LED Steampunk Swingarm Desk Lamp

This project came about because I purchased some LED lights direct from Hong Kong (at an excellent price, less than US$5 each including shipping!) but neglected to check the screw-in base size. I had bought something between E12 (US "candelabra") and E25/27; I think it was E14. It's almost impossible to find adapters to fit standard US light sockets (E25/27) if you have E14 lamps, and no one in the US sells light fixtures with that size sockets. So, I had half-a-dozen bulbs that didn't fit in anything I owned. Now what? Simple! Make something that uses them! I used four for this project. Each lamp has 38 individual LEDs, so this project has a total of 152 white LEDs. That's enough to read by!

Safety and health warning: This project uses power from the mains ("wall outlets") which have dangerous voltages. Do not attempt this project if you are not familiar with basic electrical safety practices. If you ignore this warning, you may die, and it will hurt the entire time you are dying.

Metric conversions: Dimensions herein are in the archaic English system. Sorry, I am American. There are 25.4 mm to the inch. Have fun converting. Screw sizes are roughly equivalent, that is, a Nr 4 screw is about 4mm in diameter. I think.

MATERIALS:

1 swingarm desktop lamp
4 LED Lamps approximately 1 3/4 inch diameter
1 white PVC pipe tee, 2 1/2 by 2 inch
3 white PVC pipe caps, 2 inch
1 push-push fan switch, two-way, brass
PC wire cable bundle tubing, about 2 1/2 feet
22-gauge insulated wire in two colors, about 8 to 10 feet
4 wire nuts for 12-16 gauge wire
1/4 by 1/4 brass angle, about 2 feet
Metallic spray paints (I used bronze, copper, brass, and antique bronze)
Metallic touch-up paint (I used copper)
Small paint brush
Clear nail polish
6 Nylon zip-ties
Silicon sealer, one small (4 oz.) tube. I used white.
4 brass wood screws, Nr. 6 by 1/2 inch
2 brass wood screws, Nr. 4 by 1/2 inch
2 brass wood screws, Nr. 4 by 3/8 inch
2 brass machine screws, 6-32 by 1/2 inch
2 zinc-plated nylon-insert locknuts, 6-32
8-10 inches of heat-shrink tubing, small (for 16-22 gauge wire)

Tools:
Assorted tools for electrical work (soldering iron, solder, multimeter)
drill
screwdrivers
long-nose pliers
saw (I used a table saw and a hacksaw)
alcohol (for cleaning, not drinking)
disposable vinyl gloves

Step 1 Getting started: Pick a lamp

So we'll need a lamp to modify. I found a swingarm desk lamp at Fred Meyer for about twenty bucks. The color didn't much matter, since it's going to be changed, but I chose lavender because the paint I had would cover that best (the other choices were an insipid red, and black). Now that we have it, we'll disassemble it. Start by unscrewing the socket from the shade, and then remove the mounting bolts that hold the shade to the swing arm. Disconnect the power cord from the socket. I threw away the shade, the bolts and nuts (I replaced them with brass screws, keeping with the steampunk theme), the fiberglass insulating sleeves, and the socket.