Small Brass Lamp Makeover - Part 1 - The Body

The Find

One night I found a small brass lamp with a pleated shade, the kind you might see on an end table or as a night light.  I don't have a full 'before' picture because I once I got it home I was excited and started taking apart the shade (the shade makeover will be described in part 2).

Here is the lamp once I started taking it apart.  The surface was pitted and I had an urge to bring some bring color into the space rather than trying to shine up the metal.

Brass lamp dis-assembly

All of the pieces were threaded on to this central rod.

Brass lamp dis-assembly: center rod

This number is scratched on the inside of one piece, I have no idea what it means.

Number scratched inside the brass lamp

To keep track of the pieces, I used a marker to write the order and the direction it was facing as I disassembled the lamp parts.

Lamp body piece number '7', direction facing 'up'.

The Makeover

I used a few coats of glossy green spray paint to cover the metal. All spraying was done outside over the course of a nice day. I've learned the hard way not to use spray paint when it is too cold, the paint will develop what look like scales.  Also, be sure to hold down the edges of your newspaper, otherwise there will inevitably be a gust of wind to fold the paper onto your paint whilst it dries.

Glossy green spray-painted lamp body pieces

I reassembled the lamp and purchased a lamp wiring kit so that I could install totally new wiring.  This was also good practice, fun, and so so easy to do!

Reassembled lamp with new wiring, almost ready.

Conclusion

The lamp body makeover didn't take much time for each step, but with the spray painting there was a bit of back and forth, as usual. It goes something like this: shake can, spray, wait to dry, shake can, spray again, wait to dry, discover yet another spot that you missed, shake can, spray again, wait for the paint to dry, decide you are done with the painting, wait 24 hours before reassembling.

I'm pleased with the glossy emerald green finish and the classic turned wood lamp body shape.  In the corner of the final photo you can see the shade waiting for some freestyle attention!

Freestyled lamp body with glossy green paint and new wiring

Happy freestyling, and don't be afraid to paint your finds to fit your style!

Fan-tastic (x2)

Why you should look for discarded small table fans

Summer has arrived, and with it the need for better air circulation.  Luckily I've got two little table-top fans for which I paid $0.  Less fortunately, when I tried to use the trusty old square fan (a freestyle find over a decade ago) for the first time this year it wouldn't start spinning, and the other fan that I had pulled out of the trash room had never spun at all.  After some internet research and watching a videos on you tube I was able to restore full functionality to BOTH fans.  Turns out the most common cause of fans not working is that dust and hair get sucked in and gum up the works. So if you plug in the fan, turn it on, and hear a buzzing sound but no spinning blade is happening that means the electrical parts still work, but the mechanical parts are stuck.

Here's a quick photo journey of how I fixed this small tabletop fan, and quick DIY that saved me over $30 since I used the same process to repair two fans.

How to examine your free table fan and decide if it can be repaired, step-by-step instructions

Step 0. Gather supplies, including screwdriver(s), small scissors (fingernail scissors or embroidery scissors), pointy-tip tweezers, WD-40, paper towels

Useful tools: nail scissors and pointy-tip tweezers

Step 1. Plug in and test fan. If there is no movement of the fan blades, but you can hear the electricity buzzing, that is a good sign.  In my case there was no movement of the fan blades when plugged in and turned on, but yes! there was buzzing sound when turned on.

Our test subject, a free tabletop fan

Repairing the free table top fan

Now that I had some indication that the electrical part of the fan was still working, I thought the problem was likely something mechanical that was stuck. Let's continue on to Step 2....

2. Unplug fan and remove cover by unscrewing all the connections around the back.  These are likely small screws, somewhat recessed, that hold the back plastic part of the fan to the front plastic cover part of the fan.

Removing the tiny screw that hold the front cover to the back cover.

Fan with the front cover removed.

3. Use tweezers and a nail scissors to pull off any dust on the center shaft.  Cut any hairs that were wound around the shaft and pull off the pieces.  Use a paintbrush or paper towels to wipe off any dust, including on the back cover and on the fan blades.  Do this for the front cover that you removed (I ran that piece under the sink sprayer and then let it dry thoroughly, but that was probably overkill).

Brushing the dust off of the back cover and fan blades.

View of the center shaft with some detritus wrapped around it, need to remove that gunk!

4. Bring fan into bathtub (or do this outside) and spray WD-40 on the parts that *should* be moving, like the center shaft.  WARNING: If you spray WD-40 inside your bathtub the surface will become EXTREMELY SLIPPERY, make sure you clean it properly before trying to use the tub or shower for bathing.

If you spray WD-40 in the bathtub, it will make the tub REALLY SLIPPERY.  

5. Wait a few minutes for the WD-40 to soak in, slowly rotate the fan blade by hand to make sure the liquid is evenly distributed.

6. Carefully set the fan upright, but facing a wipeable surface like the side of the tub or the back of the toilet seat.  When you turn the fan back on any excess WD-40 will come flying out the front IF the repair was successful.

7. Making sure fingers and hair are clear of the fan, plug fan back in and turn on to test if blades spin properly.

Spinning fan blades indicate a successful repair.

8. Once blades spin properly, do a happy dance of DIY success. Let fan run a few minutes until no more WD-40 is flying out the front.

9. Turn off fan, unplug fan. Wipe any stray WD-40 off the fan blades or other parts it might have leaked on to, and then reconnect front cover using the same tiny screws you removed in step 2.

One of 6 tiny screws that held the cover pieces together.

10. Enjoy new, or newly repaired, fan.

Conclusion

Happy freestyling, and don't be afraid of trying to fix that free fan. With the right screwdriver and a few small supplies it only took about 20 minutes.

Switching it up (electrical pun!)

How to investigate, diagnose, and repair a loose electrical switch

About a year ago (or more, who's counting at this point?) I found a lamp.
Not just any lamp, but national name brand, cool art deco-ish shape, and brushed silvery color that actually matches some of the other lighting I own.  Undinged, undingy, unhurt, and unclear why anyone throw this away.  It even worked when I plugged it in with a bulb,
and then it didn't....
and then it did....
so ok, it was a bit fiddly depending on....something unseen.
Maybe the bulb? (no, that's fine)
Maybe the cord position? (seems to not like being moved,  hmmm)

Why I decided to switch the switch

The unreliable connection led to concerns about there being a potential short somewhere, and a potential risk that should be fixed before I left the lamp plugged in. So I unplugged the lamp and set it on a shelf where it vaguely bothered me while sometimes fading into the background among other visual noise and ongoing projects.  Then, whatever it is about spring that makes people clean and organize hit me. I was going to order supplies to rewire the whole lamp and started watching videos to try to learn what I would need.  I learned that the switch type that sits on the cord is called on 'on line' or 'in line' switch, and the wheel-y version is known as a 'thumb wheel cord switch'.

Ah hah! Maybe that was something I could take apart and look inside of. If I saw a goblin inside chewing on the wire that would be an obvious diagnosis of what was causing the flickering.

What do you look like on the inside?

So I opened it up. Just one tiny screw to open! No goblins though, just some switch innards.

Honestly the wheel switch apparatus seemed kind of rinky-dinky, with these little metal prongs that had to pierce through the cord, which they barely did. In the picture below I'm touching the prongs with a pencil. Those little brass pieces were part of a large curved piece that was not affixed to anything, one sort of fell out with a little help. Not a good idea for an electrical contact, just sayin'. Also the wheel mechanism didn't turn very smoothly.  (Apparently as a result of this experience I'm becoming a bit picky about lamp switches.)

those little pointy bits are the supposed connection points

How you can replace an on-cord electrical switch (always follow manufacturer's instructions)

I decided to try to replace the switch, the existing switch didn't look very robust (and maybe I had messed it up while opening it?) and that would be a cheap first repair diagnostic.

I found this more substantial looking switch at my local hardware store (cost approx $7.50). Although the entire assembly is larger the rocker switch seemed like a better solution than the wheel switch because there would be fewer moving parts.  This little package came with directions.  (If this is your first time replacing an in-line switch I highly recommend getting that option instead of the switch that comes in a baggie with no directions. Right???)

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the new (replacement) switch already installed and the old switch.  The new switch had screws to hold the stripped ends of the wire in place, and a little clip on each end to hold the cord in place as it entered the housing. It just seemed better.

Out with the old and nonfunctional!

Here are all the tools I ended up using:
-New replacement switch
-Wire cutter tool (already owned), sort of useful
-Scraping blade (since I couldn't find a razor blade to cut the cable, and the wire cutter tool wasn't doing exactly what I wanted)
-Pencil, for pointing, and pushing the cord wire under and around the screw
-Tiny screwdriver (already owned, essential)

The right tools make all the difference

The final product is a functional switch and a lamp that I do NOT have to re-wire.

The future is looking bright!

Happy freestyling! Electrical work still makes me nervous, but this was fun to learn and relatively easy to execute - my kind of repair (because it worked the first time).

A matched pair of black torchiere lamps (if you ignore the fact that one is a wee bit wonky)

Lamp kits cost approximately $15, and you can make a lamp out of just about anything (says this tutorial).  So why are decent lamps so expensive in stores? 
And yes, I realize how curmudgeonly that sounds.
 ...grumble grumble, store bought lamps? Who are you, Rockefeller?...
 The point is that when I find a pair of lamps, even if one of them is slightly wonky, I'm totally going to take them. 
Such was the case with a pair of 6-foot tall lovely matte black torchiere lamps with frosted glass shades.
See?
With that description you'd take them too, especially since they still had working CLF bulbs.

The lamps had both been partially disassembled because the center post has 3 sections that can be unscrewed from on another.  They looked like this when I found them.



 One lamp was just fine, and needed reassembly but no fixing, it now stands near the entryway and looks rather normal.  Maaaaybe it leans ever so slightly.  Not a problem for me, because free.



The other lamp however, had a problem in its base.  Under the metal base there was a large donut-shaped ballast (probably made of lead and cement dust).  On the normal lamp it looks like this from the side, with the gray heavy ballast extending down past the metal top with a channel for the cord to go through.

Lamp base, side view

From the bottom it should look like this, with an intact ballast.


 Note than on the intact lamp the ballast sticks down far enough so that the nut (at the end of the red arrow in the picture) does NOT touch the floor, because to balance a lamp on the bend of a cord would be silly, and tippy, and useless.

Unfortunately, the wonky lamp had only half its ballast-donut when I found it, and after handling the ballast I realized what was left was beyond saving.  Sadz.  Also, major design flaw, the black metal base top does not extend down past the nut/hole/cord bend.  So without balancing a lamp on the bend of a cord, and scratching the floor to hell, how to get some more light out of this lamp? 
Answer: Make a different kind of ballast, for cheap. 
I thought about trying to cast some cement.... No.  Acrylic? No. All too messy and expensive.  But eventually I hit upon a very economical solution.

Now the wonky lamp stands up all nice like this.Standing tall next to the couch with its freestyle cover, illuminating the very living room where I'm writing this post.




Curious how I did it?  Let's zoom in to the base a little more. 
You can see a blue blanket wrapped around something at the base of the lamp. Oooh, secrets, exciting!

Secret Yoda maybe?

Peel back the blue blanket and we see that that something is a purple bucket with another blanket on it.  Less exciting, but much more snuggly, than bricks.



Under that multi-colored blanket, inside the bucket, are some assorted heavy items to balance the lamp and fill up the bucket so that the lamp stands straight.  This magical ballast is a few large bags of dried beans, assorted textbooks, and one copy of the new edition Joy of Cooking.



The lamp itself is sitting on some strategically placed magazines so that the nut/cord situation doesn't throw everything off.  I don't have pictures of those, because by the time I got around to writing this I didn't feel like disturbing the bean/book balancing act.

The only things I bought as part of this solution were the purple bucket (reusable in many ways) and the dried beans (edible!).  So if I ever part ways with this particular freestyle project I won't be heartbroken about the sunk cost, all $9 of it.  However, given that both lamps have been going strong for over 10 months I'd say this was a big win. 

Happy freestyling and let your creative re-use light shine!