I want to create a steampunk-themed chandelier, including a steampunk-look switch on the wall. Is there a fundamental difference between the standard light switches sold for home lighting and a similarly-specced bat handled light switch that is sometimes used on lamps and electrical equipment? The attached switch is rated 20amps at 125vac so I would think it was appropriate for my purpose. The only thing it doesn't have is a ground screw which might be the stopper unless there's a way to add a grounding wire to the metal part of the switch. Would someone with ACTUAL electrical knowledge (not just someone without an imagination 😉 ) weigh in on this one? I asked somewhere else and the person said it would work fine but in another forum people said no (but I don't believe they are electricians since it was on Amazon and they didn't give any reason it wouldn't work). It seems like an artificial disqualification to say this wouldn't work just because the handle looks different than a normal light switch. Are the guts exactly the same? Switches are pretty simple mechanisms so seems like they would be.
Best Answer
The ONLY way this would be code complaint (legal) and safe is if the switch were solidly mounted to a metal plate, which would in turn be mounted to a grounded metal box. If you have plastic boxes there will be no way to ground the plate through the box.
NO! Soldering is NOT an option as this is expressly forbidden in the code. You MUST have a solid mechanical connection even before soldering. Having said this there is no means or provision for any sort of mechanical connection to that switch or to a switch plate, unless of course you nut and bolt the ground wire to the plate, but this adds a visible screw head to the finish side of the plate.
Almost certainly you'd need to get a stainless steel blank plate and drill your own hole.