Large Crystal Table Lamps Cleaning and Repair

A customer brought in this pair of nice large crystal table lamps the other day and wanted them cleaned, rewired and refurbished. They required a lot of new parts but in the interest of attention retention, we will keep it semi brief. If you have a question about the process and want to know more, you can post a question and we will reply.

When you are working on a lamp like this it is important to remember the order of which the parts are on the lamp. You can take a photo, write it down or in our case: we are only going to work on one at a time so the other one acts as a model. Here are the two lamps. The one on the left is already restored and the one on the right has the original parts.

Looking at the brass parts on these old lamps you can see that some of them have turned or aged well and others look poor. Solid brass will not rust; it will turn in color. Some of the parts on these lamps are brass plated (steel) or plastic with brass color.

The lamp parts needed for this project include many different seating rings, felt washers, rubber washers, brass breaks, brass necks, brass base, harp base, solid brass socket, gold colored lamp cord. We lay the parts out to help keep stock on what we will need. Every break will need two felt washers (one on top and one on the bottom). The rubber washers will be used generously, but not at every stop.

First we pry the socket cap from the socket shell and start un-wiring the old socket. The cord is removed and the top nut is unscrewed from the top of the lamp.

Carefully remove the crystal glass pieces from the lamp rod.

Using a large sink, wash the crystal like you are washing dishes. Warm water and dish liquid work well. These lamps had a decal so we did not let them soak in the water, but just scrubbed around the decal.

With the crystal washed and dried, they are placed back on the lamp rod and new brass base.

Add the last neck, harp base, and nut. On a level surface, make sure the lamp is straight before you give it the final turn with the wrench. Note: When you replace parts on a lamp this style, you might have to shorten or replace the threaded rod. For these lamps, we had to cut about 1/4 inch off the rod since the replacement parts were slightly shorter overall. 

The new cord is pushed thought the lamp body and the socket is wired on the lamp. The socket cap goes first, then a UL knot is tied in the cord. The wires go on the screw terminals on the socket interior with the smooth wire going on the brass screw and the smooth wire going on the nickel screw (for polarity). The socket shell is snapped on the socket cap.

Finished (with one). The lamps look clean and new. If you were looking for a different finished look, you could reuse more of the original hardware and replace some parts with antique finished brass.

Total Cost < $50.00 Total Time < 1.5 hours.

Making a Lamp from a Wood Block

Wood is a great medium for lamps. It can be shaped, painted, stained, or unfinished. We can teach you how to turn any wood block into a lamp.

A customer of ours is a furniture maker and can do anything with wood. He asked us to make a lamp out of a turned block. We did and wanted to share the process.

The tools we use are a file, 23/64 drill bit, 1/8IP tap, and drill press. The lamp parts we need are a socket with a cord hole in the socket cap, 2 inch threaded rod, polarized lamp cord, harp base, lock washer, and seating ring.

Since this block is solid and does not have a path for the cord to come through the lamp, we will need to only drill a short hole in the top of the wood. The lamp cord will connect from the socket cap. We start by filing a level top on the wood.

Next we place the seating ring on top of the wood and make sure it is level. With a marker, we mark the position of where to drill the hole.

Then we load the drill bit in the drill press. You can use a regular drill, but it will be more challenging to get the whole in a plumb position.

Using the 1/8IP Pipe tap, we create the threads in the wood for the threaded rod to pull on to.

Now the lamp is ready for the seating ring, threaded rod, harp base, lock washer, and socket cap.

Wire the socket interior (don't forget the UL knot and polarized wiring as discussed throughout this blog). The lamp is ready.

Total Cost < $15.00 Total Time < 25 minutes

Floral Table Lamp Get a New Lamp Cord

A customer brought in this patient the other day and wanted a new lamp cord wired on it. The old lamp cord was not polarized, so a new cord is needed. In addition to the cord, we will generally inspect the lamp for wear and tear. The only lamp part we are sure is needed at this time is the replacement polarized lamp cord.

First we needed to remove the socket shell from the socket cap. Using a flat head screw driver the socket shell is pried from the socket cap where the shell is marked "Press here."

The socket interior is removed. Notice there is no UL knot in the lamp cord below the socket? Also notice the wire around the screw terminal is not tight against the screw? These are two areas for concern and will be fixed with this repair.

With the socket interior detached, the lamp cord is pulled through the lamp body.

With the socket off and the cord out, here are two simple checks to make with a repair. 1) Tighten the lamp. Even if the lamp is not loose, having the cord out give you a rare opportunity to tighten the lamp rod by turning the bottom nut. 2) Inspect the socket insulator (paper liner of the shell). Make sure the insulator is not dry and brittle. The insulator on this lamp is not pretty, but works just as well.

We are ready to replace the lamp cord. Push the new cord up the lamp rod from the bottom.

Tie a UL knot in the top of the new cord and attach the socket interior. The smooth wire connects to the brass screw and the ribbed wire connects to the silver screw.

Place the socket shell back on the interior and pull the cord slack down the lamp as you position the socket shell on the socket cap. Remember to have you push trough knobs or the socket key in the middle of the harp base before you click the socket closed.

Safe and ready for use. Total time < 10 minutes. Total Cost < $6.00