A couple of years ago I came across this old lamp, probably made in the 40’s or 50’s. The value I saw in it at the time was that is had a swivel head. I figured it would make a great bench light with one of those cheap LED spotlights that they sell on the internet. It would be nice to have it on the bench to grab and place over something small when I needed extra light close-up.
I thought I would replace the old socket, switch and cord with new. Also the screw and nut had to go, I would use a new thumb wheel.
Before I go any further, I want to mention that I was in Home Depot the other day, actually I am in there every day, my work and my passion put me there frequently. Anyway, one of the workers who knows me by name called out as I walked by. He was loading coils of 12/2 romex copper wire onto a flat bed cart. I stopped and said hi, boy that must be a large order you are filling for a contractor. He replied, Nope, price of copper wire went over $70, boss says we have to move all the 12/2 behind a locked cage. I said wow, and thought isn’t that something, copper is now a precious metal!
The reason I mention this is because as I went about replacing the old parts of this lamp, it became apparent that I shouldn’t replace but rather restore. I am only posting this out of appreciation for the ways things used to be made.
I took everything apart to clean it up. It turns out the base wast made of cast iron.
The light socket is made of copper, brass and bakelite. I first soaked the copper and brass parts in a mild solution of degreaser, and scrubbed them with a brush. Then a short soak in a mild solution of muriatic acid to remove any oxidation. After a rinse I put them on the buffing wheel.
I strung a new cord that I had salvaged from some defective appliance and had put aside for just this type of project. I did nothing other that clean the cast iron base, I suppose I could of painted it but I thought it would look more “retro” if I left it as is.
Here is a pic of how the socket and switch go back together, notice that there is actually a collar that screws on and holds it all together. They sure don’t make them that way today!
The socket, or maybe the whole light was Made in the U.S.A by Byrant Electric of Bridgeport, CT Here is the Wikipedia article of the company
The next 3 pics are shots of it put back together and with the new bulb. I had a lot of fun doing this and it was easy. Now that it is finished, I have a nice light on my bench that I enjoy using.
I really like this light.
your right about copper prices, we get more power outages now due to people raiding substations for the copper buzz bars.
your also bang on about things not being made as well as they used to be, old stuff was made to be as good as it could be, now everything is designed to fail in an acceptable time frame.
Nice of you to restore those old lamps, they deserve it. (I do think though that this very nice one should have a clear incandescant bulb instead of the led one)
The brass fittings really bring back memories of our old house when I was a child. My mother still has a few of these kind of lights up in the attic complete with braided fabric flex.
I noticed the lamp was rated at 250v. I thought the US mains supply had always been 120V? Was it standardised at some point in the past? That might help to date the item. Good job by the way and if you don’t mind me saying it may be worth trying a slightly less obtrusive bulb in keeping with the retro style.
I once saw an episode of “Antiques Roadshow” They were reviewing an 18th century piece of furniture. The owner had paid to have it “refinished” On the show, the reviewer, an expert evaluates the piece with the owner present. He went through the history of the piece etc. The highlight of each show is when they appraise the piece. In this case, the reviewer went over all the attributes of the piece and finally said, “this piece in this condition, because of it’s history, etc. etc. would fetch probably $40,000 at auction” To this the owner was ecstatic. He went on however, and said “however, had it not been refinished, it would have been worth about a quarter million” In a split second the owner went for ecstasy to agony.
I, of course knew this before I started but felt I could afford to “take the hit” :bigsmile:
In America, for residential use, we have in effect, plus and minus 120V. We have 2 legs of 120V, 180 degrees out of phase. That light socket would see 120V, but is rated for 250V as a margin of safety.
In America, for residential use, we have in effect, plus and minus 120V. We have 2 legs of 120V, 180 degrees out of phase. That light socket would see 120V, but is rated for 250V as a margin of safety.
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It is amazing what you can learn on this forum. I have been to the States a few times but had no idea that a two-phase system was in operation. Thanks for bringing me up to speed!
Edit: Sorry cocked up the quotes here, but you know what I mean!
:bigsmile: