Thursday, April 28, 2016

Ceramic Table Lamp Socket Replacement

A customer brought in this blue ceramic lamp the other day and complained the lamp was not working. A quick inspection of the socket interior showed some corrosion and wear. We suggested a new 3-way socket interior, but the customer wanted to replace the whole socket with a solid spun brass heavy duty socket in antique brass finish.




First thing we do is remove the socket shell from the socket cap and unscrew the lamp cord from the screw terminals. Then the socket cap is removed from the lamp body.



The new socket cap is attached to the lamp body. The heavy turned brass sockets have a connection ring for the socket cap and shell. The new socket ring goes on the lamp first. The cord is pushed up the socket cap. The socket cap is screwed on the threaded rod and the set screw is tightened. Make sure the orientation of the socket cap is positioned for the socket key to face the front and center of the lamp.


A UL Knot is tied in the lamp cord and the socket interior is attached to the cord. The smooth wire goes on the brass screw and the ribbed wire goes on the nickel screw.


The socket shell is placed on the socket interior and the ring below the socket cap is screwed on the socket shell.



A bulb is added and the lamp is tested.



Job well done. Total cost <$30 Total time < 20 minutes

Electrified Oil Lamp Repair

We've been around antiques for a long time and started in the kerosene lamp market. When customers come in the shop they are surprised by the vast selection of oil lamp parts we still offer. Most people with access to electricity are not interested in the hassle of kerosene. The option to have an electric socket on an oil lamp is a nice alternative. Like any lamp they need repair from time to time.

A customer brought us this lamp the other day and complained it was crooked and loose at the socket. A quick inspection of the usual items: polarized plug, socket interior, and socket insulator were all good. Although we will not need any lamp parts for this repair, we will still need to tighten everything up. 





First we remove the socket and shade holder from the lamp body. This lamp is using a #2 adapter for electric conversion. It unscrews from the collar on the lamp body. 




Next we pry the socket shell from the socket cap. The socket interior is removed from the lamp cord and set aside. 


This lamp has been loose for a while and been spinning and spinning on the cord. 



We cut the spun cord off and discard it. The 6-8 inches of cord will not be missed. Next we pull the cord down and out of the adapter. Then the adapter and the socket cap are tightened. 


With the problem fixed, the lamp starts to be reassembled. First we thread the lamp cord back in the adapter and up the socket cap. 



Then we tie a UL knot in the cord and reattach the socket interior. 


The socket key is attached to the interior and the socket shell is slipped on the interior. The socket shell snaps back into the socket cap. Any cord slack is pulled back through the adapter. 


Now the electric burner and #2 adapter are screwed back on the lamp body. 



Be careful not to over tighten the adapter in the lamp collar. Brass is a soft metal and the threads can easily be damaged. A bulb is added and the lamp is tested. 


Great! Total cost $0 Total time < 20 minutes.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Broken Glass Bottom On Gone-With-The-Wind Style Lamp

A customer brought in this lamp the other day and it had taken a fall. The lamp fit their decor so they wanted to have it repaired. While super glue and epoxy do wonders with glass, there are times when the glass needs to be replaced. This is one of those times.


In addition to the broken glass, this lamp has an older style plug and the socket insulator needs to be replaced.





The lamp parts needed for this repair include a new polarized lamp cord, socket insulator for turn knob style socket, 3-terminal socket interior, opal glass font, and felt dots. We start be removing the socket from the lamp. The bottom socket has pressure tines and the top socket is a standard metal cap and shell socket with key. The socket shell is pried from the socket cap and the key is unscrewed. For this illustration be sure to check out many other articles of this blog.



Then we removed the nut on the bottom of the lamp base and removed the base from the lamp.



Next we prep our new glass font with felt dots. This will help relieve from pressure from the glass. It will also help the glass sit in the base and vase cap. The glass is hand made with typical imperfections so the felt helps with masking the glass to the other parts.


We are a lighting shop so we have this special rod holder mounted on the table. You can do the same thing with a graduated steel rod and a vise. Using the special rod, we turn the lamp upside down and work from the top up to the base. This helps center the glass on the base and tighten the rod without extra hands.





With the base tightened on the lamp and all the lamp body in place we flip the lamp right side up and begin to rewire it. First we take the new lamp cord and the wires from the bottom light and wind them together. Then we push them up the lamp rod to the top gallery and tie a UL knot in the brown lamp cord.




The socket interior is attached to the lamp. This is a 3 terminal socket since we have a bottom light. This one switch will control the top and bottom light. A 3 terminal socket has 3 screw terminals: black, nickel, and brass. The smooth cord from the plug goes on the brass screw terminal. The ribbed wire from the plug and the white wire from the bottom light connect to the nickel screw. The black wire from the bottom light connects to the black screw terminal on the socket interior.





With the wires connected to the socket, we replace the new paper insulator in the socket shell. The socket shell slips over the socket interior. The lamp key is attached before the shell is snapped into the socket cap. The cord slack is pulled down through the bottom of the lamp and the socket is snapped into position.





Now it is time to add bulbs and test the lamp. First the bottom light.



Now the top and bottom light.




Back to great and now safe. Total Cost <$120 Total Time < 1 hour