Lichtenburg Lamp

This Lichtenburg style lamp is made from Koa wood with a gold epoxy inlay and a Maple frame.

Lichtenberg wood burning has been a project I've wanted to tackle for years. However, the dangers associated with creating the burning pattern and the fatalities experienced by other woodworkers who attempted it have discouraged me from trying this technique. I considered purchasing a Lichtenberg piece from another woodworker and finishing it myself, but the cost was too high. So, I decided to attempt recreating a Lichtenberg pattern using a laser cutter after vector tracing some images I found online.

About 2 years ago, I bought some Koa wood from a local woodworker in Kauai. The pieces were relatively short, which limited my options for projects that could highlight their unique grain. I decided to use the remaining Koa wood by milling the pieces down to a thickness of 1/4". After resawing, I performed a book match to achieve the necessary length.

I found Lichtenburg wood burning images online and used CorelDraw to trace them. Next, I laser cut the patterns and filled them with epoxy using leftover Liquid Glass Deep Pour epoxy, which I colored gold with mica powder. After allowing the epoxy to cure, I planed them flat. However, the wood absorbed so much epoxy that only a thin layer remained on some pieces, and I ran out of epoxy. Instead of purchasing more, I filled the gaps with hot glue, which surprisingly worked better than anticipated and blended well with the epoxy.

The Koa panels are positioned within a dado in the Maple base. To strengthen the lamp, I incorporated Maple corner braces. I designed a component to secure the lamp holder using SolidWorks and then 3D printed it. The lamp is coated with Danish Oil, which has a low viscosity, which made it easier to finish the interior panels that were difficult to reach post-assembly.