How to Rewire a Lamp With a Rayon Cord
If you've purchased an antique floor or table lamp and wish to restore it to its original appearance, you can easily rewire it with rayon-covered lamp cord. Once you acquire the lamp cord and a plug, you only need a pair of simple hand tools to complete the job. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Rayon-covered lamp cord
- Bakelite or china plug
- Screwdriver
- Utility knife
Instructions
-
-
1
Cut and remove about 2 inches of the fabric cover from one end of the cord and about 1 inch from the other end. Use the utility knife to strip about ½ inch of insulation from each end of both the black and white wires.
-
2
Unplug the lamp. Remove the shade and/or harp and bulb, and set them aside. Remove the socket shroud from the lamp socket by pressing where the word "Press" is stamped into the metal. Lift it from the socket base and set it aside as well.
-
-
3
Pull the socket interior up until the contact screws become visible. Use the screwdriver to loosen the contact screws. This will allow you to remove the ends of the black and white wires from the socket interior. Loosen the screws just enough to remove the wires. It is not necessary to remove them completely. Set the socket interior aside.
-
4
Pull the old lamp cord out through the base of the lamp. Push the replacement cord up through the lamp body until it emerges through the hole in the center of the socket base.
-
5
Slip the bare end of the black wire around the shank of the brass screw on the socket interior. Tighten the screw with the screwdriver. Slip the bare end of the white wire around the shank of the white metal screw on the socket interior. Tighten it down.
-
6
Pull down on the new cord until the socket interior rests atop the socket base. Pinch the sides of the socket shroud, and snap it back into place inside the socket base.
-
7
Slip the Bakelite or china plug over the other end of the lamp cord. Either style plug will have a hole in the middle to accommodate the wire. Loosen the brass and white metal screws, but do not remove them.
-
8
Attach the black wire to the brass screw and the white wire to the white metal screw, much the same way you attached the other end of the lamp cord to the socket interior.
-
9
Reinstall the bulb, harp and/or shade. Plug the lamp into any wall outlet and turn it on.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Rayon-covered lamp cord is usually sold by the foot, and will not come equipped with a molded-on plug. Other than lending a look of authenticity, the rayon cover serves no purpose whatsoever. Beneath it, the black and white wires are still insulated in plastic, just as they would be with any other type of two-wire lamp cord. Bakelite, an early form of plastic, was used to make wall plugs, as was china.
