How to Rewire an Antique Floor Lamp
Turn that antique floor lamp that has been nothing more than a beautiful conversation piece into a working floor lamp by re-wiring it. Re-wiring a floor lamp takes about 30 minutes for the experienced do-it-yourselfer and about an hour for the beginner. The project calls for no more than a few simple hand tools and some easily acquired supplies. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Electrician's screwdrivers
- 7-inch slip-joint pliers
- Wire cutters
- Wire strippers
- Razor knife
- Lamp socket w/switch
- Twin-lead lamp cord (wire)
- Polarized plug
Instructions
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Lamp socket Disassemble the floor lamp. Remove the lamp shade and bulb. Separate the harp from the harp base (see graphics in "How To Rewire a Thrift Store Lamp" in the Resources section of this article). Separate the metal socket shell from the socket cap by prying them apart with a flat-blade screwdriver. Refer to Figure 7 in collection of graphics used in the resources section for an exploded view of a lamp socket. Remove the cardboard insulating sleeve and disconnect the lamp cord from the socket terminal screws.
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Untie the underwriter's knot and remove the socket cap. The socket cap may simply screw off or it may be locked in place by a set screw that you will have to loosen before you can unscrew the socket cap from the lamp's nipple (pipe).
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3
Pull the old wire up through the lamp about a foot. Strip 2 inches of insulation from the ends of the wires. Split the new lamp cord with the razor knife and strip 2 inches of insulation from their ends. Twist the stripped ends of the old wire tightly together with the new wire and tape tightly. Using the old wire, pull the new wire through the floor lamp. Pull it through until 6 feet of wire extends from the lamp's base.
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Cut the new cord where you taped it to the old wire. You want to start fresh when wiring the new socket. Slip the socket cap to the new socket over the wire and screw it in place on the nipple. Using the razor knife, split the end and re-tie the Underwriter's knot (see Figure 2 of graphics for step-by-step instructions on how to tie an underwriter's knot). This knot keeps the wires from being yanked out of the lamp.
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Remove 3/4 inch of insulation from the ends of the wires and twist each of the stranded wires tight using a right-hand twist. Identify the neutral wire--it will have a rib on its insulation and/or a silver coating on the copper wire. Identifying the neutral wire is important because the switch must break the current in the power, or "hot," wire when the lamp is switched off. Never put the switch in the neutral side of the circuit; doing so is a violation of the National Electrical Code, and a safety hazard.
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Loop the neutral wire under the silver screw on the lamp socket in a clockwise direction and tighten it snugly. Loop the hot wire under the brass-colored screw and tighten securely. Install the cardboard insulating sleeve and the socket shell.
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Install the new plug on the new lamp cord (See Figure 6 of graphics in Resources section for visual steps). Attach the wires to the plug's screw terminals just as you attached them to the socket terminals. Some plugs have a built-in wire-restraint system that will make the underwriter's knot unnecessary when installing the plug on the cord.
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Reassemble the harp on the harp base. Screw in a light bulb and replace the shade.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit lamp image by Jeffrey Zalesny from Fotolia.com lamp socket image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com
