How to select a glass light shade

Glass lamp shades date back to the time of oil lamps. Glass lamp shades were popular in the Victorian era. These lamp shades can be in styles of the "Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, Schoolhouse, Neoclassical and Mission" styles. Famous glass makers were Louis Comfort Tiffany. When you need to replace a glass lamp shade, there are a few details to keep in mind.

Fitter one: Fixture

The holder type of fitter refers to the glass lamp shade. The shade holder looks like a small, shallow saucer that is located on the light fixture. It is here where the bottom of the glass lamp shade rests. The shade is held in place by four screws called "set screws". This type of glass shade holder is usually associated with lamps that are hanging. The holder can be located at the top of the light fixture as well as at the bottom. The set screws are extremely important in the case of the holder being located at the top of the fixture, for this means that the glass shade will be pointing down.

Fitter two: Straight

The straight type fixture does not have any set screws. This fixture is found mainly on lights where the base of the glass lamp shade is always pointing down. The shape of this fitter is larger, and resembles a circular trough. The glass shade, in this instance, rests on top of the fitter, slipping into place. If you look down at this fitter from above, you will see that it has three metal supports which extend from the light to support the outer rim of the fitter as well as the shade.

Determine the shade sizes

One of the best ways to determine the size of shade needed, you will need to measure the shade. The fixture fitting lamp shade will be attached at its narrowest point, while the straight fitter lamp shade will sit in the fitter at its widest point. Remove the shade from the set screws when you need to measure the fitter fixture lamp shade. The fitter glass lamp shade will come in a variety of diameters: 2 1/4 inch diameter for the lamps lit by electricity, 2 1/2 inches for the vintage light lit by "gasolier" (gas or oil).