My $20 thrift store lamp died on Tuesday, fixed it with a paperclip and superglue

Picked up this old brass desk lamp for cheap, worked fine for like a week. Then the little metal switch tab snapped clean off inside the base. I dug through my junk drawer, grabbed a paperclip, bent it into a tiny L shape, and glued it onto the leftover nub with superglue. It clicks on and off now like nothing happened. Anybody else got a hack for fixing finicky switches without buying new parts?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayden_craig951mo ago

Man, that's exactly the kind of fix I'd brag about for a week then have it snap again at the worst time. My track record with paperclip repairs is about 50/50 - half the time it's a permanent solution, other half it's a ticking time bomb waiting to fail when I'm trying to impress someone. Superglue and metal parts can get brittle after a while, so maybe keep a backup paperclip handy for when it eventually gives out. Still, a free fix beats dragging yourself to the hardware store for a new switch you'll have to rewire anyway. Your mileage may vary, but I'd call that a win for sure.

evahenderson1mo ago

Haven't you noticed that superglue gets brittle on metal when it gets warm from the lamp being on?

valc911mo ago

Wait, superglue gets brittle from lamp heat? Didn't know that at all. That paperclip fix is toast then, huh. Good thing my lamp doesn't get super hot, just warm after a few hours. Still, now I'm paranoid it'll snap mid-sentence while I'm reading. Might wrap a tiny zip tie around the switch for backup. Better than buying a whole new lamp over a stupid piece of plastic.