This DIY wood chandelier has a story, but Iâ€™ll spare you the details and just tell you this. I wanted to create a project that required several half lap joints to put my half lap joint method to the test. Well, let me tell you, if you want to practice woodworking joints, a homemade wooden pendant light made entirely from wood is the perfect project!

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To make this chandelier, I used 1×2 poplar boards. Although theyâ€™re called 1 by 2s, theyâ€™re actually 3/4 by 1-1/2 inches. You can get these at any big box store.

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DIY Wood Chandelier

I started by setting up a stop block at my miter saw at exactly twelves inches. Youâ€™ll need to make 4 boxes, so youâ€™ll need 16 pieces at 12 inches. Youâ€™ll also need one extra piece at 5-5/8.

Next itâ€™s time to make the half lap joints. I grabbed 8 of my 16 pieces and flipped them on their side. I then lined them up and drew a reference line at 2 inches in from each side. Â I grabbed the 8 remaining pieces and did the same, this time at 3-3/16 from each end.

Over at my table saw with my crosscut sled in place, I adjusted the blade height at exactly half the thickness of the material. If you havenâ€™t seen my video on how to make consistent & accurate half lap joints, youâ€™ll want to check that out first.

I lined up the reference line I made with the kerf of my crosscut sled and started cutting the half lap joints. Then I cut some moreâ€¦ and some more.

In all, this project involved 18 half lap joints, which translates to 36 notches to be cut out!

When all your notches are done, youâ€™ll end up with 4 boxes â€“ 2 wide and 2 narrow. One of the narrow boxes will be on the top level of the chandelier, so I needed to add a cross support in the center that would connect the chandelier to the pendant light. I roughly centered the left over piece (5-5/8) and drew a reference line to make the half lap joint.

Before glue-up, I did a dry fit to make sure that all the pieces fit nicely. One last step before I apply glue is to make a hole for the pendant lamp wire. I used a 3/8 drill bit and made a hole on center.

Next I glued each of the 4 boxes together. I applied the glue to the joints using a glue brush and used some spring clamps to hold it together while it dried. I also used a wet paper towel to wipe off any squeeze out before it dried as this will affect the stainâ€™s ability to penetrate the wood.

After letting them dry, I decided to modify my design slightly by trimming off the corners of the two wider boxes. I made the cuts using my miter saw and made sure to apply some painterâ€™s tape across the back of the cuts to reduce the risk of tear out.

Then of course came sandingâ€¦ (FUN!)

I next moved onto assembling the lamp. I piled the 4 boxes up, making sure to align all the outside edges. Iâ€™m going to drill a hole all the way though the 4 boxes, so alignment is important here. I marked the four sports where the 4 boxes cross each other.

Now, I hadnâ€™t really planned this part out, so I had to improvise. I needed to clamp the whole thing together, so I started by moving it onto a small piece of plywood, careful not to move anything. I added a scrap piece of wood across the top on one end, then clamped it all down to the plywood board. And then did the same on the other side.

I was then able to move it over to my drill press, and drill all the way through using a 3/8 drill bit.







I used my all-time favorite wood stain, Early American. I also used wood conditioner, but only on the ends. The wood conditioner will reduce the amount of stain that gets absorbed by the end-grain, so it wonâ€™t be darker than the flat faces.

I started by applying the conditioner to all the ends, and while that dried, I went ahead and applied the stain to all the other surfaces. I finished off by applying stain to all the ends, then wiped off the excess with a clean towel.

To assemble the chandelier, I used left over 1 by 2s that I flipped on edge and used as spacers between each level. I also used a pencil to check that the holes were aligned as I went.

To assemble the chandelier, I used 3/8 dowel rods that matched the size of the holes. I simply hammered them in using a rubber mallet. I didnâ€™t want to muck up the lamp, so I decided not to apply any glue. It was a tight fit and after assembly, Iâ€™m confident that it will hold.

To finish off, I used a flush trim saw to cut of the dowels from the top side of the chandelier. The saw left a few scuff marks, so I simply touched them up with a little stain.

I used a pendant light kit with a nice fabric wire. The wiring was really generous though, so I cut it down to size.



The last step was simply to thread the wire up through the chandelier and install it.



