Inspired by DBSAR, my SRK-based Lantern

The sticks that make the lattice are called kumikos. The kumiko were table saw ripped to be 3/8” x 1/2” with a blade that leaves an almost perfectly smooth edge. The edge is fine enough that when gluing one ripped piece to another the joint is perfect after being clamped. But the surface has small arcs that show when you look closely; so no good for a surface that is to be stained/finished. A little 220 sandpaper action is needed. The size was actually slightly larger than 3/8 x 1/2.

There was some trial and error to begin with to get the correct depth of cut to make the overlap level.

Then they were gang stacked and clamped down to the work table. I made a jig that fit over the group and could be clamped down. The router with a 3/8” straight cut bit then cut the half laps in one router move, left to right. Re-position the jig and repeat, repeat, repeat…. I made spare kumikos.

Then the kumikos were laid out and joint by joint sanded to make a nice fit. Everything was labeled and marked to keep the kumikos in sets to ensure a good fit after the hand fitting. An early experiment showed there was sliht variance in widths after ripping the sticks. The variance is very small, not enough to bother regular joints in the cabinet cases, but for the kumiko overlaps I wanted better. Traditional shoji doors are all hand cut with those cool Japanese hand saws.

You are a true craftsman Don with far more patience than I.Thanks again for the pictures as they explain what your saying so I can understand it.

Previous testing proved that Loctite gel type CA made a good enough bond on wood that was stained but not clear coated. So I used the gel CA on the kumiko overlaps and spring clamped each for 30 minutes. (The kumiko were stained before assembly into a lattice. Those fit fairly tight anyways. The CA was insurance and made it easier to handle the lattices without fear of one or more lap joints coming apart during handling.

The slots where the kumiko fit into the perimeter frames were also a good fit but there I used “hide” glue. The kumiko end surface was kept free of stain by sticky tape (very sticky!). The slots in the frame were kept free of stain by careful application. Hide glue has a long open working time and when clamped it sets strong. So the lattice should stay in place. It is not waterproof so we might have a problem if the fire suppression sprinklers activate. :+1:

Clear coat was 3 applications with the spray gun. I think about 80% of the clear coat ended up on the floor.

Would hide glue work on me when the good wife is looking for me? :person_facepalming:

It’s never helped me be invisible. :person_facepalming: Depending on why she’s looking for you, when found you may be missing a piece of your own hide. :wink:

(animal hides are the source. Fish have also been used for making glue; isinglass.) Old fashioned hide glue needs to be heated; glue flakes are dissolved in water. I use a modern liquid version, no heating required, but it seems to work as good.

Bookshelving! Done! Pictured with one door slid open. Doors slide in pairs; 2 on left half and 2 on right half.

Shoji screen paper installed. LED strip lighting cut, soldered, powered, etc. Strip of led’s behind the front lip of every shelf. Waviness is due to slight waviness of the paper. It is what it is. :slight_smile: 2700 K.

Did you say free shipping to my house? :+1:

Ah, shipping was free to Los Alamos, NM but there would be a surcharge for Down Under. :wink:

Time to wake up your old topic. :smiley: Just curious Don, are you still using the lantern you built inspired from the original i built?

Thanks for bringing this one up. I missed it the first time. I like the use of the remote phosphor in this build. Looks like it performs well in a lantern. Nice diffuse light without too much loss. Good job Don.

I’m getting lantern envy.

I don’t use it every day but it does get used. It sits on the end table next to my laptop.

I am still sorta surprised nobody else made one. I am looking forward to getting the LT1 (#30 and #396)

:+1:

Well, you’re not the only one to use a remote phosphor in a build. But it would seem that it isn’t a popular material around here. And we also just don’t really see many lantern builds at all. You and Den and a handful of others have made lanterns. The rest of us, apparently, are satisfied letting you guys do it all. One thing’s for sure, though. The LT1 interest thread proves that it isn’t a matter of BLF members generally not being interested in lanterns as a light source. :wink:

Well, yeah, there’s interest in the LT1. But if there were 5 or 6 lantern build projects going on, with several previous lantern builds or group buys in the past, I think that interest would be really diffused between them and it wouldn’t seem like so much. Compared to all the different flashlight builds and group buys put together, I suspect the lantern interest might not come close to equalling it. There’s just a lot of pent-up demand for a good lantern everyone here can buy because no one’s done it before this.

That’s because all the current lantern manufacturers (except for perhaps Zanflare) want to make stuff with the highest margins possible and the least effort possible, because most of the market hasn’t been well educated in this regard.

I’d be willing to bet that if a 4xAA version and a 4x 18650 version would hit the market, the lantern market would be absolutely dominated by a BLF Lantern, and the manufacturers would actually wake up now.

It’s not like the regular flashlight market where there are a lot of lights that are ­’‘good enough’’.

Not the case with lanterns.

Most of them have huge compromises in either battery choice, tint, lumens, efficiency, disgusting UIs, horrible price to performance ratio, etc.

The BLF Lantern fixes all of this.

Oooohhh… if a 4xAA version of the BLF LT1 were made, that would be really nice! Since it doesn’t need to be blindingly bright, the 4xAA would be plenty for a lot of people. And the light could be made smaller, and lighter, so it could have appeal for those who think the LT1 is too heavy for backpacking. With NiMH cells, the onboard charging feature could still be used, too. Sofirn already has the SF11 that might be useful as the base, with the appropriate modifications.

Like the BLF GT, there came the GT Mini and GT Micro, maybe the same can happen to the LT1, a LT1 Mini (four AA powered) and a micro version of some sort, ( either based from my micro CR2032 powered lanterns or a single 18650 or single AA NiMH version.

I’m in favor of this! :student: :+1:

Ooooh, an LT Mini Micro would be nice with a 14500 cell.

I’m still hoping for the micro lantern