Mastering the Language of Lamps

Every field has its own jargon, and the world of lamps is no exception. Go from novice to pro in no time with this quick guide to the world of lamps!

Let's go from the bottom up!

Lamp Base

This one is easy! A lamp base serves both a decorative and practical function. It stabilizes the lamp and adds balance and accent to the lamp. In certain circumstances (such as a glass bottle), a base will actually take away from the lamp.

You can find a variety of base types: Wood, Nickel or Chrome, Brass, Bronze, Acrylic or even iron. For a cool industrial look, you can have a heavy piece of iron welded to the bottom. The weight will stabilize it, adding a minimalistic touch. On the other end of the spectrum, an ornate wooden base can do wonders for a more traditional piece. 

Lamp Body

The body covers up the "guts" of the lamp (the pipe or wire). And obviously it defines the lamp's shade, style and vibe.  

 

 Vase Cap

 

 Vase caps are critical for seamlessly joining the body to the "neck". It is especially important in ceramic lamps.

Neck

 

 The neck is between the vase cap and the saddle. This functions to protect the wire and to hold the lamp together.  Normally it is proper to cover it with your shade, but in this case it looks good with a little of it exposed.

Saddle & Harp

We aren't talking about horseback riding, we're still on lamps! The harp (bottom) and the saddle (top) function to hold the lamp shade in place. The saddle is placed under the neck, and the harp clicks into place. The top screw it where the finial screws into place. The great thing about harps is that they can be easily switched out to various sizes to raise or lower the shade on the lamp, giving it the perfect height to cover up the hardware. Risers can also be added to the top screw to raise or lower the shade and finial.

Finial

"Your finials are served, sir..." A wild assortment of finials at our sister store, Illumé, in New York City

Finials are the icing on the cake. It serves the basic function of keep the shade in place. But it can serve to accent the lamp, or even stand on its own in the piece! Some lamps are better served by a minimalistic finial that blends into the hardware. Other lamps, such as this one, deserves a custom and whimsical finial that was designed by our store manager, Wes!

Wes proudly standing by his creation!

   

Lamp Shade

Shades are our specialty here. We carry thousands in stock of any conceivable type and color. But the interior decorators that shop here will often order custom shades. Getting the shade right is critical for making a lamp shine, and fitting it perfectly in the room. A shade puts a lamp into context. Decorators sometimes try to match the color to their color scheme, even ordering shades with custom fabric from the throw pillow on the couch. Others make it clash, adding interesting elements to an otherwise homogenous room.

A shade can accentuate a lamp, but not take away from it...or sometimes, our customers choose to accentuate a shade with a lamp.

Lamps have been around for a long time, but very few people really take a chance to examine them closely. Little has changed in the basic makeup of a lamp, precisely because the set up works so well. The next time that you enter the room, take the time to examine the simplistic beauty of a lamp.  

Building a Lamp

  In this post, our lamp repair and restoration expert, David Yanes, will walk us through what steps he takes to create a custom lamp! Note: Our repairmen are experts, don't try these techniques at home unless you are experienced and have proper safety equipment.

David Yanes at work on our lamp!

Side-note: Our repair department can do wonders with restoring and troubleshooting old light fixtures, creating custom shade pendants, changing hardware finishes and much more!

For this project, we started with a vodka bottle that we wanted to turn into a lamp for a game room.

All repair work starts with a consultation with our repair and restoration experts, in this case David. He'll ask you a few questions like...

Would you like a pipe through the center, or no pipe? 

Are we going to drill a hole? 

What finish hardware are you looking for?

What type of socket? on/off or three way?

I decided that I would like a chrome pipe through the center, drilled hole on the bottom, nickel hardware and a three way nickel socket. David determined that the glass was sound enough to drill a hole through.

Let's look at the basic tools that we use to do a basic wiring like this...

From Left to Right. Phillips and flat head screwdrivers, pliers, wire stripper, needle-nose pliers, wire cutter.

Diamond drill bit is useful for cutting glass, ceramic and porcelain

David starts by drilling the whole for the wire to come through. Safety comes first, always wear eye protection and use water to keep the temperature around the drill area down!

Red marks the spot!

 

 

After David drills the hole, the bottle is cleaned out and prepped for wiring. He starts by finding the right sized parts...

Parts from Left to Right. 18 GA clear wire with plug, nickel pipe, 3-way chrome socket, nickle saddle, nickel vase cap (actually a check ring) , nickel neck, bottle cap (will be converted to a finial)

First he fits the pipe with check ring:

He uses a rubber ring between the metal check ring and the bottle, otherwise tightening may shatter the glass! The other components assemble and fit like a glove! If only every lamp could be this easy. Often we need clever solutions to some tricky mechanical problems...

Vase Cap

Neck

Decorative Nut...this is key! Along with a lock washer it holds the whole assembly in place...no gluing required!

Finished hardware assembly.

Another lock washer, the saddle holds the harp in place.

The bottom socket cap, a portion of the socket shell, is added prior to electrical wiring

Now for the electrical portion:

 Threading the wire through the pipe

Stripping the wire and preparing for the electrician's knot

The next step is critical! There is a special knot in the wire that prevents the wire from coming loose from the socket if the plug or wire was pulled on or stretched. Without this safety measure, a short circuit and/or a fire can result. Watch as David ties the knot like a sailor!

 With the knot complete, David strips the wire, leaving the plastic sheath on the tips...why?

 Don't confuse the positives with the negatives! Hint: With most wires, manufacturers put writing on the portion that connects to the gold screws, and a serrated edged plastic that goes on the silver screw. We used 18 gauge wire for the project.

Once the wire is connected to the socket, David clips the wire leaving a little bit of the plastic coating on the end for a neat and short circuit resistant connection. See why! 

 Finally, we can add the protective chrome shell, and test the connections with a bulb...

Lights up like a charm!

 I also consulted with David to create a custom finial out of the bottle cap.

Finally, I worked with our shading expert and store manager, Wes, to get the perfect shade and harp size for my new lamp!

I would like to thank David Yanes for his efforts to help make this blog post possible! Thank you Wes Fanhani, our Store Manager, for shade selection. And of course, thanks to The Accessory Store for being an awesome place to make your ideas become a reality!

-Aaron Grade