Smashing crimpers do not create a gas tight connection, will corrode and fail, I never use them.
I have been soldering these things for years on projects, boats, cars, CNC’s etc. Never had one fail. However the wiring before the joint is always secured so it does not vibrate.
Any time wire at any type of connection point (solder or crimp) is allowed to vibrate it will work harden and fail.
I don’t see how crimp vs solder eliminates the effect of vibration. If the crimp is truly gas tight then it is restrained from moving at the point of crimp and vibration at the connection will have it eventually fail.
Amanda, don’t want to be rude but if you are asking questions like this, you should not be messing with mains electricity. I assume you are in the USA where potentially you have 110v but with the possibility of 220v. This voltage without trips on your mains panel could kill you if you get it wrong. In the UK, all our household is at 240volts but we go to extreme methods of protecting our users with trips so if they do get it wrong the trip goes and they are safe.
The live (hot) wire should always be the line that is switched so that when you turn the switch off, the unit is isolated.
You must make sure if you are using that switch in the photo that users cannot touch any live parts and that if a live (hot) wire breaks off it cannot touch any metal parts that the user might be able to touch and make a lethal circuit to ground.
Please don’t kill yourself or your family. It would be cheaper to get an electrician to do it for you rather than pay for a funeral or possible litigation.
Just saying, diy and electrics don’t really go together.
Well, we all have to start somewhere, don’t we? With all the information provided by people here and the hours of YouTube videos I watched, everything seems to be working properly. I don’t want to share the picture of the completed project yet because I’m still tucking everything neatly into the books that form the lamp base.
Good catch @marmil , I missed that. So sorry @Amanda_Stauffer! I think I got it right in my text description. It’s important from a safety standpoint to get that right.
When you are screwing the lightbulb into the socket, it’s easy to be touching the threads on the outside of the bulb at the same time those threads are touching the metal on the inside of the socket. If those are neutral, you are safe. But if they are hot, then current can flow through your hand and body through your feet if you are grounded, and it’s current through the heart that kills.
If you have ended up putting the switch on the neutral wire because it was on the line connected to the thick prong, then the socket will be energized and capable of electrocuting you even if the switch is turned off!
So sorry