Custom Lava Cake Stand Help

Hello Oozing Goo World!

I am a professional party planner and I'm known for helping my clients design/envision custom cake stands. This time, the part is for my Grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary. They were married in 1969 and would like the party to be themed as much.

Ideally, we'd like to create a Lava Lamp cake stand if I can; but the cap needs to be approx. 10" in diameter for the cake to sit upon; which I think might be a struggle. If it's not possible, might just get 6 or so small ones with flat caps and balance the cake on top. I am here for help please (I hope this is ok!)

I've put my questions in bold

Supplies I think I'll Need:

Standard Goo Kit from Magma Tower + Distilled Water
12" Round Diameter Cylinder Vase
- Does it have to be tempered glass? Or can I use acrylic? Like a cheapo 2 gallon fish tank?
- How tall should it be? Ideally would like to keep the entire structure at a max of 20"; but is there a certain ratio that works best for "Lava Flow"
- How are you folks capping off larger, custom cylinder style lamps? Or do I not need to since this is for an event and not longer term use (but maybe it could be)?
Pendent Light Bulk Kit
- I found that the Grande uses a flat top 100 watt bulb, but Magma Towers website says their Lava Flows at lower temp. Can I use a 60 watt bulb if I can't find a tempered glass cylinder to prevent overheat?
Base and Cap Stands
- Planning to use either 3 Galvanized Buckets, Steel Dog Food Bowls, or Angel Food Cake Pans - seems easy enough
Anything else I should consider?

Any and all help/advice would be appreciated! I really am beyond excited for this if it can pull it together!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Keith on February 1, 2019 at 5:43pm

Oooh sounds exciting! All very good questions, I'll try to help as I can

12" Round Diameter Cylinder Vase
- Does it have to be tempered glass? Definitely glass, not sure if it has to be tempered but acrylic is not an option
- How tall should it be? Ideally would like to keep the entire structure at a max of 20"; but is there a certain ratio that works best for "Lava Flow" The original size Century lava lamp is 16" tall and shows good flow, but taller does flow better. I would say 20" is a minimum for what I think your looking for. Then again, you don't want something really tall because the higher the cylinder the more pressure you will have at the bottom. As far as a ratio I don't think that matters.
- How are you folks capping off larger, custom cylinder style lamps? Or do I not need to since this is for an event and not longer term use (but maybe it could be)? I haven't done it but people have used epoxy and glass for capping, see some of Claude's post.
Pendent Light Bulk Kit
- I found that the Grande uses a flat top 100 watt bulb, but Magma Towers website says their Lava Flows at lower temp. Can I use a 60 watt bulb if I can't find a tempered glass cylinder to prevent overheat? 60 or 100 or even more depending on size of globe, but use a dimmer to control the heat.
Base and Cap Stands
- Planning to use either 3 Galvanized Buckets, Steel Dog Food Bowls, or Angel Food Cake Pans - seems easy enough I have made a base out of stainless steel salad bar containers
Anything else I should consider? More to follow later

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Permalink Reply by Kristine Winkler on February 1, 2019 at 6:10pm

Thanks Keith’s! Sincerely appreciate it. I’ll be reaching out to Claude as well

Keith said:

Oooh sounds exciting! All very good questions, I'll try to help as I can

12" Round Diameter Cylinder Vase

Does it have to be tempered glass?  Definitely glass, not sure if it has to be tempered but acrylic is not an option

How tall should it be? Ideally would like to keep the entire structure at a max of 20"; but is there a certain ratio that works best for "Lava Flow"  The original size Century lava lamp is 16" tall and shows good flow, but taller does flow better. I would say 20" is a minimum for what I think your looking for. Then again, you don't want something really tall because the higher the cylinder the more pressure you will have at the bottom. As far as a ratio I don't think that matters.

How are you folks capping off larger, custom cylinder style lamps? Or do I not need to since this is for an event and not longer term use (but maybe it could be)?  I haven't done it but people have used epoxy and glass for capping, see some of Claude's post.

Pendent Light Bulk Kit

I found that the Grande uses a flat top 100 watt bulb, but Magma Towers website says their Lava Flows at lower temp.  Can I use a 60 watt bulb if I can't find a tempered glass cylinder to prevent overheat?  60 or 100 or even more depending on size of globe, but use a dimmer to control the heat.

Base and Cap Stands

Planning to use either 3 Galvanized Buckets, Steel Dog Food Bowls, or Angel Food Cake Pans - seems easy enough  I have made a base out of stainless steel salad bar containers

Anything else I should consider? More to follow later