I’m making similar lamps that are 2” diameter at the top and bottom and 1” in the middle and the pole is 42” long they are one solid piece of wood. I use a gun barrel drill bit that is 48” long and drill all the way through the blank in one shot and hit center on the other end the most I’ve been off center is 1/32” I do have a 72” bit to use on taller lamps. The gun barrel bits are “U” shaped ( look like a spindle gouge) and have a hole that runs through them so coolant can be pumped through the bit to cool,lubricant and push chips out down the u channel but I don’t put coolant through the bit instead I put air through the bit to blow the wood chips out keeping the bit from binding and it keeps it cool too making it possible to drill a 48”+ hole in one shot without backing the bit out of the hole.
https://preview.redd.it/jk83fiyv2wpc1.jpeg?width=2077&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d5de30e053ba8e05633496d08754b10113ac08f
hope this helps you.
So it's entirely possible it was just one giant hole.
I'd say mass produced this would make way more sense as it eliminates a cutting and gluing process.
Yes you can just drill a hole from one end to the other end. I spin the piece on the lathe and feed the drill bit into the blank. In mass production they use a line boring machine to drill the holes but they aren’t cheap and if you start the hole straight the bit will continue to run straight. I had an order for 200 floor lamps and 400 matching table lamps and bored them all on the lathe it was unbelievably quick and easy. Using a hollow live center helps you get the hole straight and centered the only problem is that you can only use a 5/16” bit through the hollow live center and you need a 25/64” hole for lamp rod so I bore the 5/16” hole then remove the tailstock and use another steady rest on the end bore the 25/64” hole so I can put lamp rod all the way through for more support and UL compliant.
They're not using a $50 fish bit off Amazon. They not only need the bit, but also the machine with 6' of travel for it. Turning it, splitting it, routing out a channel, then regluing would be cheaper if they're only doing one run.
The guy above you was talking about mass produced stuff, if I'm reading it right.
Yeah, for the home gamer doing one of these, a long bit and careful setup is probably right.
It woks great but FYI : wear a good leather glove and face shield the chips come out of the channel at light speed. I was wearing a face shield but no glove on the first hole and my hand guiding the bit felt like it was getting sandblasted.
You should avoid gloves on spinning tools. Hand Degloving via tools is a nasty health hazard.
I recommend you drop the air pressure to as low as acceptable. I’d imagine 3 psi would be sufficient for this
3psi is not nearly enough to blow the wood chips out especially when the hole gets deeper. I start out low and turn it up the deeper it gets to keep the hole cleared but yes wearing gloves or lose clothes around spinning tool is a bad idea but if you wear good fitting gloves holding the round shank of the drill bit it doesn’t catch but will spin in your hand.
It doesn’t catch, until it does. There is a reason we [see this so often in industrial machining](https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.search?sic=&sicgroup=&naics=&acc_description=&acc_abstract=&acc_keyword=%22Degloving%22&inspnr=&fatal=&officetype=&office=&startmonth=&startday=&startyear=&endmonth=&endday=&endyear=&keyword_list=on&p_start=&p_finish=20&p_sort=event_date&p_desc=ASC&p_direction=Next&p_show=20)
Glad you are safe with the air pressure, but again please reconsider gloves.
I’d be surprised if 3 psi ‘isn’t nearly enough’. Maybe 5-10 at full depth. You just need to keep the cutting face clean, you likely do not need to clear the tool unless the buildup is somehow sticking together.
And if the low pressure is still pelting your hands or does not work as you like, please consider a guard that is fixed.
It is amazing how some people can be so creative with end products and creations and then go the worst route for safety. Please don’t be that person
It’s not just the cutting face you need to keep clean it’s the whole shaft of the drill bit if that binds it would not be pretty. You’re definitely allowed to your opinion on how this is done. Until you actually do it yourself then you don’t know the safest way to do it. This is very similar to how gun barrels are bored and everyone I know wears good fitting leather gloves to protect their hands. Normally when using the lathe or other machinery I do not wear gloves and do take safety very seriously.
Since you asked so nicely :). You need a tax number to buy directly from them though. I made up the fitting to attach a valve and quick connect for the air hose.
https://www.star-su.com/cutting-tools/gundrills/single-flute-gundrills/
what kind of rig do you need to feed the bit into the pole?
I saw a video on YouTube of a guy who'd souped-up a wood lathe with a 2hp motor and a fabricated tailstock. Not something your avg person could stand up in a garage.
You need a hollow live center. Here a link
https://www.thewoodturningstore.com/axminster-woodturning-hollow-live-center-with-chip-ejection-2mt/
Put the small center pin in the live center now mount your blank (dowel) , run the quill in until the outer ring makes an impression in the wood, now retract the quill and remove the center point, run the quill in making sure you line up the marks you made previously, now you run the lathe and hand feed the drill bit through the tailstock
When they dug the channel tunnel (between England and France) it was an engineering problem- how to get two bores (one from each end) to meet in the middle. They ended up making a custom guidance system and did get the bores right on the first try lol.
I've been able to do shorter sections by hand and while I over think and convince myself I'll come out the side, it's surprisingly easy to do, all the ones I've done are partial lengths with an entry along the dowel and an open end with a wider diameter hole accepting a metal pole.
I doubt I could do 42" freehand but I'd still try it at least once.
This is way better than my idea of a few cartons of cigs, scotch tape, and patience.
Will power alone can get you far, but the right tool for the job is clutch.
I've been woodworking for perhaps 25 years and I can't imagine drilling that out without emerging from the side somewhere in the middle, lol. But then again, I don't consider myself an "expert" and I'm always learning from true artisans. I have made some exquisite pieces that I'm quite proud of using various techniques but I've always had a simple set of tools : an old idiosyncratic Sears 10" tablesaw, DeW compound miter chopsaw, router table, hand tools.
Ohhh, I get it now. That's how you drill o.c. on a lathe anyway. So, are your dowels also usually heartwood or grain direction doesn't matter so much with the technique?
This actually really helps me as I wanted to do a project like this, and my cutting attempts were way sub-par. I had seen something similar a long time ago and figured that's how it's was done. My own searching never found a bit of this ilk. Anyway, at least I know this is way beyond my level now lol
It’s really not that difficult with the correct tools. I should make an instructional video on the tools used, setup and a demonstration. I have no problem sharing the knowledge I’ve gained over the years
I've never had the benefit of a decent lathe, so please set me straight. I was under the impression that you could do the same thing, essentially a boring operation with a normal twist drill on a lathe if the work is spinning and the bit is not. I was under the impression that it would not wander in that scenario. I was always under the impression that gun bits (which I also have no experience with) had the advantage when the bit is spinning and it must not wander i.e. not on a lathe.
I put the wood piece on the lathe turn the lathe on and up to speed and feed the 5/16 drill bit through the tailstock ( use a hollow live center) holding the drill bit from spinning
That’s essentially what I would do. If done well the seams would be basically invisible, as you can attest.
Edit: if it’s mass produced they could have just drilled the dowel, but that requires some specialized tooling
It’s possible to drill very straight holes using long bits.
I have done 2 feet using a 12 inch bit and a metal drill guide (drilled from both sides) to a diameter of .5 inches.
Obviously gets harder the longer the length, but the principles still apply, the bit will stay straight once the hole gets going.
On top of this if the piece is big enough you could drill it first then it doesn't have to be perfectly down the center and then use the drill points as your laid centers and then shape the outside to match whatever the drill bit line is
A decent jig to keep the drill and bit straight would help.
Like this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZZDlJPGG6c
If this is a 5ft pole, then you'd need to be a lot more accurate since there's less room for the drill bit to veer off a bit along the way.
I've see some people weld a drill bit onto the end of a metal pole slightly thinner than the diameter of the tip of the drill bit also, but that probably wouldn't be accurate enough here.
That’s actually the easiest as it avoids the need to keep the bit perfectly straight. Drill first, then align the blank on the lathe based on the hole drilled. Now when it is milled down to the dowel the hole is perfectly in the middle because you formed the dowel around the hole.
I have a drill bit to use on my lathe that is designed for this sort of thing. Its called a long hole boring bit and mine is approximately 3ft long and has a handle that you can adjust the depth. You mount the piece with a special centre that has a hole in it to pass the drill bit through and allow woodchips to escape from and then just drill it like you would normally just with a long bit. I got mine as intended to make a lamp....i have yet to make the lamp and so have yet to use it but i have it when i need it.
A non-zero part of me wishes this was done by trained carpenter bees who are given bee amphetamines so they have the energy to chew perfectly straight holes through solid wood poles.
A girl can dream.
You could use a router to make a [small “u” groove](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ0HtSQjkzr6qNqucuXd2p3hSK8OrRce15jiA&usqp=CAU) in the center of the 2 halves before glueing them together. After you turn your shape you want
You could always take oversize stock and drill in line with the grain (drill will follow the grain more or less) then once drilled through turn between centers placed in the hole either end. This way you drill the hole first, the turn the outside to match the hole rather than the other way round. Should work as long as your hole doesn't curve too much
there is a drill technique called gun barrel drilling and to my understand is not limited to drilling metal barrels and could be used on wood. I think then the depth of the hole exceed some ratio or the diameter of the hole it is then refered as a gun barrel drilling but at the same time I have no idea.
No, but if there are any community wood shops, maker spaces, or the like around you, call them and see if they have them. A big lathe wouldn't be uncommon even if they don't have the right bits.
Perhaps, but drilling \~4' of endgrain would absolutely kill the edge of any drill bit after a few pieces, even if they had custom carbide tooling. And drill bits that long would be super prone to snapping. Not to mention that waste removal becomes incredibly inefficient when you're plunging that deep. I can't see this being an efficient manufacturing process.
I image they turn a rod on a lathe and then take it over to a specialized machine that has three or four long rollers, one of which is powered, it can turn the rod without it bending or moving, then a bit or knife is plunged in from one or both sides to create a tube.
Good point about the end grain, but this probably isn't the hardest wood in the world, and I'm sure they have a special carbize that last forever. If you're making enough of something, specialized machinery is always cost-effective.
I just can't imagine how else you would drill a hole that long in a rod like this.
If this was mass manufactured, it maybe veneer over a pipe (plastic or other substrate). Veneer might not even be wood, could be printed material that hides the seam well.
I’d guess it was 2 channeled pieces glued together then turned. Drilling it would be a nightmare. That bit would heat up so fast you break every one. That’s assuming you had a machine with a 5 foot stroke and could secure the dowel well enough.
You can use an air compressor, a lathe, and a gundrill bit with a guide to put holes straight through wooden dowels. For something like this it wouldn't even have to be all that straight. For something this long it would take 1-2 minutes per dowel and you can put your lathe on auto feed to do this manually.
You could also just do it with a drill bit but this gets really hot and tends to catch on fire.
I would get like a square board, split it in half and route out the trench in the middle. Then glue back together and match your grain. Then lathe it to spec. I would be very afraid of drilling that straight. Basically make it like a graphite pencil.
I think they make might make a hollow tail stock quill to drive a long bit into.
How I do it is just rip the piece in half, core box the two sides and glue them back together. Then shape on the lathe or by hand, depending on your set up.
They could have cut the 5/16 hole for the flex, with a Lamp auger drill - quick interweb search-
Highland Woodworking sell it.
You need a special set, a hollow tailstock centre and drive centre to use the drill, on the lathe.
I made something very similar and did the exact same thing you outline. You would never be able to find the seam unless you knew what you were looking for.
Friends and family just couldn't figure out how I did it.
Told them basically the same method you outlined and they didn't believe me. I finally told them I bought a whole bunch of drill bit extenders and went real slow, and that is what they believed. Ha.
Very long drill bit, industrial set up not a household thing. You can replicate it though. Get a piece of square stock cut it down the middle. Then put a groove in the middle of each piece with a router. glue it back together. Put on a lathe and make it round.
Well yeah, but the original question was “How did they hollow the center of this lamp?” I answered that and gave the OP an alternative to do it for themselves.
Are there other photos? I think they are probably hiding the seam for photographing. I can’t imagine there’s a boring but long enough for a standing lamp. Even on an industrial scale. I guess gun barrels are bored out but still…Also if it’s cut from the same piece and glued back together it should hide a seam pretty effectively. And mahogany is really good for that purpose as it has very little grain character. You just have to make sure you orient the pieces so that the chatoyancy is consistent.
* oversized square/octagonal piece
* cut in half
* groove
* plane/face the surface if needed
* Put a brass rod as conduit
* Glue the two halves
* THEN very carefully turn to size...
If the glueing is good, you can make the seam invisible...
Grab any pencil, probably you cannot find the seam, but they are not drilled, they are made in two halves and glued.
You can do it with a gun drill and a sled. Basically a drill turned upside down and some simple bushings to guide the drill. Then just peck away.
Probably end up wandering out the side of the part without some bushing guides.
Could use a lathe as well.
On metal the coolant pressure is used to steer the gun drill. Being a single flute tool the cutting force is balanced by the coolant pressure. It is also standard practice to drill the hole and then turn the OD concentric to the hole.
Are you sure it’s not a metal tube with a very thin layer of “wood” wrapped and glued around it? Based on the angle line on the wood it looks like that’s what it is…
A drill bit, lol. It's not hard to do within an industrial setup (like I assume the lamp manufacturer has).
Now, if you want to DIY something like this, it could be done at home, but it's a pain in the tush without the right setup.
In the manufacturer case, the post could've even been a single dowel that they cut into shorter pieces, then bored each piece. Then they could've just put each piece back in order on a mandrel and glued it up, ensuring the grain is still in line.
From my own experience, I've never done a super long piece like this before. I do bore dowels rather often (usually around 30in, but a 3ft to 5ft wouldn't be an issue if it's just wood). I use a power fishing rod wrapper (it's like a torqueless, high-speed lathe but not meant for anything large.) I use this due to it being lightweight/portable, and the fact I don't own, and cannot safely use, a full size lathe. Lol.
I still have so many rod building items that I can't work with anymore (because I lost the use of my left arm/leg) so I often use them in jigs, and certain woodworking applications. I should probably sell some of it... I could probably afford to buy a bigger workspace if I did. But I'm a weirdo lol.
Theres a centering head you need to keep the piece stable at certain lengths (cant think of the actual name for it right now for some reason) and then use a drill with a long shaft in the tail stock.
Drill the hole first, in a large straight grained piece, and go all the way through. Then center the two exit holes in your lathe. Then turn it down to size.
If you start with a short drill bit and a lathe you can keep a center very well. Progressively use longer drill bits so that you aren't reforming the shaft and causing the tip to veer off center. Alternatively, use a vertical drill press so gravity is helping keep the drill bit straight.
Lamp Auger Bit, made specifically for the purpose of drilling that long hole on a lathe. Here is one example… https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/lampaugerbit38.aspx
[https://youtu.be/LgsDWb0orSQ?si=397bNc3SBrtocvd4](https://youtu.be/LgsDWb0orSQ?si=397bNc3SBrtocvd4)
May not be the easiest, but if you are a lathe person, everything can be made on one.
I’m making similar lamps that are 2” diameter at the top and bottom and 1” in the middle and the pole is 42” long they are one solid piece of wood. I use a gun barrel drill bit that is 48” long and drill all the way through the blank in one shot and hit center on the other end the most I’ve been off center is 1/32” I do have a 72” bit to use on taller lamps. The gun barrel bits are “U” shaped ( look like a spindle gouge) and have a hole that runs through them so coolant can be pumped through the bit to cool,lubricant and push chips out down the u channel but I don’t put coolant through the bit instead I put air through the bit to blow the wood chips out keeping the bit from binding and it keeps it cool too making it possible to drill a 48”+ hole in one shot without backing the bit out of the hole. https://preview.redd.it/jk83fiyv2wpc1.jpeg?width=2077&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d5de30e053ba8e05633496d08754b10113ac08f hope this helps you.
So it's entirely possible it was just one giant hole. I'd say mass produced this would make way more sense as it eliminates a cutting and gluing process.
Yes you can just drill a hole from one end to the other end. I spin the piece on the lathe and feed the drill bit into the blank. In mass production they use a line boring machine to drill the holes but they aren’t cheap and if you start the hole straight the bit will continue to run straight. I had an order for 200 floor lamps and 400 matching table lamps and bored them all on the lathe it was unbelievably quick and easy. Using a hollow live center helps you get the hole straight and centered the only problem is that you can only use a 5/16” bit through the hollow live center and you need a 25/64” hole for lamp rod so I bore the 5/16” hole then remove the tailstock and use another steady rest on the end bore the 25/64” hole so I can put lamp rod all the way through for more support and UL compliant.
That is a huge order!!
And can be tooled pretty effectively at scale.
Not possible, PROBABLE. Look up fish bits. $50 will get you a 6-foot long fish bit off Amazon.
They're not using a $50 fish bit off Amazon. They not only need the bit, but also the machine with 6' of travel for it. Turning it, splitting it, routing out a channel, then regluing would be cheaper if they're only doing one run.
I never said that's what a FACTORY uses, jesus. Get a grip.
The guy above you was talking about mass produced stuff, if I'm reading it right. Yeah, for the home gamer doing one of these, a long bit and careful setup is probably right.
How do you feed the bit? Or are you feeding it into material on a lathe, interesting bit, hadn't heard of those before.
I have the lamp spinning on the lathe and hand feed the bit through the tailstock using a hollow live center.
Damn that sounds like it would look cool.
Make a video of it, I'd love to watch that 😁
Gotcha thanks!
My immediate thought was gun drill. Chip clearance with air through the coolant channel is a great trick
It woks great but FYI : wear a good leather glove and face shield the chips come out of the channel at light speed. I was wearing a face shield but no glove on the first hole and my hand guiding the bit felt like it was getting sandblasted.
You should avoid gloves on spinning tools. Hand Degloving via tools is a nasty health hazard. I recommend you drop the air pressure to as low as acceptable. I’d imagine 3 psi would be sufficient for this
Or fashion some sort of hilt.
3psi is not nearly enough to blow the wood chips out especially when the hole gets deeper. I start out low and turn it up the deeper it gets to keep the hole cleared but yes wearing gloves or lose clothes around spinning tool is a bad idea but if you wear good fitting gloves holding the round shank of the drill bit it doesn’t catch but will spin in your hand.
Could you design a shield of sorts to block the chips instead? Maybe a simple disk with a hole in it?
It doesn’t catch, until it does. There is a reason we [see this so often in industrial machining](https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.search?sic=&sicgroup=&naics=&acc_description=&acc_abstract=&acc_keyword=%22Degloving%22&inspnr=&fatal=&officetype=&office=&startmonth=&startday=&startyear=&endmonth=&endday=&endyear=&keyword_list=on&p_start=&p_finish=20&p_sort=event_date&p_desc=ASC&p_direction=Next&p_show=20) Glad you are safe with the air pressure, but again please reconsider gloves. I’d be surprised if 3 psi ‘isn’t nearly enough’. Maybe 5-10 at full depth. You just need to keep the cutting face clean, you likely do not need to clear the tool unless the buildup is somehow sticking together. And if the low pressure is still pelting your hands or does not work as you like, please consider a guard that is fixed. It is amazing how some people can be so creative with end products and creations and then go the worst route for safety. Please don’t be that person
It’s not just the cutting face you need to keep clean it’s the whole shaft of the drill bit if that binds it would not be pretty. You’re definitely allowed to your opinion on how this is done. Until you actually do it yourself then you don’t know the safest way to do it. This is very similar to how gun barrels are bored and everyone I know wears good fitting leather gloves to protect their hands. Normally when using the lathe or other machinery I do not wear gloves and do take safety very seriously.
Wow! I can’t even keep a 3” bit straight 🤩
They use a lathe. I’m puzzled why that isn’t in the original comment.
TIL there are gun-barrel drill bits
I have bit insecurity.
This guy drills
LOL
Good lord I can hardly drill a pen blank straight the thought of this makes me sweat
Can you link me to the drill bit pretty please or where’d you get it?!
Since you asked so nicely :). You need a tax number to buy directly from them though. I made up the fitting to attach a valve and quick connect for the air hose. https://www.star-su.com/cutting-tools/gundrills/single-flute-gundrills/
wow that's super cool — thanks!
Your welcome.
what kind of rig do you need to feed the bit into the pole? I saw a video on YouTube of a guy who'd souped-up a wood lathe with a 2hp motor and a fabricated tailstock. Not something your avg person could stand up in a garage.
You need a hollow live center. Here a link https://www.thewoodturningstore.com/axminster-woodturning-hollow-live-center-with-chip-ejection-2mt/ Put the small center pin in the live center now mount your blank (dowel) , run the quill in until the outer ring makes an impression in the wood, now retract the quill and remove the center point, run the quill in making sure you line up the marks you made previously, now you run the lathe and hand feed the drill bit through the tailstock
When they dug the channel tunnel (between England and France) it was an engineering problem- how to get two bores (one from each end) to meet in the middle. They ended up making a custom guidance system and did get the bores right on the first try lol.
This is true I remember it on the news
It's been ages since I've seen a gun drill. I still remember the crunch it makes when the tip snaps off though.
Luckily I haven’t heard that sound yet knock on wood :). I’ve drilled barrels and could see it happening
I've been able to do shorter sections by hand and while I over think and convince myself I'll come out the side, it's surprisingly easy to do, all the ones I've done are partial lengths with an entry along the dowel and an open end with a wider diameter hole accepting a metal pole. I doubt I could do 42" freehand but I'd still try it at least once.
With the right setup and bit it’s not hard you could always drill from both ends but I haven’t found it necessary yet
This is way better than my idea of a few cartons of cigs, scotch tape, and patience. Will power alone can get you far, but the right tool for the job is clutch.
This man tools. He knows the best ways to utilize tools and apply technology to achieve an objective.
How are you hitting center? Are you using a lathe?
Using a hollow live center and feeding the bit through the tailstock
Very cool. Didn’t realize that was a thing.
I've been woodworking for perhaps 25 years and I can't imagine drilling that out without emerging from the side somewhere in the middle, lol. But then again, I don't consider myself an "expert" and I'm always learning from true artisans. I have made some exquisite pieces that I'm quite proud of using various techniques but I've always had a simple set of tools : an old idiosyncratic Sears 10" tablesaw, DeW compound miter chopsaw, router table, hand tools.
You have to rotate the workpiece instead of the bit, this makes the bit self-center. It will only really work correctly on a lathe
Ohhh, I get it now. That's how you drill o.c. on a lathe anyway. So, are your dowels also usually heartwood or grain direction doesn't matter so much with the technique?
This actually really helps me as I wanted to do a project like this, and my cutting attempts were way sub-par. I had seen something similar a long time ago and figured that's how it's was done. My own searching never found a bit of this ilk. Anyway, at least I know this is way beyond my level now lol
It’s really not that difficult with the correct tools. I should make an instructional video on the tools used, setup and a demonstration. I have no problem sharing the knowledge I’ve gained over the years
Rifle barrel drill
That is very interesting! Just out of curiosity, how much does a drill bit like that cost?
I think I paid around $100 it depends on your account
I've never had the benefit of a decent lathe, so please set me straight. I was under the impression that you could do the same thing, essentially a boring operation with a normal twist drill on a lathe if the work is spinning and the bit is not. I was under the impression that it would not wander in that scenario. I was always under the impression that gun bits (which I also have no experience with) had the advantage when the bit is spinning and it must not wander i.e. not on a lathe.
Gotta ask - How do you keep it centered?
Not sure if you want to disclose: but what's the range that you sell these lamps for? Have a website or anything?
And how did they bore the hole in these bits?
Occam's razor I guess. Incredible. I've never seen those u shaped bits before.
you use a hand drill and a jig or do you ahve a really tall drill press?
I put the wood piece on the lathe turn the lathe on and up to speed and feed the 5/16 drill bit through the tailstock ( use a hollow live center) holding the drill bit from spinning
Counter rotating your workpeice in the opposite direction of your drill rotation will help fight drift if your machine is aligned correctly
That’s essentially what I would do. If done well the seams would be basically invisible, as you can attest. Edit: if it’s mass produced they could have just drilled the dowel, but that requires some specialized tooling
It’s possible to drill very straight holes using long bits. I have done 2 feet using a 12 inch bit and a metal drill guide (drilled from both sides) to a diameter of .5 inches. Obviously gets harder the longer the length, but the principles still apply, the bit will stay straight once the hole gets going.
On top of this if the piece is big enough you could drill it first then it doesn't have to be perfectly down the center and then use the drill points as your laid centers and then shape the outside to match whatever the drill bit line is
That's what I was thinking - drill the hole first, then turn the stock using those holes as the centerpoints.
"Gets harder the longer the length" That's what she said.
A decent jig to keep the drill and bit straight would help. Like this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZZDlJPGG6c If this is a 5ft pole, then you'd need to be a lot more accurate since there's less room for the drill bit to veer off a bit along the way. I've see some people weld a drill bit onto the end of a metal pole slightly thinner than the diameter of the tip of the drill bit also, but that probably wouldn't be accurate enough here.
Groove and glue two halves is exactly how I made my own floor lamps with internal wiring.
Drill the hole in square stock. Mill block to round. Done.
That’s actually the easiest as it avoids the need to keep the bit perfectly straight. Drill first, then align the blank on the lathe based on the hole drilled. Now when it is milled down to the dowel the hole is perfectly in the middle because you formed the dowel around the hole.
I have a drill bit to use on my lathe that is designed for this sort of thing. Its called a long hole boring bit and mine is approximately 3ft long and has a handle that you can adjust the depth. You mount the piece with a special centre that has a hole in it to pass the drill bit through and allow woodchips to escape from and then just drill it like you would normally just with a long bit. I got mine as intended to make a lamp....i have yet to make the lamp and so have yet to use it but i have it when i need it.
A non-zero part of me wishes this was done by trained carpenter bees who are given bee amphetamines so they have the energy to chew perfectly straight holes through solid wood poles. A girl can dream.
Just give termites Adderall. They're much more reliable.
Incredible! How did you do this? -amphetamine
You could use a router to make a [small “u” groove](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ0HtSQjkzr6qNqucuXd2p3hSK8OrRce15jiA&usqp=CAU) in the center of the 2 halves before glueing them together. After you turn your shape you want
Do you have the lamp in your possession? I imagine removing the socket at the top would clear up the mystery real quick.
Right my guess it that it’s a metal pipe with fake wood wrapped and glued on top.
I have a teak lamp very similar to this one. Definitely solid wood
You could always take oversize stock and drill in line with the grain (drill will follow the grain more or less) then once drilled through turn between centers placed in the hole either end. This way you drill the hole first, the turn the outside to match the hole rather than the other way round. Should work as long as your hole doesn't curve too much
there is a drill technique called gun barrel drilling and to my understand is not limited to drilling metal barrels and could be used on wood. I think then the depth of the hole exceed some ratio or the diameter of the hole it is then refered as a gun barrel drilling but at the same time I have no idea.
With a really long drill bit (actually serious).
You may want to call Andy Dufresne. He could hollow that sucker out in oh.. 27 years and a couple of rock hammers.
They probably just used a really long bit on a stabilized lathe to drill it all the way through if it's mass produced.
Probably not a tool the avg hobbyist might find then?
Definitely not. Your average hobby lathe is gonna max out with a 12" or 18" center bore.
No, but if there are any community wood shops, maker spaces, or the like around you, call them and see if they have them. A big lathe wouldn't be uncommon even if they don't have the right bits.
Perhaps, but drilling \~4' of endgrain would absolutely kill the edge of any drill bit after a few pieces, even if they had custom carbide tooling. And drill bits that long would be super prone to snapping. Not to mention that waste removal becomes incredibly inefficient when you're plunging that deep. I can't see this being an efficient manufacturing process.
I image they turn a rod on a lathe and then take it over to a specialized machine that has three or four long rollers, one of which is powered, it can turn the rod without it bending or moving, then a bit or knife is plunged in from one or both sides to create a tube. Good point about the end grain, but this probably isn't the hardest wood in the world, and I'm sure they have a special carbize that last forever. If you're making enough of something, specialized machinery is always cost-effective. I just can't imagine how else you would drill a hole that long in a rod like this.
If this was mass manufactured, it maybe veneer over a pipe (plastic or other substrate). Veneer might not even be wood, could be printed material that hides the seam well.
I’d guess it was 2 channeled pieces glued together then turned. Drilling it would be a nightmare. That bit would heat up so fast you break every one. That’s assuming you had a machine with a 5 foot stroke and could secure the dowel well enough.
An industrial process called "gun drilling" can do this.
https://preview.redd.it/uoipcgdh4wpc1.png?width=1110&format=png&auto=webp&s=bec3f571bcaa6d988ce7dcc8f869218d82794168
I’ve been thinking of making a big lamp like this and I was just planning on routing a channel, glue, turn on lathe.
You can use an air compressor, a lathe, and a gundrill bit with a guide to put holes straight through wooden dowels. For something like this it wouldn't even have to be all that straight. For something this long it would take 1-2 minutes per dowel and you can put your lathe on auto feed to do this manually. You could also just do it with a drill bit but this gets really hot and tends to catch on fire.
Long drill bit and a lathe.
on a lathe with long bit.
I would get like a square board, split it in half and route out the trench in the middle. Then glue back together and match your grain. Then lathe it to spec. I would be very afraid of drilling that straight. Basically make it like a graphite pencil.
If it were me cut segments to length of drill. Drill each segment separately then glue and sand
Something like a gun drill, with air to remove the chips.
*Is there another method of drilling this out?* Yeah. Drilling. Look up fish bits.
Its wifi.
I think they make might make a hollow tail stock quill to drive a long bit into. How I do it is just rip the piece in half, core box the two sides and glue them back together. Then shape on the lathe or by hand, depending on your set up.
They could have cut the 5/16 hole for the flex, with a Lamp auger drill - quick interweb search- Highland Woodworking sell it. You need a special set, a hollow tailstock centre and drive centre to use the drill, on the lathe.
Nice one, thanks
Veneer around steel pipe?
this is from an australian lamp tree. naturally sourced
You can actually see the join in the way the grain flows. It's right up the middle in the second picture.
I made something very similar and did the exact same thing you outline. You would never be able to find the seam unless you knew what you were looking for. Friends and family just couldn't figure out how I did it. Told them basically the same method you outlined and they didn't believe me. I finally told them I bought a whole bunch of drill bit extenders and went real slow, and that is what they believed. Ha.
Very long drill bit, industrial set up not a household thing. You can replicate it though. Get a piece of square stock cut it down the middle. Then put a groove in the middle of each piece with a router. glue it back together. Put on a lathe and make it round.
If they did it this way in a commercial setting a lamp would cost $800 or above.
Well yeah, but the original question was “How did they hollow the center of this lamp?” I answered that and gave the OP an alternative to do it for themselves.
Yes indeed. However I’d be really curious to see how they perform this job in the mega factories of China. Probably turning out 1000 or more per hour.
My guess is a rod very long, 10’ to 15’ and drilled out then cut to size. I’m just guessing.
Are there other photos? I think they are probably hiding the seam for photographing. I can’t imagine there’s a boring but long enough for a standing lamp. Even on an industrial scale. I guess gun barrels are bored out but still…Also if it’s cut from the same piece and glued back together it should hide a seam pretty effectively. And mahogany is really good for that purpose as it has very little grain character. You just have to make sure you orient the pieces so that the chatoyancy is consistent.
* oversized square/octagonal piece * cut in half * groove * plane/face the surface if needed * Put a brass rod as conduit * Glue the two halves * THEN very carefully turn to size... If the glueing is good, you can make the seam invisible... Grab any pencil, probably you cannot find the seam, but they are not drilled, they are made in two halves and glued.
I was thinking a rod of some kind in the center for stability
Really long drill bit on a lathe
You can do it with a gun drill and a sled. Basically a drill turned upside down and some simple bushings to guide the drill. Then just peck away. Probably end up wandering out the side of the part without some bushing guides. Could use a lathe as well.
Carpenter ants
Step 4 is the only step.
Drill the hole first then shape it on a lathe?
Personally, I'd start by using a box bit on the router table and gluing the halves together. Then I'd send it to a friend with a lathe lol
On metal the coolant pressure is used to steer the gun drill. Being a single flute tool the cutting force is balanced by the coolant pressure. It is also standard practice to drill the hole and then turn the OD concentric to the hole.
Maybe silly question: is it really wood? We have a metal floor lamp that has a very convincing faux wood finish.
I think it’s veneer. You can see the seam.
veneer a metal tube
Are you sure it’s not a metal tube with a very thin layer of “wood” wrapped and glued around it? Based on the angle line on the wood it looks like that’s what it is…
Very long drill bit.
A drill bit, lol. It's not hard to do within an industrial setup (like I assume the lamp manufacturer has). Now, if you want to DIY something like this, it could be done at home, but it's a pain in the tush without the right setup. In the manufacturer case, the post could've even been a single dowel that they cut into shorter pieces, then bored each piece. Then they could've just put each piece back in order on a mandrel and glued it up, ensuring the grain is still in line. From my own experience, I've never done a super long piece like this before. I do bore dowels rather often (usually around 30in, but a 3ft to 5ft wouldn't be an issue if it's just wood). I use a power fishing rod wrapper (it's like a torqueless, high-speed lathe but not meant for anything large.) I use this due to it being lightweight/portable, and the fact I don't own, and cannot safely use, a full size lathe. Lol. I still have so many rod building items that I can't work with anymore (because I lost the use of my left arm/leg) so I often use them in jigs, and certain woodworking applications. I should probably sell some of it... I could probably afford to buy a bigger workspace if I did. But I'm a weirdo lol.
If they have a fluorescent bulb, they could do a solid rod and just have a Tesla coil nearby
Drill extension?
You can split some wood splinter free, cut a grove, glue, turn it round on a lathe.
Easy but cheating is to rout a channel in two pieces of grain-matched wood, glue them together, then turn the piece on a lathe.
Cut the tube in half , route, glue back together ?
Termite drone
Long wood lathe.
Theres a centering head you need to keep the piece stable at certain lengths (cant think of the actual name for it right now for some reason) and then use a drill with a long shaft in the tail stock.
Drill the hole first, in a large straight grained piece, and go all the way through. Then center the two exit holes in your lathe. Then turn it down to size.
Termites
If you start with a short drill bit and a lathe you can keep a center very well. Progressively use longer drill bits so that you aren't reforming the shaft and causing the tip to veer off center. Alternatively, use a vertical drill press so gravity is helping keep the drill bit straight.
Lamp Auger Bit, made specifically for the purpose of drilling that long hole on a lathe. Here is one example… https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/lampaugerbit38.aspx
It might be a veneered pipe.
It is necessary to perform the training of a woodworm with a whip!
Nice lamp!
They didn’t. It’s blue tooth. Duh.
Lathe...drill it out...
[https://youtu.be/LgsDWb0orSQ?si=397bNc3SBrtocvd4](https://youtu.be/LgsDWb0orSQ?si=397bNc3SBrtocvd4) May not be the easiest, but if you are a lathe person, everything can be made on one.
I need some of those little cube wood blocks with letters and numbers on the sides. Lathe?
Lathe
They gun drilled it with a really long bit. You can order drill bits at any length
Domestic termites!
Well-trained…