Weighty lamp issue

February 14, 2011 9:40 AM

Looking for a way to repair a floor lamp. The weight in the base broke and fell out.

During a recent move, the weight in the base of our floor lamp crumbled and fell out. It was either plaster or concrete. I want to replace that weight rather than trash the lamp. Help tell me how, please.

posted by Apollo's Favorite Mistake to home & garden (4 answers total)

How was the weight affixed to the lamp?
posted by mhoye at 9:43 AM on February 14, 2011

It would probably help if you could link to a photo. Without a photo, I'd suggest epoxy to reattach the weight.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:44 AM on February 14, 2011

Hard to say without a photo, but you could probably get some plaster from a hardware or hobby shop and just pour it into the base.
posted by echo target at 10:45 AM on February 14, 2011

I had a floor lamp with what I think was plaster that also crumbled and fell out during a move. We liked the lamp and it was great otherwise, so I flipped it over, filled all of the seams (like where the upright attaches) with Liquid Nails, and then poured in quickrete almost to the bottom (the top with it flipped over, actually) and when it cured we put it back into service. Haven't had a problem in a few years.

I did look around quite a bit for a new base weight before filling it and almost everyone told me to "just buy a new lamp for Pete's sake." Well, I'm cheap and don't like to throw out otherwise good things, so...

Oh, I also ran new wiring before I did this because that looked a little suspect and I poured the 'crete right over the wires. You could also run some kind of pipe or hose around the wiring to make a conduit of sorts before filling the base if that's a concern.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 2:25 PM on February 14, 2011