Since our move, I've been slowly unpacking our garage full of boxes. It's a process let me tell you. On the bright side, I've been finding decor and unfinished projects by the box full! Now that we are settling in, I've found more time to address these projects. One being a wall lamp I purchased before the move. It's a cool mid-century glass sconce with a brass arm that curves upward.
Unfortunately, the cord itself is also old...and crusty...and, as my good friend Andrea says; "janky". Looking at the plug, I could tell the wiring connection wasn't the best, but I still thought to try turning it on. Since I've made electrical mistakes before, I knew to use an extension cord to test the fixture. You'll see why in a moment...
So I plugged it in, and nothing. No light. I started wiggling the chord to make sure it was just the plug that needed to be rewired, and not the whole lamp. The light flickered a couple times then, *POOF! CRACK! ZAP!* You can imagine what happened next. The wiring went haywire and the breaker blew. Thankfully it wasn't plugged into the outlet directly, otherwise it would have looked like the extension cord.
I guess I should have taken my own advice! Luckily that was the worst of it. As my husband always tells me, "Electricity isn't something to take lightly!". He's right of course; always practice caution when dealing with electricity, namely exposed, live wires.
You can see how old the plug is; nothing like the enclosed modern ones we use today. Luckily this was a relatively easy fix. Although stripping the wires was a little difficult with a pair of scissors. I will definitely have to invest in some wire strippers in the future! They make the job so much more clean and easy.
Of course it's always nice to have a helper on your projects! Sunny is my constant shadow and helps me talk through my process 😉
And since I love Edison bulbs, but dislike their temporary and energy-sucking nature, I prefer to spend my money on LED Edison bulbs. They have come a long way in recent years, and their glow is lovely and warm!
So after rewiring the the plug, it was time to test my work. Viola! Let there be light!
Rewiring the plug is as easy as:
- Unscrewing the screws that are holding the cord wires to their contact points
- Cutting off the damaged and old wire
- Stripping the wire to expose fresh and new copper wires
- Wrapping the screws counterclockwise to the screws
- Screwing the screws back into their housing
As I said before, always practice caution when dealing with electricity. If you aren't comfortable working with electricity, refer to a professional.
On to the next project!!
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