My vintage lamp find literally fell apart in my car on the way home

I spotted this cool old brass lamp at the flea market in Portland last Saturday for $15, thought I scored big. Got it to my car and as I set it down the whole shade just crumbled into three pieces, like the metal was basically dust. The wiring inside looked like something from the 1920s too, all frayed and crusty. I sat there for a minute just staring at the pieces on my passenger seat before I drove back to see if the guy had any lampshades hiding under his table. Anyone else grab something that looked solid and then had it explode on you the second you moved it?

2 comments

2 Comments

avery_walker3029d ago

Oh man, that hurts. I had an old radio fall apart on me the same way once, the wood was so dry it just cracked clean through when I picked it up. Best thing I did was take my time and carefully reglue everything with some epoxy and clamps, turned out pretty decent in the end.

blakefox29d ago

Maybe it's just me but I don't think epoxy is always the answer on old wood like that. I mean, sometimes the damage is too far gone and gluing it back together just makes it look worse or traps in moisture that rots it out later. There was this old cabinet I tried saving with clamps and glue once, and the whole thing just warped and split somewhere else a month later. Honestly, sometimes you gotta just accept that the wood is done and start fresh with a new piece.