Tying the knot

Okay, so some time ago I was walking right before Big Trash Day in my neighborhood and found a slightly garish but very cool table lamp sitting out on the curb, just begging to be picked up and given a home.

There was just one small problem. The wiring looked like it might not be safe. Not to worry, I thought. I'd just rewire it.

After all, I did quite a bit of my own house wiring back in the day when I lived in Eugene, Oregon (where such things were legal). If I can install an entire electrical service, rewiring a lamp ought to be simple, right?

Tonight I got out a screwdriver and my old wire stripper and set to work. I was making good progress until I came to the place where you tie an underwriter's knot before you put the switch in place. There was a picture of an underwriter's knot in the repair book I was using, but no instructions on how to tie it.

I thought I made a knot that matched the picture in the book, but I just wasn't sure. And it's very important to get this right. The underwriter's knot is the thing that keeps the wires from pulling away from the light socket.

Fortunately, I found this extremely helpful YouTube video with clear step-by-step instructions on how to tie the knot:



The video comes from the home repair web site See Jane Drill. You can find out more about them here.

For more complete lamp rewiring instructions, this video looks as if it would be helpful.