroken, and I'd rather drive it to Ohio than take the chance that the shippers might break it. Breakage while shipping is rare and flat panels are not hard to fix, but having to fix this lampshade would have been quite difficult as it would have required removing panels from the frame, and that prospect was even more mind-boggling than putting it together to begin with. So driving it to the client's home seemed the best way to ensure that it got there in mint condition, and the clients agreed.
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custom stained glass lamp shade

Here the artwork has been washed and a chemical patina has been scrubbed on to darken the metallic parts. Afterwards, I cut a new board for transportation that had wood pieces screwed on to all four sides of the board so the artwork could not slide around. Once my son and I loaded the lampshade into the back of my van, I used ropes to tie it securely to the floor of my van. My son helped me drive it to Ohio over his spring break, and we had a great father-son road trip (thankfully I was driving when an 18-wheeler didn't see us and forced us off the highway by changing lanes right as we were passing it).
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billiard table stained glass lamp



And here is the lampshade safely hung over the billiard table. There is a photo my son took of me sitting on the scaffolding inside the lampshade while I attached the super-bright LED strips to the steel frame on the inside, but I couldn't locate it.

The local electrician had some initial problems with getting the LED lights to work so I had to return to Colorado before I could get a photo of the artwork all lit up, but the client assures me it all came out well in the end.

I will add a photo here of the lampshade lit up once the clients send me one. And if I'm ever passing through Ohio again, we have a standing invitation to stop in for a game or two...










INQUERIES ABOUT CUSTOM STAINED GLASS LAMP SHADES


I have gotten a lot of emails asking about custom stained glass lamp shades. I end up spending time typing the same information and attaching the same photos so I have decided to expedite that process by giving that information here and uploading the relevant photos as well.

I have made six custom stained glass lampshades in the last 10 years. They are not cheap, so if you were hoping that they would compete, price-wise, with the mass produced stained glass lamp shades you can find online, you will be disappointed. The lampshades I have made have ranged in price from $1800.00 (the HTC lamp shade seen in the photos below) to $8500.00 (the Clemson football lampshade seen in the photos below). And those prices are just for the lampshade; shipping costs and lighting costs and hanging costs (including optional reinforcement of the ceiling so that it will support a heavy lamp shade) are additional, which could make a custom shade top out at as much as $12,000.00.

The larger shades are made on a steel frame made for me by a local welder. See the photos above to understand how this works. The smaller (HTC) shade has steel reinforcement bars soldered up high on the inside, but no steel frame. The round lamp shade (HTC) was made by a little-known process whereby the conical sections are made flat, then bent into the round shape due to the softness and flexibility of lead (Pb) came. I was taught this method when I was a teenager by the uncle who got me started in stained glass and just happened to take a class in stained glass by an old master who knew this technique. Another, better example of this technique is the lamp shade I made for my parents when I was about 20 years old; it can be seen here.

Only two of the six lamp shades are shown on individual web pages on my web site because [1] clients often send photos that are not good enough to post online or [2] clients do not send photos at all. For that reason, most of the photos below show lamp shades prior to being hung.

BRONCOS STAINED GLASS LAMP SHADE
I'm not sure why, but I could not find a photo of this Broncos lamp shade completed. The photos below show the lamp shade during the making process.
broncos stained glass lampshade detail 01

broncos stained glass lampshade detail 02

broncos stained glass lampshade detail 03

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY STAINED GLASS LAMP SHADE
Each lampshade can be personalized to suit the client's desires. This client is a man who attended Clemson University. The lampshade not only incorporates iconic images
of the Clemson Tigers, it also has one of the main Clemson University buildings in the design. I could not find photos of the ends of this lamp shade, but the designs on both ends are icons of Kappa Alpha Psi, the fraternity that this client was a member of during his academic years. I don't recall what the letters "DVN" meant, but they, too, were meaningful to the client.
Clemson stained glass lampshade detail 01

Clemson stained glass lampshade detail 02

Clemson stained glass lampshade detail 03

DOUBLE WOOD FARM STAINED GLASS LAMP SHADE
This lampshade incorporated a corporate logo into the design.
Double Wood Farm stained glass lampshade detail 01

Double Wood Farm stained glass lampshade detail 02

HIGHLANDER TRAINING CENTER STAINED GLASS LAMP SHADE
This lampshade was hung over a dining room table.
highlander training center stained glass lamp shade detail 01

HEXAGONAL LAMPSHADE FOR A POKER TABLE
Shown prior to shipping.
poker table hexagonal lampshade

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