"David Billington" wrote in message
...
I do a number of modifications to lamps for a friend here in the UK and
have not run across this thread, but saying that one will probably turn up
next week. Are these items which have been in the US for many years or have
they recently been imported. Do you have any idea of the vintage. I presume
a tap is required as you are modifying a ready made part which would be a
pain to set-up for thread cutting.


These are recently imported, but of antique or certainly vintage
manufacture. In retrospect, they may mostly have been French lamps, but
almost all the sockets of British manufacture.

They make an adapter for the bi-pin base bulbs to our American style screw
shell bulbs, but through bad design, it is conceivable that the customer
could reverse the adapter or change the plug and end up with the entire
metal exterior of the fixture attached to the hot side of the wiring. Even
in proper assembly it leaves the body attached to the neutral lead.

Needless to say, I refuse to use them.

The pipe is slightly larger in diameter than our standard 1/8"- 27 pipe. The
simplest and cleanest fix is to ream out one of our socket bases and
re-thread it to match.

Because of clearance and mounting issues, it is usually extremely difficult
to re-thread the piping.

Paul K. Dickman