A few months ago one of my classmates from grad school gave me a cool light fixture. Her mother and father were having a garage sale and when I saw the photos of the fixture online I went straight over to claim it. We talked for a little while, and when I was finally ready to pay her and leave she insisted, "no, just take it!" She claimed I was doing their family a favor, as they had a lot of stuff to get rid of. Neat!
I was really tired yesterday after doing a lot of boring chores and catching up on emails and other things, so to relax I decided to rewire the fixture. I had done it once before with an older antique lamp earlier this year and found it fun and surprisingly relaxing, so I was looking forward to it despite being exhausted from the day. In fact, it perked me up a bit by the time I was done less than an hour later!
the lamp I rewired earlier this year
I opted to rewire this fixture so it could have a switch and plug in instead of going straight into the ceiling, like the original wiring indicates. I live in an apartment and I am pretttty sure they do not want us messing with the ceiling fixtures, especially the wiring, so turning it into a swag lamp or the like seemed the best way to go if I want to be able to use it.
original wiring
First, I had to unscrew the socket fixture from the top of the shade, and then pull the socket out which pulled the length of the wiring out with it.
Then I loosened the screws on the socket holding the old wires and disconnected them. I had bought a new wire with a plug at one end, and I fed that through the top of the fixture, through the chains, and down into the lamp shade. I was then able to connect the new wire to the socket and then screw the socket back to the shade.
At this point, I was able to test it.
yay, it works
After I determined that I hadn't screwed up yet, I was able to move on to installing the switch, which would allow the lamp to be turned on and off without having to plug and unplug it each time.
the switch I bought for the project
It was my first time installing a switch, but it was just as easy as the rewiring itself.
installed switch
In fact, it was so easy that I was sure I had messed up, but when I went for the second test, it worked!
success!
The funny thing about this project is that there were multiple ways I could have completely botched the wiring and messed up, but instead of screwing up doing the most difficult parts, I screwed up by just straight-up dropping the entire fixture. Yeah I dropped it after successfully demonstrating the new wiring, lol. Luckily, only one panel cracked and it didn't fall out. I super-glued the cracks for now and will just be careful until I look up the best solution for sealing the cracks.
the cracks, and a small chip
All in all, a successful project! I may add a length of chain to turn it into a proper swag lamp and hang it up in my bedroom somewhere, or possibly near the fireplace in the living room. I should decide soon and get it up and out of the way, lest I accidentally break it some more!