On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:05:58 -0800 (PST), aemeijers
wrote:

On Dec 21, 3:04Â*pm, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:
Get yourself a floor lamp from Good Earth Lighting.http://www.goodearthlighting.com/

I slid one of their floor lamps out of a corner over the weekend to vacuum
around it, and the weight inside the base crumbled like a giant cookie.
Nice. The company says "We've heard of this before", but they won't cover it
even though it's just a month or two out of warranty.

First one I bought went bad within a month. The company shipped me a
replacement and told me to toss the old one in the trash. That should
provide some idea of how little they pay for this junk from China.

Crumbled weighting substance. Seemed heavier than it should've for its size,
after I scooped it all into a bag. Probably the pulverized bones of Chinese
dissidents, mixed with lead:

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...180035.jpg?t=1...

What's left to work with:

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...180036.jpg?t=1...

I'll probably epoxy some bricks to the top of the base. Or something.

I recommend an old brake drum or something as a replacement base.
(Painted and with felt on the floor side, of course.) Or look in the
plumbing parts aisle for a big flange fitting. This ain't rocket
surgery, more like blacksmithing. Whatever heavy you can scrape up and
drill a hole in, that you and SWMBO can stand looking at.
You still have the base - stand the durn thing upside and fill the
base with concrete