Making new electrical items

[bodrighywood]

That is really useful John. I was told when I first inquired that any electrical items that I sold to the public must be tested and certificated which put me right off when I looked at the regs etc. If your inf. is correct then it makes the whole idea of making lamps much more acceptable.

Thanks
Pete

[Les Symonds]

Well....as soon as this thread became active I decided to wait and read all the replied together, rather than respond to any one, specific reply. Thanks so much, guys, for the quality and the comprehensive nature of your replies...your information has been most useful as is very highly valued. An aspect of woodturning that I thought would be outside my safe-working practices, has just fallen within it.
Cheers....Les

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Thankyou John for taking the time to research this and for passing on your findings.
regards
John BHT

[TONY MALIN]

Good question. There's probably more than one answer. I'll offer one.
Someone who has satisfactorily completed a recognised training course and preferably served an apprenticeship. ( obviously with a qualified electrician ) and in the context of the present discussion one dealing with low voltage systems.

[MCB]

Good question. There's probably more than one answer. I'll offer one.
Someone who has satisfactorily completed a recognised training course and preferably served an apprenticeship. ( obviously with a qualified electrician ) and in the context of the present discussion one dealing with low voltage systems.

Tony, You wrote that you were a Chartered Electrical Engineer.

Would  you consider yourself qualified - even though you may not satisfy your own criteria above?

MC

[TONY MALIN]

No. I am OVER QUALIFIED within the prescribed parameters.

I did a 5 year apprenticeship at  BTH. I have an ONC in mechanical engineering and an HNC in electrical engineering. I am a member of the institution of engineering and technology. I had 48 years experience working with electric motors, generators , control gear , switchgear, transformers, and rectifiers. I dealt with power stations of all types other than wind. In my last 10 years I got involved with  marine propulsion on the QE2 and both conventional and nuclear submarines.

To summarise an interesting but underpaid career. However I did get the chance to see some of the rest of the world.

OK

[Paul Hannaby]

You don't have to be either an electrician or "qualified" to do PAT testing. You just have to be "competent". Holding a relevant qualification may be one way of proving competence but that isn't the only way.

[Derwent Woodturning club]

Well....as soon as this thread became active I decided to wait and read all the replied together, rather than respond to any one, specific reply. Thanks so much, guys, for the quality and the comprehensive nature of your replies...your information has been most useful as is very highly valued. An aspect of woodturning that I thought would be outside my safe-working practices, has just fallen within it.
Cheers....Les

Thanks for posting that Les, as I too, have done exactly that. I did a club demonstration at the end of last year, primarily showing long hole boring but the project was a table lamp. I fitted it with bought in (and CE marked components), used three core flex as it used a brass lampholder, and clamped the cable in the base. But one of the members said the latest rule is that you have to leave sufficient flex inside the lamp to allow the end user to rewire the lamp holder. Hence my interest in these postings. And thanks to everyone for all the replies.
I will offer one spanner in the works though. But this is aimed at the regulatory bodies. The rules say the flex must not be longer than 2m, but how many users want a lamp somewhere that is over 2m from the nearest mains socket? So what do they do, they use an extension lead, and those, in my mind, are far more likely to cause problems than the original table lamp. I had a relative who knocked a cup of tea off her bedside cabinet. Guess what - it went all over the extension socket, blew the fuses and plunged the whole house into darkness. So much for Health and Safety.
Grumble over. Back in the workshop tomorrow, making table lamps

[woodndesign]

Thank you Les, like you I've waited until it's hoped to see all replies to your question .. I have made many lamps in the past and still have stock for more, but when all the regs. came on wiring etc, some got made up into candle sticks .. guess what .. a whole s**** load on candle safety ... and musts ... blow that out too.

In reading through I spot the underlying problem ... EU ... and there what WE must do .. and all the time they pile their cr*** on us, I've seen 2 Hair dryers, Curling tongs and like goods blow up/wire burn out before now and where are they from the EU ..  China's not all bad.

I did see also in DTI/STRD 2003 .. up todate there ..  

The fundamental UK policy on product safety regulation is that it should specify the goal, leaving those who are being regulated, wherever possible, some freedom to decide how to achieve this goal.

The rest was plain English too ... and at that time !!!

Each year some 4000 people die in the UK as a result of accidents in the home (this is more than are killed on the roads annually in the UK – although for completeness I should add that we have one of the lowest rates of fatal road accidents in the EU) and almost three million seek medical attention as a result of non-fatal home accidents.

Your views John BHT as our H&S Rep. on wiring lamps, Please ... or are we just " that most members are amateurs / hobbyists so selling and the regulations around it are of no interest to them "  We are above all interested as fellow turners.

Cheers  David

[Derwent Woodturning club]

.....
The views of our John as H&S Rep. on wiring lamps, Please ... or are we just " that most members are amateurs / hobbyists so selling and the regulations around it are of no interest to them "  We are above all interested as fellow turners.

Cheers  David

I will apologise to David for using his post to quote, as others have made similar distinctions, but I think we need to be careful that we don't distinguish too aggressively between items that are 'sold to customers' and those 'given to friends and relatives'.

I agree that commercial regulations do appear to be 'over the top' and inflict a whole load of requirements but the aim behind most of those regulations are that the end product must be safe.

Now, I suspect all of us are naturally more concerned for the safety of friends and family than the 'general public', that is human nature, so, surely, the regulations should be even MORE important for items given to friends and family? I, for one, do not want to be responsible for electrocuting my sister.

No you don't really need a CE label, but you do need the electrics to be correct - flex type, clamps, plug, fuse, bulb, lampholder, fixings and so on.

And don't forget to finish it properly so the end user doesn't get splinters!