Care Guides

Caring for your Balance lamp

Changing the bulb

Balance lamps use standard two-pin GU4 (MR11) 12V bulbs. These are available as AC or DC - the lamps themselves are DC but some quality AC bulbs also work. We supply the lamps with Megaman 3W 12V AC (warm white) bulbs as they are high quality and produce a lovely warm light. These bulbs should last several years depending on usage.

When it is time to change the bulb, it is best to turn the lamp on its back so you can look down into the wooden spherical shade. It can help to use a cushion or similar to prop the lamp in position and keep it safe. The bulb should just pull straight out - it is held in position by two small pins although if you don’t have small fingers this can be a bit tricky! In this case you may need to use a small knife or tweezers that will fit down the side. With a little bit of wiggling and gentle levering the bulb should pop out. We have found that the best way to fit the new bulb is to stick a short length of masking tape onto the front of the bulb (the circular face that lights up) to form a tab that acts as a handle. Adjust it so that when you dangle the bulb it hangs at a slight angle. You should then be able to lower the bulb into the shade and line the pins up with the holes. The bulb can then be straightened up and pushed in. There is a knack to this but once you get it things should be pretty straight forward.

Maintaining the wood

The rocker is made using several layers of high quality birch plywood, and topped with a layer of wood veneer. This is then finished using Osmo Polyx-Oil to give it a clear satin look. This should stand up to most things but if you need to tidy it up a bit, a gentle rub with a regular furniture polish or wax should restore the lustre. If the wood becomes marked in some way it is usually possible to gently rub the affected area with 120 grit sandpaper to remove the mark and then apply wax or polish to the whole rocker to restore the finish. The veneer is only 0.7mm thick so you will need to be careful not to sand too deeply.

The spherical shade is made from two hemispheres of solid beechwood. This is then sanded up to 400 grit and finished off either with Osmo oil as above or with furniture wax, depending on when your lamp was made. In either case, as with the rocker, a gentle rub with furniture polish or wax should restore the original gleam. Sandpaper can be used if the surface gets damaged in some way but you would need to start with 120 grit and then work up to 400 grit.

Maintaining the metal parts

The main frame of the lamp is made from 5251 aluminium that has been anodised using a process called ‘hard anodising’. This is an industrial process used to get a super tough coating to protect the metal. It also just happens to produce a beautiful mid-grey appearance that works so perfectly with the woods and other metals in these lamps. It is very unlikely that you will get any marks on this but a quick wipe with a damp cloth should remove most things. If this doesn’t work then try using a Grey ScotchBrite (P600) which should remove everything else.

The brass counterweights are made from solid brass, given a shiny satin finish using a P600 ScotchBrite pad and then coated in several coats of Rennaissance Wax. This wax, which is used in museums and similar places to protect metallic artifacts, should protect the brass fairly adequately. However, over time it is inevitable that the brass will start to darken and may well collect finger prints and other marks. This can look nice - a patina from a natural aging process - but if you want to restore the original colour and evenness, this can be done by using regular household metal polish e.g. Brasso and finishing off by giving it a rub with a soft cloth.

The topmost grey iron weight is made from Grade 250 Cast Iron which is a high carbon iron. This is the only part of the lamp that could potentially rust. As with other parts of the lamp, we finish these with a P600 ScotchBrite pad and then several coats of Rennaissance Wax. In normal circumstances, in an indoor environment, these weights should retain their pristine look. However, if they are stored in damp or humid conditions it is possible over time for them to develop little rust spots. These can be removed (using a bit of elbow grease!) with a combinination of ScotchBrite and metal polish. Once you are happy with the finish you can protect them with a few coats of furniture polish or wax.

The two long perpendicular rods/tubes are made from stainless steel. These shouldn’t discolour or mark but if you want to spruce them up then a quick rub with a P600 ScotchBrite pad should restore their beauty.

All other metal parts are made from aluminium, finished with a P600 pad as above and coated with wax. A quick rub with a Scotchbrite pad should restore any missing gleam.

All screws and bolts are made from stainless steel and will retain their look.

Full refurbishment

If it is necessary, some time in the distant future, to give your lamp a full make-over, then it is possible to dismantle the lamp into its main constituent parts using a 2.5 Allen key. The individual parts can then be treated separately in a similar way to that described above and then the lamp reassembled. Be aware that some of the bolts were fitted with a bit of Locktite thread lock to prevent them coming loose in normal use. This means they will be a bit stiff and care should be taken not to round out the hexagon Allen sockets.

Recycling

When the time comes to recycle your lamp, it can be taken apart as described above and split into its constituent materials - brass, steel, aluminium, hardwoods, wood composites and electrical fittings. All these can be easily recycled. In particular the metals can be recycled indefinitely with no loss of quality.

Caring for your Clamshell Alchemist lamp

Changing the bulb

The Clamshell Alchemist lamp uses a CX53 LED bulb which is a standard fitting and can be purchased from many bulb suppliers. It is important to use a LED bulb because these run cooler (and use less electricity) than the older types. You can purchase them in three different colours or temperatures - 'cool', 'daylight' and 'warm'. 

These bulbs are flat and circular in shape with a dimension of approximately 80 cm. They have two small protruding bayonet contacts on the bottom which engage with the light socket.

To access the existing bulb:

  1. Open up the Clamshell so that the upper wooden shell is in the fully raised position

  2. Carefully lift out the glass Petri dish that contains the bone china fragments - this will reveal the bulb beneath

  3. Turn the bulb anti-clockwise a few degrees by pushing down gently on the top surface of the bulb with your fingertips and using friction to rotate it. Note: the bulb does not actually move down - it simply rotates. it can be very stiff so you may need to use firm but steady pressure to get it to move.

  4. Once the bulb feels loose, get hold of it by the edges (or gently insert a lever) and lift it out.

Fitting the new bulb is just a matter of reversing the above instructions. 

If you are unable to track down a suitable bulb, get in touch us and we will get one sent through to you.

Adjusting the tension of the winding handle

Over time the brass winding handle that lifts the wood upper shell may become loose which means it may not stay open when left in slightly open. This is easily rectified but will require a small spanner or adjustable if you have one.

  1. Locate the chrome nut on the opposite end of the winding shaft, i.e. on the other side of the grey metal structure from the brass handle.

  2. Fit your spanner onto this nut

  3. Holding the brass handle, tighten the nut very slightly against the handle - this has the effect of pulling the handle into the body of the Clam a tiny amount which increases the amount of friction needed to turn it.

  4. Remove the spanner and test.

  5. Repeat until the handle feels to be at the correct tension

Note: The nut has a locking compound in its thread which should hold it in position. If the nut itself starts to feel a bit loose it may need a the compound replacing. If this is the case, get in touch with us or a competent mechanic/engineer to help you remedy this. 

Looking after the wood

The main top and bottom  shells are carved out of kiln dried European oak and have been given a light treatment with a specialist wood oil.l The product we use is called Polyx RAW  which is made by Osmo and has been developed to protect the wood without changing the natural appearance. This should be all the wood needs but if you feel it would benefit from a bit of extra attention every now and then, you could use any oil that doesn't colour or add shine to the wood. 

The wood will naturally change colour over time - it may simply turn grey a little bit but oak also has a tendency to yellow, especially if exposed to sunlight. If you are not happy with the changes and would like to restore the wood to its original colour then this can be very simply done by rubbing it all over with a piece of 120 grit sandpaper (or similar) until the surface colouring has been restored. This should only take a couple of minutes or so, but will, of course, create a little dust. The wood can then be either left as it is in its natural state or lightly oiled as above.

If you get any blemishes or scratches you can lightly sand the area as above and re-oil if you wish.

Future Care Guides

We will be writing care guides to cover most of our designs soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions get in touch with us and we’ll help in any way we can.