Rewire a Granite Lamp

single insulated is ok inside the lamp if you earth the metal holder. As ever more info would help.

NT

Use an external PSU and replace the mains lamp with an LED? Then you don't need to worry about double insulation and should be able to get two individual wires in. Maybe automotive thinwall wire?

Fit a 12V lamp and use an isolated power brick?

You can even get LED lighthouse light effect simulators in some model shops. They don't rotate but dim down then increase up to a bright flash then start the sequence again. Just right for driving someone barmy.

G.Harman

My guess is that it is made from serpentine, not granite, particularly if it came from Cornwall. Turning anything from granite would take ages as it is so hard, but serpentine is a pretty soft material. I have a lamp base turned from serpentine, so wondered in your case if it would be possible to drill out the hole (maybe you'd need two bits drilled from you description) to take slightly wider cable.

It has a plastic holder, and I was more worried about the cable outside getting damaged really. Ideally simple two core with an outer sleeve would be great, but it does not seem to have a big enough hole and in any case trying to pull another wire through round the bend is going to be tough. Not much else I can tell you except that it was made in Cornwall in the late 1950s. its also bloody heavy! I suppose if I could get some twin ultra flexible with an extra sheeth and put a small fuse in the plug, it should be fine, but I'm always twitchy when its not for me. Its of no use to me and I tried to palm it off on a charity shop but they looked at the wire and did that sharp intake of breath we all know means, too risky guv. Brian

That is an idea, but them I'd need to replace the BC socket which screws onto the shaft of the lamp with a simple thread. If one can get a socket like that with the right thread it would be a good idea. Brian

No this does not rotate or anything, its not truly a look like a lighthouse its a bedside light. In its original form it had a shade that clipped over the glass envelope of the bulb that was made of some kind of paper, but long since fell to bits. Brian

There is one other perhaps. Keep the single insulated flex and put sleeving over it, extending the sleeving into the lamp base. Whether that meets BS I don't know.

RCDs remove 90 something % of the additional risk from single insulted leads.

NT

In which case it's serpentine from the Lizard, not granite. Serpentine lighthouses, with and without lamps, are popular locally-made items for the tourist trade. At one time, pre WW2, there was quite an industry down here producing polished serpentine items and not just for tourists. Much of it was used for shop fronts and decorative fireplace surrounds, and one or two of the local churches have magnificent fonts made of polished serpentine. The best of it has long been worked out, and most of what's available today is a rather uninteresting grey, but the really good stuff was a rich red and fetches good prices on Ebay.

You won't be able to see these, Brian, but here are some pictures of serpentine lighthouses.

But it's the 10% that the jobsworth in the charity shop cares about, and the whatever % of homes that don't have RCDs.

I doubt it, it's more a box ticking exercise

NT

Or as Tabby half suggested, take a length of standard 2 core flex, strip off a column's worth of insulation, rewire it with this with the insulated part secured within the base using something like epoxy, shoe goo, or hot melt adhesive.

I suspect that the rejection of electrical goods is because their insurance company tells them to.

not a bad idea, as long as it's securely fixed.

NT

Easiest might be to convert it to use a 12V LED.