The housing for the lamp is almost finished. All that remains now is putting holes in the sides to attach it to the 80/20 light core.

The housing consists of ⅛" × 3"×48" walnut strips that have been trimmed, mitered, sanded, and finished. To make the long sides, I joined two strips with a simple lap joint and tried to match the grain a little. I chose sides such that the natural curve in the wood faces the aluminum so the entire thing will be pressed flat when screwed down.

On the backs, I cut 3mm grooves 1.5mm deep and 2mm away from the edge with my router table. This will hold the acrylic to diffuse the light on the bottom and protect the LEDs from dust on the top. The acrylic will have a matching lip cut into the edges so that the bottom of the acrylic will be flush with the bottom of the wood to create a very clean look.

The finish is a dark walnut stain with two coats of polyurethane on top. I used wood conditioner because I wanted to see what it did and that brought out the natural color. I almost decided to not stain it, but my partner recommended that I go with the stain to make the wood pieces match better.