Tiffany lamp repair & rewiring
Step-by-Step Antique Lamp repair photos
This is an original Tiffany floor lamp that came into the shop for repair yesterday. All the metal is solid bronze with the original patina. The bottom base feet are signed: "Tiffany Studios 468."
This is the bridge arm.
Notice the large ball at one end.
That ball is solid bronze and is held in place by screws and several
precisely drilled, threaded holes. It is the counter weight to balance the arm when the shade is in place. The other end of the arm is the socket and shade holder. The socket needed
to be replaced and a new cord was added.
Close up of the base.
Most bridge arm floor lamps require a heavy base weight to keep them from
falling over. Tiffany made the base solid bronze heavy with beauty as well.
Close up of the socket interior.
The socket casing is in two parts, top and bottom with the socket being in the bottom half. Four tiny slotted head screws secure the casing.
Now that the socket has been removed for reconstruction, revealed is another interesting ratchet mechanism that enables the socket-shade holder to be moved in the desired position.
Now we come to the removal of the entire socket and it's casing from the bridge arm. Notice the blackened wire ends which indicate the bulb that was used was a very high wattage.
The counter weight ball must be removed to rewire the lamp.
Now the arms are loose.
Only one arm is hollow to receive the wire feed. This is a very well designed floor
lamp, built to last more than a life time. Built for an experienced lamp
restorer to do the job of rewiring easily.
The old wire must be taken out.
Under the base is a cleverly screwed in plate to cover a knot that must be in the wire so it is not pulled out from the socket slack. This is removed so the old wire can be pulled out.
Now we begin the wire feed from bottom to the top.
The wire did not go smoothly so it had to be fed through the top. We cleared the passage and began another bottom feed.
We ran a long beaded steel chain through to the bottom base and attached a rayon cord.
The cord has come through.
We proceed now with the rewiring of the bridge arm. Again the beaded chain method is used for feeding the wire through.
After the socket has been reconstructed, it is reattached to the bridge arm and replaced into the socket casing.
Take a look at the uniqueness of the Tiffany socket casing. A closer inspection by antique lamp restorationist, Jeanne Ruiz.
The socket casing is reattached to the bridge arms and the solid bronze counter weight ball is reattached.
Now the under base plate is replaced to cover the cord knot.
The finished rewired and reassembled Tiffany floor lamp.
The customer does not have the original shade so it is replaced with one from Ruiz Antique Lighting.
We can repair your heirloom lamp too...
Whether you need an expert to trust with custom antique lighting restoration or a simple lamp repair we can help. Bring your fixture for an estimate to our San Francisco East Bay area antique lighting store, or call us before you ship, we'd love to help you out.
