Lamp Socket Replacement on Brass Table Lamp

A customer brought in this lamp the other day and said it needed a new socket. It had fallen and the socket cap was broken right at the base of the socket. In an effort to try something different, we made a video. Hope you enjoy.

The lamp parts needed to repair this lamp included a new 3-way lamp socket, harp base, lock washer, nut, and gold colored lamp cord.

Total Costs < $10.00 Total Time < 20 minutes

Load Bearing Lamp Parts?

In our lamp shop we try to make the best repairs with the best parts, period. We do not want a customer to leave the shop with a lamp fixture that has problems or potential for problems. Sometimes we compromise on the type of part to use. More often we compromise on the style. We will never compromise on the safety of a lamp, so there are times when we have to tell a customer "sorry, your lamp cannot be repaired"

If you are a DIY lamp person or a small time picker it is important to know when is the right time to say: Put some jam on it, this lamp is toast. You need to make that decision at the flea market or in the Goodwill store and not in the home shop.

Here is an example. A customer brought in this lamp the other day and it was obviously broken. This is not the common flickering bulb or bad switch, this is a break in the body of the lamp.

It doesn't look like a bad break and probably only makes the lamp a little wobbly. A close inspection shows the problem: the body of this lamp is not just decorative, it is a load bearing piece. It holds the lamp together and is under the pressure of the threaded rod.

This lamp could be disassembled and glued with a strong epoxy, but it would be time consuming and it would not be safe. The best thing for this lamp would be to recycle the good parts. The socket, cord, harp, harp base, threaded rod and all other miscellaneous parts should be put in the spare parts bin for the next repair.

Small Table Lamp with Plastic Socket

A customer brought in this lamp the other day and it had a broken socket. This socket was a keyless screw top plastic socket (sometimes called a phenolic or bakelite socket). These sockets are the most common in today's lamps because they are inexpensive and have a neutral color. All it takes is a short fall, a slight tip or a move to have the socket crack like this one.

The only lamp part we need to fix this lamp is a replacement keyless bakelite socket with screw top collar.

First the cord has to be removed. The lamp it laid on its side and a hole is cut in the bottom felt.

The cord is removed from the socket interior. The socket cap twists off the lamp rod and the new socket cap is replaced. The socket cap is not moving and is probably glued to the threaded rod. The cord will need to be removed. Some of the cord is twisted and stiff. The cord will be reused, but cutting off the old UL knot will save time when removing and re-installing the cord. The old cord is pulled through the lamp body.

The bottom nut is removed and the base comes off the lamp body.

The rod is removed from the lamp body and placed in a vise.

Heat is applied to the rod just below the socket cap. The heat releases the glue and the socket cap screws off the rod.

The new socket cap has a set screw so no glue is used on the replacement.

The rod is placed back in the lamp body and lamp base. A nut is attached to the rod and the lamp is tightened.

The original cord is threaded through the lamp body. The wires are split, stripped and tipped.

A UL knot is tied in the the cord and it is attached to the socket interior. The ribbed cord attaches to the silver screw and the smooth wire goes on the brass screw.

The cord slack is pulled through the lamp  and the socket shell is screwed on the socket cap.

A bulb is added and the lamp is tested.

Great. Total Cost <$7.00 Total Time: < 30 minutes

Large Bronze Table Lamp Flickers

A patient came in the other day and was complaining of flickering and not working well. These are common symptoms so we start the service by replicating the problem. Plugging the lamp in and turning the switch nothing happens. Unplugging the lamp and unscrewing the bulb reveals the problem: the tongue on the socket is broken and soldered to the bulb.

This can happen with a high wattage bulb and long burn time. A simple replacement of the socket interior should fix the problem. First I remove the socket shell from the cap. This socket interior has a newer style wire terminals. This style interior is not good for repairs. The wire clamps are made to go one direction. If the wire needs to be moved or changed, this style interior will need to be replaced as well.

 I clip the wire from the bottom of the old socket interior and retie the UL knot and strip the wires. The ribbed wire connects to the nickle screw and the smooth wire connects to the brass screw on the new socket interior.

The new socket interior is in place. I slip on the insulator and socket shell. Before clicking the socket shell into the cap, I pull the slack of the cord through the base of the lamp.

The socket shell clicks in to the socket cap twice and is firmly in place. I plug the lamp in, add a bulb and test to make sure it works.

This lamp is back in working order and ready for many more years of service.