CUTAWAY ENGINE - INDUSTRIAL LAMPS
Functional - Artistic - Educational
My great, great uncle founded the Lauson Engine Company around the turn of the 20th century. I bought a 1940's vintage engine on Ebay years ago and could never quite figure out what to do with it but knew it had a place somewhere. Fast forward a few years, I decided to at least open the engine up and take a look inside. As a mechanical engineer I have always loved mechanical things and realized that not many people think about or have seen the workings behind everyday mechanical wonders that are taken for granted. The idea of making a cutaway of the engine that was functional and could be used as a lamp was born.
Bob's Creative Solutions builds Industrial Lamps from engine cutaway models for home or mancave décor customized to your specific theme. These single cylinder engines make ideal additions to mancaves (customized for a specific sports team, university, organization, etc.), are great examples of functional industrial lamp art, and can be used for education on basic gasoline engine design and operation.
THE BEGINNING
Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, Letgo, etc are all potential sources for the basic engine. I was a little particular in that I was initially looking for only Lauson engines. Additionally, I need engines that turn and have all the parts to make a complete a cutaway model as possible. Finding a manual for the engine can really complete end product
THE FINAL PRODUCT
It comes down to what you want to see in the cutaway. For me, anything that is dynamic or interesting. I also spend some time figuring our a color scheme that will visually pop. To illuminate the cutaway itself, added LED's to the inside enables a good view of how it all works. Everything is run on 12 VDC including the electric gearmotor that brings it to life. Some lamps have not included the gearmotor and in that event the engine can simply be turned by hand.
ICING ON THE CAKE
When I can get an actual owners manual for the engine, the lamp shade is customized as an extension of the cutaway model. I will buy a plain white lamp shade then use a Decoupage technique to create the lamp shade. The actual pieces that create lamp shade come from printing interesting manual pages on to tissue paper.
Click on the individual links below to look at some of the customized lamps that were created
.jpeg)
Lauson 4 Cycle 1 1/2 HP Engine Lamp
Lauson Engine Model No. RSC435
One of my very first projects
Lauson Engine Model No. RSV800
A vertical shaft Lauson engine lamp with a motor added for rotating the engine to see the component interaction and timing. The engine also has a simulated spark at the appropriate timing. The lamp base feature pages from the owner's manual. The lamp shade is an automotive valve cover.
