Steampunk pipe-lamp with valve-switch

PeteJ sends in "a steampunk desk lamp I built, the valve is also the on/off switch." That's a hell of a switch.

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Gadgets • happy mutants • housewares • Steampunk

More at Boing Boing

Ants and Stars: Bruce Sterling and Jasmina Tesanovic visit the Sardinia Radio Telescope in Italy

The Snowden Principle

CthuluJones

More Dieselpunk.
William Nicholls

Natural GasPunk.
http://twitter.com/teroterotero Tero Kuittinen

It is perfect
carlogesualdodivenosa

Perfect, if only he’d stripped the plastic off the handle (or maybe used an old gate valve instead). And yes, when I have completed my own steampunk piece I’ll put it up for everyone to criticise.
- http://profiles.google.com/stephen.schenck Stephen Schenck
  
  My thoughts to a T.
- Preston Sturges
  
  That would be a good rotary switch or even a dimmer.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=521240745 Ryan Griffin

Home De-punk.
http://twitter.com/writebastard Ian Wood

Corytrollpunk.
Jay Converse

Now THAT is f-ing steampunk. +5, PeteJ
Preston Sturges

When we were kids anything like this would have inevitably turned into a pipe.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kenahoo Ken Williams

I don’t get how the valve switch works, is there more info?
- eobanb
  
  Most likely it works by turning a small electric switch inside the pipe instead of opening/closing a real valve.
  - http://billmcgonigle.com bill_mcgonigle
    
    I’ve never tried removing the ball from a full-port ball valve. I just figured they were cast in place, but, hey, a drill press can do mighty things.
    - SamSam
      
      Possibly you could just do it by having two brushes next to the ball, so that when the valve is open, the brushes are touching nothing and the circuit is broken, and when the valve is closed both brushes are touching the ball and the circuit is closed.
      
      This makes sense, but would be slightly flimsy. Does anyone know further details, or is a DIY version? I tried to create something identical to this several months ago, but gave up due to the flimsiness of the switch I created.
      - Neal McLain
        
        Well, OK, two brushes touching the ball would switch one side of the line. But how to you get the other side of the line around the ball?
      - SamSam
        
        Not sure I understand. The two brushes can be on the same side. You don’t need anything going through the ball. The switch is at one edge of the circuit in that model, it’s not at a mid-way point.
        
        I made a quick crappy image to explain.
        
        That said, if you wanted to have the switch be between the source and the light, you could just have a brush on each side.
        
        All of this depends on the brushes solution making sense, though.
        
        https://www.evernote.com/shard/s18/sh/6f46a7b6-8700-4edd-ac1d-c82ac51d274d/94e88bca2712b0148f904951f56914b0/res/5a4d6a69-0154-421e-8210-2f9e23bb66cb/Artwork.jpg?resizeSmall&width=832
        
        (Anyone else hate how Skitch can’t just post an image to a web page any more? I have to find something that isn’t crap…)
sdmikev

man, that is the only steampunk thing I’ve seen that is actually cool and not dorky. no offense.
bigfatlamer

Nice looking lamp.

But to clarify….

Steampunk = made out of brass and copper (plus a lot of “style”)

Made out of brass and copper != steampunk
Jeffrey Bell

When I lived in an old Boston brownstone there were some lighting fixtures like that. It even had a valve, but it wouldn’t turn.

The reason is that they had outfitted the electric lights by pushing the wires through the old gaslight tube.
King_Rocket

First year plumbing Apprentice-Punk?