Mac Classic II Lamp

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iDweeb's picture
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Mac Classic II Lamp

Check this out. What you see here is NOT a working Macintosh, despite what it looks like in the photographs.

http://timcdesigns.com/mac_lamp/maclamp.htm

A few months ago I had aquired a Mac Classic II with a junky burnt-in CRT monitor and a case that was written on with permanent marker- the poor thing was ugly and barely usable .I couldn't bear to just trash it so I sold the Motherboard and Hard drive on ebay, then gutted the CRT and power supply and disposed of them at the local electronic waste collection place. I took care to research how to safely handle CRTs. (Do the same if you tinker with them!)

This left me with an unused Mac Classic II and a girlfriend with a fast-approaching birthday. Interesting ideas began to fill my head, and the Classic II Lamp was born.

The light on the top is comprised of a shade, a bulb holder piece, power cord, and all-thread lamp rod covered with a chrome finish sink phlange cut to size.

The image on the screen is actually a bit of trickery-

What you see is a glossy inkjet printout of screen shot taken from a working Classic II that was upsampled and manipulated in photoshop. It turned out razor sharp and resembles an actual screen quite nicely.

It is backlit by a 27 watt Flourescent light bulb located inside the mac case. The printout is sandwiched between a piece of white lexan behind it to diffuse the bulb's light, and a piece of thinner clear lexan to protect the printout and give it a good "monitor" feel.

The whole thing is attatched to the mac's front bezel using the original CRT monitor's screws and mounts, the mounts being trimmed to the right height to accomidate the plastic. I also had to do a little trimming on the case around the monitor to make the plastic lie flatter.

The Piecé de resistance:
Call me a geek, I couldn't resist...The light on the inside of the screen is turned on and off by a toggle switch very similar to those on the back of working Classic IIs machines. Kind of adds to the whole "booting up the mac" experience.

Biggrin

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Heh, I made one of those like

Heh, I made one of those like 6 years ago. It was on an older version of my MQ site in the Spinoffs section. Here's the pic:

IMAGE(http://www.applefritter.com/images/maclamp-19105.jpg)

Come to think of it, I think I still have it down in the basement somewhere.

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Wow, that is a VERy clever wa

Wow, that is a VERy clever way to recycle a Mac case! Certainly something new and original, not one of those (yawn!) tired ol' MacQuariums that we all have known about for ages. Come to think of it.. that's something I can do with my empty SE/30 case on a rainy day Smile

Sally

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I turned one into a planter t

I turned one into a planter too, kinda. Cut out the whole top, build a base inside, glue the faceplate on, and set a potted plant on the base. If you were *really* adverturous, you could probably find a way to make the Mac shell itself the planter, but there are so many holes that would need to be filled (plus addressing the issue of drainage) that I decided to just make the shell a decorative surround for a regular plant pot.

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Thank you Sally!

Wow, that is a VERy clever way to recycle a Mac case! Certainly something new and original, not one of those (yawn!) tired ol' MacQuariums that we all have known about for ages. Come to think of it.. that's something I can do with my empty SE/30 case on a rainy day Smile

Sally

Thanks. It might take a little more than one rainy day though. Between planning, buying parts, prep, and finishing it took me a few hours a day over about a week to finish mine. If you need some notes or suggestions I am planning on compiling a step-by-step over the next month or so. Otherwise feel free to ask me any questions.

Have a good one,

-iDweeb

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Ant farm!! Terrarium!! Frog

Ant farm!! Terrarium!! Frog tank!!

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Rabitat!

IMAGE(http://www.applefritter.com/images/p9120043-19186_640x480.jpg)

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Cease and desist

By order of the legal department, Apple Computer, Inc, you are hereby served with this writ to cease and desist the following activity immediately:

Photographing a white rabbit in the context of a personal computer; This action infringes on Apple Computer's intellectual property rights regarding our iHop™ branded pet bunny rabits.

Should you not cease and desist this action immediately no action will be taken by Apple Computer, as this forum post is fictional and a complete load of hooey, and has nothing to do with those fine (but legalistic) chaps at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California. Same deal with those nifty iHop pancake restaurants. Smile

-iDweeb

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its ok...

By order of the legal department, Apple Computer, Inc...

its fine, really... Professor Pepper Doodles, JD, PhD, is actually one of their attorneys, which is how he could swing such a swank place.

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haha, nice rabbit cage. and t

haha, nice rabbit cage. and thats the cutest rabbit ive seen for a long time!

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Hmm

If they only made a mac case large enough I could hollow out and live in.

Maybe a Quadra 900 or 950?

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Sweet!

its fine, really... Professor Pepper Doodles, JD, PhD, is actually one of their attorneys, which is how he could swing such a swank place.

How much is his rent?

Biggrin

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