Lead Glass Touch Lamp Conversion

I had bought a lead glass lamp a short time ago from a resale shop. After a while I grew tired of hunting for the switch in the dark so I decided to convert the lamp into a touch lamp. This was a very simple task, but I decided to create an instructable to encourage others.

Tools to disassemble the lamp, in order to remove the socket and stem from the rest of the lamp

A Touch Dimmer, I got mine from Home Depot for around $10.

A Drill

Drill bit, (The size of the switches wiring)

Wire Nut (my switch came with 3, I only used one)

Unplug the lamp from the wall!

Then begin the disassembly.

Remove the light bulb so you don't break it while removing the wiring for easier access.

My lamp had a cord switch which I had to remove in order to have enough slack to work on the socket.

Break down the socket and take note of which wire goes to which screw, in my case, the gold was the power, and the silver was the negative.

I drilled three holes on the underside of the socket housing and ran all of the switch wires through to wire into the lamp except for the wire being attached to the stem, which senses when the lamp is touched.

now pass through the lamp wires giving yourself plenty of slack to attach everything to the socket

I took a pick of the diagram for my switch but be sure to read the instructions of your switch carefully as they may be different, no point in risking injury or having to buy another switch.

In my case the black wire attached to the positive wire from the plug (the narrow bladed side) this was the only point that I used a wire nut

The grey wire attached to the negative wire (wide prong side of the plug) which I twisted together and placed on the negative screw of the socket.

I then attached the brown wire to the positive side of the socket.

As you squeeze the socket and wiring back into the housing be careful not to mess up any of your connection.

gently wiggle/pull the wires from the bottom as you push the socket into the housing to remove and slack so that the socket will seat properly.

I used a small screw driver to move the lock washer and wiring out of the path of the stem so that they would screw together without pinching any of the new wires, potentially causing issues.

Lastly I attached the signal wire to the (In my case it was the yellow wire) to the stem and base of the lamp. I did this by passing the naked portion of the wire (1.5" - 2") through the hole for the stem in the base. I then twisted the wire around the threaded end of the pipe and pinched it between the base and the nut securing the stem.

I decided to keep the original switch, because when changing a bult the touch switch gets annoying due to the shape of my lamp.

check that the switch is seat and far down on the base as possible to remove it from the heat of the bulb. would be best if you could place the switch outside, under the base, but my lamp wouldn't allow for this.

Add back your bulb and your done!

This was my first instructable, so please have mercy, I know the project was simple, but I hope it will possibly encourage others to play around and see what they can do