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Summer is a great time to tackle projects that you can do inside, out of the heat. Rehabbing old vintage lamps is the perfect "beat the heat" summer project.
When I was in 4-H some 60 years ago, I had my own tools and made my own reading lamps. I've continued to like old and unusual vintage lamps. Since they are in vintage condition, they all need work of some kind. Most often, they need rewiring to be used safely. I'm up for the task! Restoring old lamps is a very DIY friendly project. Old lamps are usually very easy to disassemble and reassembly and often the parts of interchangeable so you can use old parts to make something new. In this video, I restore three of the old lamps I've had in storage for a while. Materials/Tools:
Here are my three project pieces. The cylinder lamp is probably from the 60's, next is a vintage TV lamp, and lastly a milk glass vintage lamp. All are in need of new wiring as well as some cleaning.
Here are some of the tools I'm using. Needle nose pliers, wire cutters, small Phillips head screwdriver and a small slotted screwdriver. Also shown, are two different wire strippers if you end of using lamp wire that is not ready to use. The solder is again, if you don't use pre-soldered lamp wire and want to do it yourself. The toolbox is from my 4-H years as are the red handled tools. I thought it would be fun to use them in this project.
My main project when I was in 4-H was Electricity where I made my own lamps from scratch. The one in the picture is made from Formica samples!
The first lamp to be worked on is the milk glass one. Once I took it apart, I washed the glass parts in the sink with a little Dawn dishwashing liquid. An old toothbrush got all the gunk out of the grooves.
For this lamp, I purchased a new socket along with a replacement lamp cord which has a plug and the ends of the wires are stripped and soldered.
This step is not necessary but I wanted to tie an Electrician's knot or Underwiter's knot for old time sake. The knot is used to prevent wires from being yanked loose. To tie the knot, make a loop with one wire crossing itself in front, do the same for the other wire but crossing itself in the back. Place the opposite wire into the opposite loop and tighten the knot.
Once the socket was rewired, I added a light bulb and it worked.
Next, I'm going to rewire the existing socket with new lamp wire. I tried to get a new socket, but was unsuccessful in getting one that would fit.
The newly wired socket is put back into place and tightened.
The last lamp needed a complete makeover! I spray painted the shade as well as the socket and other parts.
I purchased new cord wire that was already ready to use, but needed more of the insulation removed which I did with a handy pair of Klein Tools wire strippers.
This is the underside of the 2-part socket. If you're unsure of how to rewire a lamp, consult a trusted source. I used the Family Handyman website and a DIY lamp supply company website for additional information about wiring.
This is the perfect place for the greyhound TV lamp.
There are two openings on this lamp for plants. What do you think add plants or not?
Because of the small space, finding a new bulb for this lamp was a bit of a challenge but I eventually found one.
This petite lamp is a perfect accent lamp for small spaces. I love the simplicity.
This little lamp looks great with its makeover and new diffuser.
This lamp is a cheery spot in the living room.
This was a fun to get these out of storage and back into working order.
There were a few things I found challenging. One was the lack of options for sockets. Most all the sockets you see for sale are for three way bulbs. I had to look in several stores to find a push on/off socket for the milk glass lamp. I did order a new socket for the TV lamp that appeared to be the same size. Unfortunately when I went to add it back to the lamp, I found it was too short to work. That's when I decided to go with the existing one with new wiring. On the sixties lamp, there was never a switch so I tried to find a cord switch to add to the wiring but had no luck. I solved the off/on problem by using an App controlled bulb. Modern technology meets the sixties! Please note: This is not a sponsored post. FYI: We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first! FYI: Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP. Related Projects
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