In the Creative-Cables textile cord catalog, you can find more than 150 different lighting cord models, available in a variety of shapes, materials, and especially colors!
However, to create lamps and lighting projects that are truly unique and creative, we also focused on all those components that, together with the cord, make up your lighting creation. That's why you'll find more than 120 different sockets on our website, so you can find the one you like best or that matches your cords! Like the cords, our socket kits are also available in a wide variety of colors and materials: from classic ceramic ones to cheerful models in colorful silicone, from Scandinavian-inspired wooden ones to simple sockets in thermoplastic. The latter are especially significant, as many kits consist of an external element paired with an internal light socket of this type. Understanding how to assemble this type of socket is important, as it's a process you can apply to many different kits! In our fifth tutorial, we'll show you how to assemble the socket kit with a metal cylinder cup, featuring a thermoplastic socket inside. The first step is to disassemble the socket, separating all its components, as shown in the first photo. As we saw in our tutorial on how to wire a basic socket, once you've unscrewed the front cylindrical part of the socket and separated the strain relief and metal cup, you'll be left with the rear part containing the mounted contacts.
To remove the contacts from their housing, we’ll need to unlock the anti-loosening mechanism, a system that prevents the upper ring from unscrewing every time you remove the light bulb. To do this, simply lift the metal tab inside using a screwdriver until it clears the plastic stop on the body of the socket. As always, for greater safety, remember to perform all operations WITH THE POWER OFF.
At this point, insert the previously stripped cord (do you remember how to strip a fabric cord?) into the strain relief, through the hole in the metal cup, and finally into the back of the socket, in this order. Once this is done, all we need to do is insert the exposed copper wires into the terminals and tighten them with a screwdriver.
We reposition the contacts in their slot inside the back of the light socket and make sure the anti-loosening mechanism clicks into place: simply snap the contact block latch by turning the part in the opposite direction from how you removed it. Screw in the smooth plastic cylinder and you’ll have finished wiring the actual light socket.
Just one step left to finish today’s task: installing the external metal cup! To do this, simply pass the threaded part of the strain relief through the hole in the cup, which is located on the back of the socket, and then screw the external part of the strain relief onto it. This way, the cup will stay securely in place between the strain relief and the socket, and the fabric cord won’t slip.
Light sockets with metal cups are available not only with a plastic strain relief, as shown in the tutorial photos, but also with a cylindrical strain relief. But don’t worry: for these as well, the process for assembling the socket kit will be the same; only the step for tightening the strain relief will change. We’ll soon show you how in a new tutorial.
