I have a pair of antique, 2-arm, brass sconces that were handed down from my wife's great-grandfather, and have 2 questions about mounting and wiring.
WIRING
The sconces have been recently rewired for electric, with a rotary switch in the middle. The electrician is coming in to install boxes, but he will not mount the sconces unless they have a proper ground. I can do it myself, but would prefer to have a ground if I can. I could rewire the sconces, but they have candelabra bases, and as far as I can figure out, these type of bases do not take a ground wire. It seems like I should attach the ground wire to the sconce body. The back of the sconces is hefty solid metal, but I don't necessarily want to attempt to drill a ground screw into it; I don't think it is quite thick enough for a standard 10-32 ground screw, and my marriage will suffer if I screw it up.
QUESTION: How do I introduce a proper ground? Can I ground the mounting bar (see below) and then use the metal mounting connections as the ground? Is there some very smallground strap I cound screw into the rim of the sconce with a #4 or #6 screw (a little thicker) that could be used?
MOUNTING
They are sufficiently old that they do not have standard mounting mechanisms; they have little triangular hooks on the back. I am trying to adapt them for modern wall mounting, while making as few changes as possible.
I got some 1/8" flat brass stock (3/4" x 9"), and shaped them to lay vertically beneath the centerline of the sconce. I drilled mounting holes to attach the bar to a standard box. The sconces have swirly bits at the top and holes where the old control was near the bottom; at the top and bottom, I tapped holes, and insert 10-32 studs aligned with these holes in the sconce. I have small brass washers and brass ball nut to hold the sconce in place.
QUESTION: the 1/8" brass stock creates a 1/8 gap between the wall and the sconce. You will need to work at it to get something in there. I could craft something to fill it, but it would be a pain. Please advise.
I am thinking that a filler could be crafted out of something like:
http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
Many thanks,
Keith