Table lamps

[Dames]

Hi all ,
Been looking around for the bits to fix a threaded bulb holder to a piece of wood to make a table lamp. i've seen all the bits on a few different sites but could do with someone saying ' you need X , Y and Z to make this lamp' as it were. Also an online supplier would be handy.
This has come about from a lamp i made years ago for my mum and just stuck a bulb holder to the top , i didnt know any better at the time. This has now of course come off :0)

Your own personal method would be handy too :0)

Cheers

Dames

[Davie Crockett]

Hi Dames!

Use a long threaded tube with recessed nut at the base, or a brass flange with 1/2" screw thread and a matching bulb holder. all the bits you need are available here: http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/Lighting/Electrical/list.htm

....and not teaching you to suck eggs (and to cover my a*se), get it checked by a qualified Electrician before you give it back to Mum.

Post a pic too!

[Dames]

Thanx Davie .
I see thought that might be the case , I take it most people run the cable from the bottom then and a small notch on the base for the cable?
When I made my mums I put a hole through the side near the bottom so a long bar wouldnt work in the is case ( it will in the future though )

Is there a double threaded collar ( internal and external ) that will wind into the wood at the top that would then recieve the smaller - 38mm ish? - lengths of threaded tube which I can then wind a white switched bulb holer onto?

Cheers

Dames

[Davie Crockett]

Hi Dames,
You'll need these, http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/Lighting/Electrical/Screwed-Brass-Nipples-x-5_EL003-5.htm

And probably a new lamp holder to fit them: http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/Lighting/Electrical/Brass-Switched-Lampholder_EL002.htm

[jrccaim]

]I am certainly not a qualified electrician. But I do have a couple degrees in Electrical Engineering, and besides, it is not rocket science. A lamp is a bulb. Problem is to get electricity to bulb from mains. Most problems with lamps arise from loose connections along the way, or from the lack of mechanical strength. Mum picks up lamp to dust it. Joggles a poor connection. Lamp does not work any more. Mechanical failure, not electrical: bulb screws into socket. Socket connections were not strong. Lamp failure. Electrical connections must be mum-proof. It is very difficult to get a shock off a modern lamp, but I suppose it is possible. Failure much more probable than shock.

UK and US have three-wire systems. One wire neutral, one wire live, one wire ground. Oops, this is called earth in the UK. In principle neutral is same as ground, in practice it may not be so. Voltage different, otherwise the same. US bulb sockets have but two terminals.One is live, the other neutral. I do not know how UK lamp sockets are wired. Principle is the same, however. If live ever touches either neutral or ground there is a pffft sound, a spark and probably a blown breaker. If you happen to be in the middle of live and either ground or neutral you will have at best an unpleasant experience, at worst it will be fatal.

US practice: connect neutral to one side of socket. Connect live to other side. There is a code in the US, live to "silver side", neutral to "brass side" -- refers to color of the screws. Disregard ground wire in lamp wiring. UK practice (and legal code) may be different -- never even thought of it, except to note that the plugs are shaped differently. For all I know you are to connect ground, not neutral, to t'other side from live, or there may be a ground connection on the lamp socket (a good idea, by the way). Read up on it in some DIY book. I always assume that a plug socket has been bodged, in the standard sense of the term; I have a neon tester that I use to find out if this is the case; $2 at any hardware store. Saves unpleasant shocks. So make sure mum's plugs are kosher before you give her the lamp.

Whatever you do, learn to connect stranded wire to a screw socket. I was taught to do this by a pro, age 15. It again is not rocket science. Requires a pair of long-nose pliers and a screwdriver. Make loop in wire, put around screw, tighten. Now tug the connection, hard. If it comes off you did it wrong. Play it again, Sam . And if you do use a tube to lead the wire to the socket, US practice is to tie an overhand knot in the cord at both ends of the tube. This is to prevent jerks from loosening your connections. Amazing to me how many people unplug a lamp by jerking the cord.

[Bob_Fleet]

I've turned a few lamps and taken the cable down and out from the centre hole through one bored to meet it from the side and used the nipple type fittings at the top.

However - with lamps and the like they come under a whole bunch of electrical regulations and I believe that one requires a fastening on the flex so that if it is pulled, the force doesn't transmit to the terminals and pull them out.
Sounds sensible but without knowing the regs I tend to avoid lamps, especially for sale.
I was never sure if pouring epoxy into the side hole was sufficient as it fixes the cable.

Have fun

[jrccaim]

SOP (Standard Operating Practice) in trhis country: tie an overhand knot on the inboard end of the cord. That prevents a jerk or jolt from loosening the conectrions. I don't know whether this is legal in the UK. Point is, many people unplug lamps by jerking the cord. A no-no, to be sure, but I am always astounded by the number of people who take great care of their pets, but do not afford the same care to their appliances. No matter what you do, a pet cannot give you a nastly/lethal shock, but an appliance can. So why don't people treat their appliances kindly? If a knot is not in order in the UK, heat-shrunk washers would do the job. Anything anti-jerk. And I wish we did not have to be lawyers to wire up a lamp.

[peterson_p]

Hi Dames,
You'll need these, http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/Lighting/Electrical/Screwed-Brass-Nipples-x-5_EL003-5.htm

And probably a new lamp holder to fit them: http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/Lighting/Electrical/Brass-Switched-Lampholder_EL002.htm

It's never too late to say thanks for the hints in this topic. I just had the same issues making a table lamp but now everything is done properly.

[Davie Crockett]

Glad to be of help Peterson_P.

Sorry the original links don't still work, but most of the bits are still available. Cheers, Davie

[ToneWood]

...
US practice: connect neutral to one side of socket. Connect live to other side. There is a code in the US, live to "silver side", neutral to "brass side" -- refers to color of the screws. Disregard ground wire in lamp wiring. UK practice (and legal code) may be different -- never even thought of it, except to note that the plugs are shaped differently. For all I know you are to connect ground, not neutral, to t'other side from live, or there may be a ground connection on the lamp socket (a good idea, by the way). Read up on it in some DIY book. I always assume that a plug socket has been bodged, in the standard sense of the term; I have a neon tester that I use to find out if this is the case; $2 at any hardware store. Saves unpleasant shocks. So make sure mum's plugs are kosher before you give her the lamp.
...

In the UK, bulbs have 2 connections, live and neutral. Older bulb holders (and perhaps modern ones?) usually just have those 2 connection. Some modern bulb holders include an additional earth connection point, which should be used if available.

There is currently something of a trend to re-wire old English-made, metal, Anglepoise lamps - which are expensive to buy new: I use one in my workshop - very handy. They are metal framed and have a metal lamp shade, yet older models (& perhaps new ones?) were not earthed. As part of re-wiring these (to replace old, decayed/distressed/old spec. wires), folk often opt to earth them too. There are (at least) 2 different approaches to earthing these when re-wiring them:

(1) Replace the bulb holder with a modern replacement which has an earth point, e.g. available on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-BULB-HOLD ... 0865715972


Or
(2) Retain the original bulb-holder but cut the new earth-lead short and wire it directly to the metal framework somewhere (e.g. with a ring connector to an existing bolt near the top of the springs). They are usually re-wired now with 3 strands of braided wire - again available on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORIGINAL-STYL ... 0862568649


With either approach, the earth must have a good electrical connection to be effective.

WARNING: The design of these lamps is sensitive to the weight of the bulb, so further modification will likely be required to the balance/springs if a big, heavy, modern, low energy bulb (Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL)) is to be used in an old lamp. Their new lamps are designed for use with modern Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs.

If no metal parts of the lamp are exposed (e.g. insulating bulb holder and plastic/glass/wooden body) then an earth might not be necessary or practical. Look up "double insulation" for more information on that e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesi ... rev4.shtml

Some appliances, such as vacuum cleaners and electric drills, do not have an earth wire. This is because they have plastic casings, or they have been designed so that the live wire can not touch the casing. As a result, the casing cannot give an electric shock, even if the wires inside become loose. These appliances have double insulation and carry a symbol.

WARNING: It should go without saying: mains electricity is potentially dangerous, and can be fatal.