Today I found this fantastic lamp by Swedish designer Alf Svensson.
This link shows an identical lamp:
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The lamp is in in pretty good condition, but has some small bumps and bends to the metal shades, which is often the case with these 50's lamps. The paint looks very good for it's age and if I could just get rid of of these bumps I would have a very nice example of this rare lamp.
I want to try and bend the bumps back and restore the shades to their original shape as much as possible. Does anyone have any good tips on how to do this without damaging the lamp further instead?
sorry your lamp did not ...
sorry your lamp did not show up but i have a lamp made by Hans-Agne Jakobsson and it had those small dings and bumps . what I did was take a small ball pin hammer held it in my lap and tapped it very gently.... once i made a impression with it i worked it with my finger ( like clay) and i got the dings out , just be careful, and not in a hurry.
they will come out.when you put pressure on them .
Risky but possible
The safest solution is learn to live with the bumps as earned badges of veneration. BUT if you must try to tap them out use a rubber mallet and a wood bowling pin. Find a spot on the pin where the bump area of the shade rests smoothly and firmly and gently tap tap tap with the rubber mallet. I like a bowling pin cause of the wood and variety of curves, but any firm, curved form will work as the 'anvil'. The trick is to come close to the curvature of the shade to avoid creating new bumps and just tap tap tap gently.
It is not clear
(to me) whether one places the aluminum against a hard or soft surface and taps the pin with the mallet, or whether one taps the aluminum with the mallet, with the pin/anvil placed under it.
In the case of this lamp, the cones are long and narrow so the amount of work one can do from within is going to be limited, I think (?). However, as the cones here are truly conical (as opposed to bullet-shaped) -- that is, one could place a straightedge on the surface and make contact along its length -- perhaps a suitable cylinder could be used from the inside, with the cone placed on a flat "anvil" ? This would seem to automatically prevent any damage to the existing shape. . .though there is some doubt that one could apply sufficient force in the space remaining inside. Perhaps with a deep C-clamp ?
I will defer to my more experienced colleagues. Carry on.
Here's the picture of Alexandersforum's lamp
.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j271/alexandersforum/AlfSvensonBergbom...
The real problem is that the ...
The real problem is that the dent will have stretched the fabric of the shade making it near impossible to get back to a completely dent free surface - regardless of what you use to push or knock the dent out with. Unless that is you are prepared to sacrifice the existing paint finish in which case you can fill the dents with body filler and then refinish (obviously there's a bit more to it than that in practice but you get the idea)
Yes! I have to try and...
Yes! I have to try and remember how I did it next time...
Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions. I like the idea with the bowling pin, though I don't bowl myself and wouldn't know where to get one at this moment. At the same time, as you can see the shades are pretty much straight and conical, so like SDR suggested, maybe any kind of straight object with a curved surface would do the trick...
Actually at one point I was playing around with jewelery making and used small hammers like the one LRF mentions. I worked with silver and would heat the metal to a temerature where it would be easier to work with. I would be a bit afraid to damage the paint if heating the shade of my lamp. I also have no idea what kind of metal it is made of, steel or aluminium?
The two bends to the shades of my lamp are both located at the edges. The shades have been detached from the base and been left hanging from the cables when 'in storage' (left in a garage...) and the shades have bumped into the base, when the lamp was moved around. Still, it is not bad at all. There is also one small dent, 10 mm in diameter, to the surface of the shade.
I will be back in my workshop at the end of the week and see what I can do with the help of your suggestions.
Thanks!
Yes, I know the metal might...
Yes, I know the metal might be a bit stretched, like you say paulanna, but the dents are not that deep, so I hope to at least be able to improve it a little...
The paint has a few small scratches, but overall it looks remarkably good, so I will leave it as it is. I think a little patina is better than having a completely refinished lamp.
Rubber tapper
Find any good, hard curved surface that matches as well as you can the curvature on the shade around the area with the dent. Wood is the best material and is often found in round/curved forms like bowling pins, newel posts and shoe stretchers. Ideally tap with the rubber mallet from the convex side (the part that sticks out) but that may not be possible for a dent deep in the throat of the shade cone. As long as the dent is minor enough so the metal has not fatigued it can be gently tapped in compression to UN stretch the metal. Do you know anyone with an autobody shop? But if it's a small dent seriously evaluate the need to fix it. Give some good, long thought to just living with it. Or give it me! I need one just like that and I'll LOVE the dents 😉
If a dent won't pop back into...
If a dent won't pop back into place (and they rarely do) any kind of hammering will turn a dent into a protrusion - or more likely a number of protrusions unless you a very skilled metal worker. If the outer edge is supported you'll stop the beaten dent protruding out but only at the expense at creasing the metal because the basic fact remains that you have a greater surface area of metal than you need. You can't 'un stretch' stretched metal without the aid of localised heat and plannishing to effectively re-thicken the stretched area. I've been restoring lamps for 15 years and this is just one of those areas where there are no quick fixes but a lot of scope to make things worse.
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