Porcelain Table Lamp Repair - New Socket and Cord

A customer brought in this table lamp the other day and said it needed a new socket and cord set. This is a common repair for any lamp. If you found a lamp at a yard sale, flea market, or online and it needed some basic repair, these are the steps to take.

First, always give the lamp a general inspection. This will help you prepare a list of needed parts. We like to only replace bad, worn out parts. Safety is also an issue. Loose hardware and non-polarized plugs should be addressed as part of any repair.

This lamp seems to be in decent shape so the only lamp parts needed for this repair are:

1) Brass lamp socket

40250 - On-Off Leviton Light Socket, Brass, Polished & Lacquered

2) Lamp cord set 

Antique Brass Color, 18/2 Plastic Covered Lamp Cord

The repair starts by unplugging the lamp and removing the light bulb.

Next, remove the harp from the lamp. Lift the locking couplings and squeeze the harp toward the socket.

Remove the socket shell from the socket cap. Using a flat head screw driver, apply pressure on the socket shell and lift it from the socket cap.

Unscrew the old lamp cord from the old socket interior and remove the socket interior.

Untie the old UL Knot and pull the old cord down to the lamp base.

Now you want to remove the old socket cap. Loosen any set screw and unscrew the socket cap from the lamp body. Screw the new socket cap on the threaded rod and tighten any set screw. If your lamp has a front and back, make sure your harp saddle is oriented side to side.

With the socket and cord removed, now is the best time to tighten the lamp body. The lamp will go back together the same way it came apart. First, push the new lamp cord up the lamp body to the socket cap.

Next, tie a UL Knot in the lamp cord.

Screw the wires onto the new socket interior. The smooth wire connects to the brass screw and the ribbed wire connects to the nickel screw.

Slip the socket shell over the interior. Pull any cord slack back down the bottom of the lamp body. Snap the socket shell into the socket cap making sure both sides are securely snapped into the cap.

Add a bulb and test the lamp.

This lamp is back in service for another 40 years. Total cost: < $25.00 total time < 45 minutes

Cluster Removal and Floor Lamp Rewired

A customer brought in this floor lamp the other day and wanted to change the socket arrangement. The lamp had a 2 socket cluster with pull chain sockets on each side. This limits the shade options to rectangle or large, to fit over these two sockets. The customer instead wanted only 1 socket with a harp. It would really open the shade styles and sizes for this lamp.

As with every repair or replacement, we inspect the lamp and make a parts list. For this repair, we need:

1) Heavy turned socket in Antique Bronze finish.

1) Harp Saddle in matching Antique Bronze finish

1) 18 Inch Threaded rod

1) Harp in Matching Antique Bronze Finish (Size depends on shade)

First, we want to remove the old cluster and get down to the threaded rod. The wire nuts are clipped off and the lamp and the cluster unscrews from the rod.

We continue to remove the check ring, tubing and other body pieces to find the other end of that old threaded rod. All of the parts are slipped onto the lamp.

With the other threaded end found, we can unscrew the old threaded rod from the lamp.

Our new threaded rod goes right back on the lamp. These thread sizes are universal in the lighting industry and are known as 1/8IP. They measure about 3/8 inch wide. The replacement rod is fully threaded from one end to the other. This allows the user to tighten as much as needed to get the right height (handy for replacement or repair). You could also cut the rod down to the desired length without re-threading the rod. With the new rod on the lamp, we can start to replace the floor lamp parts.

Now we are ready for the harp base or harp saddle.

Next the socket ring and socket cap go on the lamp. The socket ring sits on the harp saddle while the socket cap screws onto the threaded rod. This socket has a locking screw to keep the socket in place.

Now we are ready to tie a UL Knot in the lamp cord and attach the rest of the socket. The cord is split, tied, and stripped. The smooth wire connects to the brass screw and the ribbed wire connects to the nickel plated screw. The socket shell slides over the socket interior and is held to the socket cap with the screw collar.

Now we can add a bulb and test the lamp.

Brilliant! Another proper lamp repair. Total Cost < $30 Total Time < 45 minutes