Rebuilding Model 1 lamps
What happens to a lamp sent back through the trade-in scheme, from the first inspection to the burn-in shelf.
When you trade in a Model 1, we take 40 dollars off a Model 2 and you send the old lamp back in the new lamp’s box. Here is what happens to it next.
Inspection
Each lamp is stripped to its frame, shade and base. About one in eight has a frame that is bent or a shade that is cracked; those are taken apart for spare parts and recycled.
Rebuild
The rest get a new cable, a new switch, new springs and a new bulb. The frame is cleaned, chips in the paint are filled and touched up by hand, and the springs are matched to the shade so the arm balances again.
Burn-in
Every rebuilt lamp stays switched on for 24 hours on a shelf in the workshop. Any lamp that flickers, hums or runs warm at the switch goes back to the bench.
On sale
Rebuilt lamps are sold here with a two-year warranty and a card that lists the parts replaced in that lamp. When a batch sells out, the next one is usually ready within a month.