Lamp Revamp

                 A few weeks ago, I began work on a pair of small wooden lamps that were in pretty rough shape. According to the owner both of the fixtures hadn't worked in years but rather than toss them out she wanted to restore them due to sentimental value.

In terms of light fixtures the lamps were as basic as they come, each lamp had a socket for the bulb, a sphere shaped body that was mounted to a base, and a cord.

Although these lamps were bare-bone fixtures they needed a lot of work to get them functional again. Aside from the body and base, everything else had to be replaced.

Once I received the lamps I did a thorough inspection before taking them apart, after teardown was complete I called the owner to finalize the scope of work.

At the top of our list, were the lamp cords. The original cords had dried up and stiffened so when each was tested for flexibility deep cracks would show up along the outer insulation. This meant there was no chance we could safely reuse the existing cords. So, we would go with the flat plug lamp cord.

The flat plug lamp cords unique design is perfect for fixtures that need to be plugged in behind furniture. When in use, the plug sits flush against the outlet while the cord travels safely against the wall. This eliminates the potential for furniture coming in contact with both the plug and the cord, a common issue with standard design lamp cords.

Next, the lamp sockets. The original sockets were fairly thin and hadn't held up very well over time so we wanted a replacement that would keep these old lamps working longer, we chose porcelain lamp sockets with the On/Off Switch incorporated into the design.

The existing set up had the On/Off switches as part of the lamp cord, which in my opinion wasn't very convenient.

The last thing we wanted to address was the final look of the lamps, originally both fixtures were simple wooden spheres with a socket base mounted on the top. Now, we wanted to offer an alternative finished look to these lamps and so we suggested lamp shades.

The owner loved the idea but insisted that she choose the shades once the lamps were completed, so adding the right hardware would be our stopping point.

Material choices were straightforward, since the lamps were older we wanted to lean more towards antique brass for the harps and finials. This would also go well with the porcelain switched sockets. And, to avoid any potential issues with the lamp shades, adjustable harps was the best choice.

Once the parts arrived it was time to get to work.

The first thing up was to take apart the porcelain sockets; within each socket base was a small screw that held the bottom portion to the upper half. Once separated I loosened the terminal screws on the upper half where the lamp wires would eventually connect.

Next, taping the new cords to the bottom ends of the old cords, I gently pulled the new cord through the center of each fixture. With the new cords now in place the harp holders were ready to go on. Separating the harp from its holder, the cord was fed through the center, and the harp holder seated down onto the threaded lamp tubes, at the top of each sphere.

The cord was then run through the center of the lower half of the socket base, before the socket base was threaded onto the tubing. With the socket base now firmly in place the keeper screw on the side of the base was tightened to prevent the base from coming loose.

With the hard part now complete it was time to connect the new cord to the upper half of the socket base. Taking the new cord wires from the top of the lamp, I landed each wire to its corresponding terminal screw.

The smooth insulated wire went to the gold terminal screw while the ribbed insulated wire went to the silver terminal screw.

NOTE: All lamp cords come with a smooth side and a ribbed side on the outer insulation. The smooth side goes to the hot terminal which is identified as a gold termination screw. The ribbed side goes to the neutral terminal which is identified as a silver termination screw. 

After securing the lamp cord wires to the terminal screws, the excess cord was carefully pulled down the bottom of the wooden spheres until the upper half of the socket base touched the bottom half. Lining up the two socket base halves, the securing screw was reinserted and the base was back together again.

The harps slid into place without any problems, there were some slight adjustments that needed to be made but simple enough to figure out. One problem in particular was a leaning harp, by gently moving it in the opposite direction solved that issue.

Finally, we were ready to test. The owner wasn't sure exactly how long these two lamps had been our of commission but one thing was certain, we were both happy to see them light up. 

The overall project didn't take a lot of time to complete and in fact this same process can be followed for just about any fixture with little to no damage to the main body.

I hope you've enjoyed this article, if you have a comment or a similar project that you've been able to revamp feel free to share your experience in the comments section below. Until next time stay safe.

M. Hernandez Sr.