Lampholder: earthed metal or non-earthed plastic - which is safer ?

[333rocky333]

The cable dont clamp theres no need, if anything the clamp would be in the base to stop you pulling it from outside the base, however theres no room, in that small cut out in your base.
The cable bend will proberly be so tight that it wont pull anyway.
Them 10mm grommets are good, but if you file and round off the thread, I think the chances of penetrating the outer cable sheath are slim.
You say you have altered the threaded rod, be carefull that its not now too long and penetrates too far into the lampholder.

Ideally one of these in each end of the threaded bar

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tubular-g...935294?hash=item5b188d44be:g:v84AAOSwr81UOSq4

With a 10mm thread bar and nylon grommets, you would need 0.5 flex with a 3 amp fuse in the plugtop

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-CORE-GOLD-LIGHTING-CABLE-FLEX-WIRE-0-5MM-3-AMP-LENGTH-5M-/200951292967

 

[Doggit]

Sorry guys, but I think it's time to insert a reality check here - but I know someone will correct me of course. As a standard lamp doesn't get moved round very much, as long as it's competently rewired, the chances of getting an earth short, are pretty small. And Wilksa, you seem pretty competent, so I'd keep the original authenticity of the lampholder, and use wire that reinstates as it currently is.

 

[333rocky333]

So enlighten us , what wire would that be

 

[Doggit]

See, I said someone would correct me.

 

[skenk]

metal lampholder but i'd go for at least 0.75 cable...more mechanically sound. a small amount of silicone in the base hole should provide a bit of strain relief but still allow rewiring again in future if needed

 

[Wilska]

A more precise measurement of the inner diameter of the tube shows it is 8mm, same as the grommits outer diameter, so i ordered them, thank you Rocky, which will leave 6mm diameter within the grommit, which rules out the 0.75mm gold cable as it has a diameter of 6.1mm, so Ive ordered the 0.5mm cable which has diameter 5.5mm, the spare 0.5 mm will be useful at the right angle turn the cable will have to do at the base. These should arrive fri or mon, more pics to come, thank you all for getting me this far...

@ Skenk: I agree as a layman i would intuitively favour the sturdier 0.75mm though that has turned out not to be an option here. I feel safe with the 0.5mm cable as it looks sturdier than on some lamps i see in shops, + the nylon grommits, provided i continue to check in to this forum as i go along.

 

[333rocky333]

Hence why i said

With a 10mm thread bar and nylon grommets, you would need 0.5 flex

the copper cores are insulated first and on top of that you have the sheathing, 0.5mm is fine.
0.75mm would be very tight through a decent 10mm pipe grommet and also very tight in that limited bend you have at the base and on top of that you have the tube through the marble base, which back in the day was moulded for a smaller cable.
it would be embarrasing quiding you to 0.75mm only to find its too tight

 

[Wilska]

The nylon grommit wasnt quite as advertised with 8mm outer diameter so I added tape (see pics).
The cables sharp turn at the base makes it all "self-clamping" as it were, so the cable doesnt move at all. How am i doing.

 

[bernardgreen]

How am i doing.

Very well by the looks of it, good job.

There is just one minor comment. In the plug,

If the Live wire is made as short as possible and the Earth wire as slack as possible ( even a small loop ) then if the cable is tugged partly out of the plug then Live wire will be the first to break from the terminal and the Earth will be the last to break from the Earth pin. Hence the lamp will lose its Live before it loses it's Earth

 

[333rocky333]

Regarding the plug, looks safe and ok, but room for improvement, In future strip the tails longer and have less outer sheath in the actual plug, it will make terminating into the terminals a lot easier and as bernard says sweep the earth round the curve into the terminal, with that cable and that type terminal its usually best to strip the tails longer and double back the copper to help fill the hole and allow some meat under the brass screw, but looks ok as it is now so dont fret.

The lamp also looks fine to me, sorry the grommets were loose, thats the problem when buying off the net I suppose, but you worked round it well, in most cases like in the lampholder they would have been fine as they simply cant move.
Regarding the cable, do you think now seeing it fitted, that 0.75mm would have been tight

do you want a job

 

[Wilska]

lol thanks but i dont think ive got the nerves for employment in this field , but I have enjoyed this little project with your help, thank you to everyone, its a great forum. 0.75mm would certainly have been to tight, the 0.5 looks and feels just right so thanks for that too.
Onyx is unfashionable but is my first choice so i got lucky here, £10 for the lamp plus £7 for the bits, theyre an awful lot more new and not as satisfying as restoring. It'll do fine when i find the right lampshade...