I will soon need to get a table lamp that is from the USA converted so that it can be used by me here in the UK.
Does anyone know how this works?
Should I just ask a good local Electrician?
A 240V bulb and UK plug should sort it?
Good.
That sounds simple.
I did just that many years ago when I brought some nice lamps back from the US after living there for a while. That was all it took.
Oh great, I can just about to do that myself.
It’s been awhile since I changed a plug, but those old skills never die. 
Let’s see a picture of the lamp. I like lamps!
It’s a replica of a lamp ‘Les Coprins’ (a type of mushroom) designed by Émile Gallé in about 1903.
I think he only made about 5 of them, late in his life.
There is a small, young, unopened mushroom; a full grown one; and a larger, older one that is getting a bit ragged around the edges.
More info on the original design and production is here:
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Wow, you’ll need to wrap that carefully.
Yes - there’s a chance it’ll never make it!
But the lamps are removed and packed separately, and the stems and base are metal.
Are the bulb holders compatible with bulbs available in the UK? If not you may need to replace the holders.
Is it earthed? UK fittings with metal parts usually require earthing unless they are double insulated. Also old wires in lamps are sometimes very thin, often unearthed, and the colour coding of the insulation will probably not be the same as UK wiring. So all in all you may want to rewire it.
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Wiring should be fine and just like in uk there’s no need for earth. US lamp fittings tend to be screw type not bayonets. Try the US lamp. It will either blow, be brighter or have a shorter life!
I think the above advice is very dubious!
US safety standards are very different from UK regarding; earthing, double insulating, cable sizing, clearances, etc.
It’s a long time since I was involved in the design of domestic electrical apparatus but I do remember that electrical standards between the UK and the US were very different, UK much more stringent.
Change the bulb for a 230v Edison screw and it will work, but don’t touch!
Paul.
To make matters more complicated, afaik it was originally made by Christopher Wray, the head office shop in Kings Road in London for the UK market.
So it may have been well or badly modded to work for the US.
If it is indeed that old, you should not use it without a rewire, as the insulation almost certainly will gave deteriorated significantly. If has been rewired some time, recently enough to have plastic (PVC) insulation then it may be OK but it would be prudent to have an insulation test, or rewire anyway. As for the bulbholder, if very old it would be prudent to either replace it or have its insulation tested as well. There is no need to change from ES to BC as ES bulbs are readily available in Britain to suit our mains voltage, including LED varieties (actually you may struggle finding tungsten filament bulbs as I believe their availability is now restricted to special purposes).
(If you want to do it all yourself and are not competent enough with mains electrics to rewire if needed, nor carry out an insulation test, then an alternative to getting an electrician to do it could be to convert it to low voltage, e.g. 12V)
If the lamp is metal, as the pics suggest the base is, then unless wired with double insulation, internally at least anywhere passing metal, it certainly should be earthed. (Original cabling was probably just a twisted pair with no outer insulation sleeve.)
A local electrical repair should be able to easily convert this from US to UK spec once it has survived its journey across the pond.
DG…
Thanks all this gives me plenty of info to make an informed choice.
This is true but only applies if you are selling it in the UK. If it is for personal use it doesn’t apply. And while it may not be up to UK code it’s no more or less dangerous than using it in the US.
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I was as much concerned about the owner not putting 240 Volts through himself when he touches it than I was about conforming to regulations. Old wiring and its insulation deteriorates. The worst case scenario is that one day somebody touches the metal base and dies, all for the lack of a relatively cheap and simple rewire.
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Yes what this conversation has drawn to my attention is that I have several other lamps that were made in the UK for the UK market in the 1960s and 70s.
I’m sure these could all do with a rewire, so I’ll get hold of it really good local electrician and ask them to do it.
Unless there’s a specialist electrical repair and rewiring type company I can find locally?
If any lamp being converted has metal fittings they will have to have an earth added to comply with uk specs.