Before my trip to Illinois, I hit the Capitol Flea Market in San Jose and came up with some fun treasures and a few projects. One such project was a pair of sconces circa 1920s made by Crescent Brass Manufacturing Corp. They were in pretty rough shape to say the least; spider nests on the back, disintegrated cord, dirt, grime, and bad sockets/sleeves. They needed a total overhaul.
Since it was a warm day, I thought a little shandy was in order! Feels like summer already...
Fast forward a week later and I am finally getting to rewire them! Maybe I'm the only one, but I immensely dislike having to put off a project when I'm ready to do it. If I can't start, and subsequently complete, a project in a timely fashion, I lose steam and then the excitement wears off and it becomes a chore. So this week was torture!
As soon as I got back, I headed to the hardware store and bought the supplies I needed:
- 2 black sockets $2.99 each
- 2 8' white pigtail cord $6.49 each
Simple list to rewire two lamps! I chose to use the pigtail cords so I can directly plug in the sconces as they will be displayed in my space. When someone buys them, they can leave them as-is, or cut the plug off and hard wire them directly into the wall.
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| Great way to start off a project... |
Grapefruit Shandy ✔
Breakfast Club ✔
Tools of the trade ✔
I first had to take out the old wiring. It was an easy process; unscrew the bottom screw that is holding the socket in place, and pull the socket out being careful to pull the wiring through the channel. After the old socket was out, I gave the whole thing a good scrub down and let it dry in the sun for an hour or so. The brass isn't perfect on this piece, but I think it adds to the charm! Painting these guys would be a sin!
After the brass was all clean and dry, I started wiring them up. First take the cord and pull it through the channel back to front and out through the cup.
Once the exposed wires poked through, I pulled enough through the cup in order to work with it. Wrapping the wires around the screws on the back of the socket is a little tedious, but not difficult. Take the pigtail end and wrap the exposed wire around the two screws in back.
Once the wires are wrapped around the screws, I tightened down the screws to secure the wires in place. Then I pulled the wires through the back in order to pull the socket into the cup. I then lined up the bottom cup hole and the socket screw face then secured with the screw.
All that was left was to plug it in!
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
Look for these beauties in Antiques Colony in San Jose this week!
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