FORGEAll these bits you can get from a lamp maker store
such as lampspares.co.uk.
Make sure that your bulb holder is either metal
and earthed (which will earth the whole lamp
provided all the joints are conductive), or you find
another way to safely earth your lamp body.
At the other end, the flex needs to be secured as
it leaves the pipe. Again, we’ll use a 10 mm threaded
end stop, but this time we’ll need a cord gripper
with a 10 mm thread. These are most commonly
used to secure lamps hanging by their cord from the
ceiling, but also work to secure the flex in this case.
An alternative option is to use a rubber grommet to
protect the flex, and add a flex strain relief to prevent
the cable pulling through this hole. We found that
this doesn’t fit in a 15 mm pipe, but you might be
able to use this method if you’re using thicker pipe.
That’s all the pieces you’ll need – let’s put it all
together. First, solder any joints you’ll be soldering,
then thread the flex through all the parts, including
compression joints. Join everything together and
Above
The three parts of a
compression joint.
In the middle is the
olive that is deformed
when the joint
is secured
Left
Securing the flex as it
exits the lamp helps
make sure your lamp
will continue to work
for years to comewire up the bulb holder and plug, according to the
manufacturer’s instructions. This could be an easy
build or it could be complex – it completely comes
down to your design.
We’re basically there now, but there’s a couple of
safety checks before getting started. If you’ve got
a PAT tester, then this is ideal, but if not, we can
check some things with a multimeter. First, check
that the lamp’s properly earthed by ensuring that
the resistance between the earth pin on the plug
and any exposed metal is low enough (less than a
few ohms). Secondly, make sure that the resistance
between the live and earth pins is very, very high
(this ensures that there’s not a leakage already).
Remember that, just because your lamp is properly
assembled now, it is no guarantee that it will remain
that way, and you can repeat this test if you’re ever
unsure about the safety of the lamp.
That’s all there is to it. Your lamp is now ready
for use.The exact measurements
don’t have to be
precise – we didn’t
even use a tape -measure,
and just cut it by eye”
”