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Fixtures, Faucets and Beyond Why hire professionals when you can do many simple repairs around the house yourself? From "Today Show Tips" episode DTST-118

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Rewiring an Old Lamp

If you like the look of old lamps but don't like the way they can wobble and flicker, you can rewire the lamps so that they work like new. Start by buying lamp cord. Get at least 6 feet of cord so that it will reach the outlet. Add another foot or two, depending on the height of the lamp.

You'll also need to get a replacement socket for the top. For a small lamp, look for a simple socket that just goes on and off. For larger lamps, though, you might want to get a three-way socket.

To remove the old wiring, make sure the lamp is unplugged. Take off the nut at the base of the lamp or take apart the socket and pull out all of the wire.

Use a wire stripper to remove about one inch of the vinyl covering off one end of the new lamp wire, exposing the copper. You'll need to pull the two wires apart to strip them, which you do one at a time. Twist together each bunch of wires so that you have two neat new "wires" to work with.

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Push the wire all the way through the lamp, leaving several inches at the top. Take apart the new socket and thread the wire through the lower part of it. Pull the socket down to the lamp and screw it into place.Now you're at the working part of the socket, where you'll find two screws. One will usually be white, and the other one is yellow. Just back them out enough to be able to make a loop with the stripped, twisted wire. Then tighten the screws back into place and put the top of the socket back onto the bottom.

For the plug, you can use a replacement plug. You don't have to strip this end of the wire; just push it through the outside of the plug and into the prong assembly. Snap that back into the main part of the plug, and you're done.

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