The Beacon Lamp

I've added a new piece to my Etsy store. It's called the Beacon Lamp, and I made it from a cluster bomblet (dummy, of course) dating to the Vietnam War. I used the spring-loaded fins as the base, and fitted it with an 11 7/8" incandescent bulb and a dimmer switch. Eventually I'll produce shades for this guy, but I honestly think it looks its best with the raw bulb.

The Blitz Lamp

The Blitz lamps are my first product on Etsy. I make them from practice bombs left over from WWII. They've been sitting in a leaky warehouse for 65 years, so when I get them they're basically heavy chunks of rust. The original (which is up for sale) was cleaned entirely by hand, which leaves a cool patina on the bomb, but also leaves a cool patina on my hands, on my sink, inside my lungs, etc. A second set is halfway done, and these were cleaned with electrolysis. This involves running high-amperage current through a container filled with alkaline water, using a setup which looks like the Unabomber's dishwasher. (There are a number of incredibly helpful articles about doing electrolysis at home, but this was my favorite.) The process gets the bomb casings incredibly clean, and releases nothing but hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is a common element with many uses, such as floating the Hindenburg and vaporizing Nagasaki.

The original Blitz is for sale here on my Etsy store, with all-new photos. It's going to be joined tonight by the second wave of electrolyzed Blitzes, plus a new piece made from a Vietnam-War Cluster Bomb!