I have purchased a lamp shade, which I would like to hang from the ceiling on a cord of specific color (in this case orange). I have had a previous lamp, which included the cord, which I replaced and hang without problem, looks like this:
The lamp shade I have now though, I bought in glassware shop and it didn't include the cord or other fixtures for hanging, it was just a plain glass item. So I went to local hardware store and bought the bulb socket. It fits like this:
However, the problem is, that the bulb socket does not have the wire attached by a screw, but is instead inserted in small holes on top of the item, similar to the item described in this DIY question. So the only thing that holds the lamp hanging is the wire inserted. And the weight of the glass lampshade is too much to hold the wire in the sockets and it comes out sooner or later, crashing the lamp to the floor.
I wanted to buy bulb socket with wire terminals, but turns out the "insert and click wire in place" bulb sockets are the only ones being sold in any nearby hardware shops. Probably some EU regulations or standartizations or whatnot.
When the shop assistant heard about my problem he said I should purchase additional item, called "lamp hanger set". I have it now, but I really don't understand how am I supposed to use it in my case, as it seems not to add any safety or fixing bulb socket to the wire.
Here are all the items:
You can screw the tube #5 into thingie #8, making it look like this:
and then you can screw the other end of the tube into top of bulb socket #1, and drag the wire through the tube… ok, so what? How is it supposed to help unless you havee some hook from which to hang the lamp right under ceiling, instead of hanging it low like in the first picture?
Best Answer
First off you do not want to hang the light by the socket that you purchased. With the poke in holes for the wires this is NOT an acceptable mounting system for your lamp - heavy glass or not.
Next note that the wire used to hang lamps is a special type that has strengthing cord built into the cable.
The conventional hanging lamp fixture has a two piece socket assembly that has a top part that slides up on the cord. The cord is then knotted with a special electricians knot that puts equal tension in all the conductors and fibres in the cord. The ends of the wires then attach to the lower portion of the conventional socket via screw terminals. Finally the top and bottom parts of the socket firmly snap together to hide the knot inside. The hanging lamp assembly pulls against the knot to transfer the weight into the cord from the ceiling.