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Rewiring an antique Torchiere lamp.

s tinned copper wire have any relevance to your discus sion about

ssion with Arie is peripheral to the pointed wire mat erial. That material is factory-plated with a very tin tin coating. He and I are generally in agreement for electronics work, but in this case, we are dealing wit h practicalities and materials that are not specific t o his concerns. "Tinning" in your context means using a small amount of solder at the ends of the wire to pr event loose strands. Then, crimp the wire around the s crew before tightening - hard. 37/63 solder (eutectic) has no plastic state, so you do not have to be concer ned about crumbling solder if the wires move during th e cooling period.

er time, including one 16-lamp (candelabra-base) cryst al chandelier in our present house. That took nearly 1

2 hours of work to get just right - and including colo r-coding and removing many of the crystals for safe-ke eping. I learned the ball-chain trick from a restorer back in the 1980s when he showed me how he did it. Did you know that one can still get the 'fake candle-wax' socket covers? and in multiple styles?
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.1815436283_78js.jpg One more thing on that particul ar chandelier ( I wish I had a picture, but I am at wo rk). It is a sad story, but when we purchased our hous e in 2008, it had been empty for 2 years as the previo us occupants lost it to foreclosure. They had sold off all the appliances, some of the vintage hardware and other strange things, but not the three fairly massive chandeliers. When we had our insurance inspection, th e inspector put a rider on our policy calling them out as we had the 'full-in-kind' restoration option. I wo n't state the imputed value, other than I thought it w as absurd at the time. Not so much now.

ieck

The solder I have is Ers in, multicore, 60/40 which is at least 15 years old. Is not using solder better than using the wrong solde r?

Afterthought: I just found this discussion: htt ps://

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u-use-60-40-solder-or-63-37-solder-and-why.1982988/

At this rate, I'll never get this lamp fixed! LOL

Thanks for your reply.

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David Farber
Los Osos, CA
Reply to
David Farber
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If you are careful, 60/40 is OK - point being that you are not using enough on the wire end to have to worry about it moving during the plastic stage.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
Peter W.

Hi Peter,

Thanks so much for all the details you've provided. I've ordered the parts and should have it all put back together by the end of next week.

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David Farber 
Los Osos, CA
Reply to
David Farber

Hi Peter,

The parts have arrived. I have a question about the base paper insulators I ordered. I should have asked you before ordering.

This is what I ordered:

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(the item's description says it's

1 5/8" tall but I measured it as 1 17/32" tall which is 3/32" shorter).

Is this the item that I should have ordered?

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It's supposedly 1/4" taller plus it has a notched cutout which I think will fit the metal tab that extends from the support structure.

Here are some pictures that show the results of my unsuccessful attempts at fitting the insulators onto the sockets.

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Thanks for your reply.

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David Farber 
Los Osos, CA
Reply to
David Farber

The short answer is: What you ordered is for a fixture with a switch in it, either a turn or pushbutton. So, you are correct, you should have ordered the second type with the bayonete-style attachment.

Good luck with it - looks like you are getting there.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
Peter W.

I had thought that when an insulator was branded as "keyless," it meant that it was designed for socket without a switch. I should have used some common sense when I initially looked at the photograph. Now I wonder, by what definition could this insulator be described as"keyless?"

Thanks for your reply.

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David Farber 
Los Osos, CA
Reply to
David Farber

"Keyless" means the socket itself, not the insulator. The insulator will depend on how the socket is used whether there is a bayonet 'key' or not.

Not everyone has worked around this stuff for nearly 50 years, so it does not come naturally for them.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
Peter W.

Agreed, "keyless" describes the socket but certainly if you have a keyless socket you need to use a matching keyless insulator, right?

Thanks for your reply.

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David Farber 
Los Osos, CA
Reply to
David Farber

I need a glove for my right hand. OK....

Purpose? Small, large? Garden, chain-mail?

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
Peter W.

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