Posted by Gary Dodge on January 09, 2003 at 11:21:13:
In Reply to: how to attach a spider a posted by Geraldina on January 04, 2003 at 16:13:34:
Hi Geraldina,
It is difficult to use a spider on a shade that has 5 sides. Spiders come in 3 and 4 legged varieties and neither of them divides evenly into 5.
That said, you can manage to use one effectively if you first fabricate a ring that fits into the top of the lamp using 1/8" brass rod or some REALLY HEAVY wire. Tis will allow you to solder the ring securely into the top of the shade and cut the spider legs all to the same length, then insert it from the inside of the shade and solder the legs to the ring. (Cut the legs long enough to catch below the ring.) Be sure that the ring is securely attached to the corner seams of the lamp, which can mean creating a substantial solder bridge in the corners. Use of a brass channel around the tops of the panels can help too.
You can just use a vase cap instead, but you need to be sure that it is soldered with thick solder connections on both the inside and outside of the shade. If you are uncertain of your ability to make secure connections you can solder a wire into the inside seam and run it up along the inside of the cap and solder securely.
GaryD
: Hi, I'm makin a 5 sides panel lamp and I'm wondering which is the best way to hang it or to attach it to use it as a lamp shade (in this case: Do I need a cap?) How can I asemble it? My biggest fear is that the cap or the spider won't support the weight of the lamp. What do you recomend me? Thanks,
: Geraldina