Fixing a Wobbly Lamp

How to Fix a Wobbly Lamp

I thought I should talk to you about fixing a wobbly lamp. This can be a quite annoying problem to have to live with if you have a light on your desk and it is always moving while you're working. It can also be annoying when you have a rather large floor lamp keeps wobbling while you're just sitting in a room. I know that you can easily fix this by wedging something underneath it to stop the imbalance, but this really isn't much a solution. You'll want to fix this the right way and get it fixed once and for all.

The first step that you need to do is unplug your lamp and take it to some place you can properly work on it. It really doesn't matter where you take it, as long as you can properly turn it over and move it around without banging it. It is also important to take out the light bulb as soon as you plan on working with it. The reason is that you can very easily smash it while you're moving it around. Sometimes you'll actually damage the bulb from the inside and when you finally plug the lamp back in you'll think you seriously broke it (when it is just a bulb problem). This is one of those things you do to help limit the amount of variables that could possibly be creating a problem.

You're going to want to get a good look at underneath the actual lamp base. Sometimes you'll find that the base is actually covered, usually with a felt like material or sometimes a plastic cover. You're going to have to take this off carefully, so you don't break it or rip it.

Typically the first thing I look at is the wire that enters the base of the light. I make sure that it comes in the proper opening and goes up the center post for the lamp. Sometimes the cord will get under a bolt or the side of the base and this will lead to a wobbling problem. All you have to do in this case is just move the wire around the obstructions and put it where it belongs. Like I mentioned before, you should have it unplugged before you start doing this.

The post on the actual lamp that connects it to the base is often a means of balancing out the entire structure. The problem is that over time this bolt can become loose and as it comes down it lifts up the base. In this case you'll want to screw the bolt back on tight. You should probably have the tools to handle this pretty basic task. Remember not to tighten it to hard because you could cause damage to the actual structure.

At this point you should be able to stand up the lamp and see that it isn't wobbling anymore.