How to go about solving this ?

Muahahaha · 20-08-2014 12:46am #1

I'm currently collecting the matierals to construct a free standing floor lamp entirely out of copper piping. I'm gonna use this design here as I like the proportions, dimensions, look, etc

http://www.homeportfolio.com/catalog/Product.jhtml?prodId=282401

Rather than use wooden spools like they have this will be made entirely from copper piping and elbows.

So I'm trying to figure out a way of accurately estimating the lengths of each individual piece of pipe before I begin cutting them up. The only thing I know thus far is that the lamp pictured above is 183cm tall and 48cm wide at it's widest point.

So how to go about accurately determining all the individual lengths ? I thought of getting a ruler out on the PC screen and measuring in length and width in millimetres and finding out the scale from the computer page to a real life version. But would this work or does then the distance the photographer was from the lamp when shooting it also come into play to distort any perceived results ?

And if I can just measure in mm to get a ratio of mm to cm how best to do it to get it reasonable accurate ? Would I better to print it on an a4 page and go from there, or even something bigger than a4 ?

Frigating · 20-08-2014 1:09am

What's the width of the copper piping/elbows?

Muahahaha · 20-08-2014 1:44am

It's one inch piping, 22 millimetres I think

dlouth15 · 20-08-2014 7:33am

Muahahaha wrote: »

So how to go about accurately determining all the individual lengths ? I thought of getting a ruler out on the PC screen and measuring in length and width in millimetres and finding out the scale from the computer page to a real life version. But would this work or does then the distance the photographer was from the lamp when shooting it also come into play to distort any perceived results ?

Distance should not make much of a difference. The important thing is that the picture was taken head on to the lamp i.e. not at an angle. However I don't think it is advisable to copy exactly the original design if you are using a different material as the lamp may not balance properly due to the extra weight of the copper.

And if I can just measure in mm to get a ratio of mm to cm how best to do it to get it reasonable accurate ? Would I better to print it on an a4 page and go from there, or even something bigger than a4 ?

You could try opening up the image in a graphics editor. These allow you to pinpoint the pixel coordinates for any point on the image. Once you've worked out the pixel scale based on the height of the lamp it should be fairly easy to work out the dimensions of the other parts of the lamp, though as I've mentioned this may not be advisable for reasons of balance.

Frigating · 20-08-2014 4:08pm

Dunno if you still need this or if you've figured it out, but I did this for you:

s28.postimg.org/e5gxs93x9/lamp_1.png

That doesn't accurately take into account the joints though. It depends how well the pipes fit into the elbows. I'm sure you can figure that bit out though. It should be pretty much accurate apart from that.

Muahahaha · 20-08-2014 5:59pm

Frigating wrote: »

Dunno if you still need this or if you've figured it out, but I did this for you:

s28.postimg.org/e5gxs93x9/lamp_1.png

That doesn't accurately take into account the joints though. It depends how well the pipes fit into the elbows. I'm sure you can figure that bit out though. It should be pretty much accurate apart from that.

You absolute legend, I can't thank this post enough ! I think you've saved me considerable squinty eye moments trying to measure it from a page in millimetres and working centimetres from that. Can I ask how you achieved it ?

locum-motion · 20-08-2014 8:45pm

I think the original lamp is just two dimensional (coz it's description says it "scales the wall") but I for one think it would work very well in three dimensions.

Frigating · 20-08-2014 9:23pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

You absolute legend, I can't thank this post enough ! I think you've saved me considerable squinty eye moments trying to measure it from a page in millimetres and working centimetres from that. Can I ask how you achieved it ?

Print screened it and opened in paint.net. Cut the image so the lamp fit perfectly in a rectangle. Resized so it was full size (using the height - the width was a bit off, but I think that might have been the lamp shade). Drew all those odd lines on it. The program gave me the length of the lines. Subtracted the length of the joints (assuming them to be one inch) to get only the pipe length outside the joints.

And you're welcome!

amen · 27-08-2014 1:06pm

Don't forget copper is conductive. Make sure you correctly and safely wire the lamp and ensure that you cannot get a shock from touching the stand.

Muahahaha · 27-08-2014 1:28pm

amen wrote: »

Don't forget copper is conductive. Make sure you correctly and safely wire the lamp and ensure that you cannot get a shock from touching the stand.

For sure, I'm lucky to have a sparks in the family so he said to ensure it's earthed well and that he'd give it a quick once over for me just in case.

Frigating wrote: »

Print screened it and opened in paint.net. Cut the image so the lamp fit perfectly in a rectangle. Resized so it was full size (using the height - the width was a bit off, but I think that might have been the lamp shade). Drew all those odd lines on it. The program gave me the length of the lines. Subtracted the length of the joints (assuming them to be one inch) to get only the pipe length outside the joints.

And you're welcome!

Well thanks a million again, it is a great help:) Will put up some pics of the final piece when it gets finished.

pillphil · 27-08-2014 2:11pm

IT COSTS HOW MUCH? :eek:

This might be of some use, she bolted the pipes to the wall though, so balance wasn't too important to her.

http://www.nelliebellie.com/diy-pipe-lamp/

How to go about solving this ?

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