Whilst cleaning up I knocked my favourite table lamp off its perch and when it hit the ground it made a sound that said broken! Luckily, when I examined it, I was relieved to find the only broken part was the fugly plastic lamp holder.
...Which led me to realize that the lamp holder was not original; underneath was a nice brass screw thread indicating that the original lamp holder was likely also brass. The general build quality of the lamp is good, the wood looks like teak and the appearance of the white plastic lampholder always looked out of place.
So, my questions to all fine and knowledgeable forum members are: Does anyone know the original type of lampholder fitted to this lamp? Even better, does anyone know who manufactured or designed this item? Can anyone confirm the wood used in the lamp? The colour looks like teak but I am not 100% sure of the grain pattern. Also, the base looks the same colour as the top when viewed from one angle, but rotate the lamp 90 degrees and it looks much darker as can be seen in the photographs below.
I absoloutely love this lamp and doubt I will ever find a table lamp that I would like to replace it with, I just wish I knew more about it. I hope you guys like it, but please share your opinions even if you do not.
Not my thing but the lamp...
Not my thing but the lamp holders are still available at the hardware and they all should have the same standard thread.I am in Australia but should be no diff.
I have replaced them before and they screw straight back on.You obviously do this with bottom half first and connect cable afterwards.That is unless the cable freely spins down it's centre as you don't want to twist it.
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With all due respect the lamp looks very 'amateur wood turner' to me and the presence of a brass thread doesn't at all mean that the white plastic bulb holder is a replacement - what else do you think it would be attached with? Also the flex is 2 core - so not earthed - and therefore you should not use a metal switch. You can get a replacement for the plastic switch in any diy or electrical shop, just check whether the thread is 10mm or 1/2".
I read this piece
as home-made, perhaps from a published pattern -- or perhaps the maker was clever enough to invent his own form, taking the wood stock and band-sawing it to hollow the center, then gluing the parts together before putting it on the lathe. A clever bit of form-making, I think, and worth more rather than less compared to a manufactured piece. It's not to my taste but I don't find it ugly at all.
Perhaps the most intriguing part is the central post, which appears to be wood but could hardly be large enough in diameter to be hollowed for the cord. What gives ? Is it a brass tube which has been finished to match the wood ?
I agree that the plastic lamp-socket and switch may be original. In any event any standard socket could be fitted. Enjoy !
Thanks. I had considered the...
Thanks. I had considered the possibility it was home-made, I meant to mention that in the first post but got a little carried away. If it was home-made, it would have taken some meticulous craftsmanship to hollow out the four quarters to the correct depth and curvature before glueing together the sections and finishing on a lathe. Compared to making a similar form as a solid piece, without the holes, there seems to be several times more work involved. Respect to the maker.
As for the central post, it looks like wood but does not feel right for wood, or for finished (painted) metal for that matter. My best guess is a metal tube wrapped in a thin plastic/vinyl type sleeve.
3 core flex
I have some braided 3 core lamp flex that I could replace the old flex with when adding a brass lamp holder. I am pretty sure that the original old school two core figure 8 flex does not meet current UK standards for any type of appliance or lamp, even plastic lamps, because it is a non-sheathed design, and will have to be replaced anyway.
I forgot to mention
I forgot to mention that one of the reasons I don't think the plastic lamp holder is original is because it seems to be of a more recent vintage than the cable. I am not sure exactly when they stopped using that type of unsheathed flex but I can't remember seeing it on new items when I was a kid in the 1970's so it was probably sometime during the 1960's or the early part of the 70's.
The lampholder and switch mechanism are virtually identical to the ones available today and I know similar items were available in the late 80's; but I don't know when they first started to manufacture this design of plastic lampholder.
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