ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Pendant fixtures with threaded rods

I'm sure everyone has installed them. Last week I installed some that had 4 threaded rods that you screw together. The ends of the rods were not cut square, so when you tightened them up they would get crooked. There were three fixtures, all the same. These came from a high end store, but were still made in China.

So the store tells me you need to tighten the rods then back them off a quarter turn, so they are loose, then they will hang straight. I had already thought of that, but I considered it shoddy and didn't do it. I think the store is just compensating for a crappy product. They claim some brands say to do this in the instructions, but I've never seen it.

Anyone else running into this?

I have experienced what you describe. If the threaded rods were supposed to hang loose, then why do they send "loc-tite" with the fixture?

... To glue them in the desired position?

The fixture I hung today from a major lighting company that starts with a K and ends with an R and also contains the middle letters tchl , stated on the little note accompanying the loc-tite that it is to be used to prevent the fixture from" unscrewing itself during relamping". That made me laugh. I don't think relamping has anything to do with it. I think lawyers do though.

Big B,
Yeah, we've even struck these sorts of fittings over here in New Zealand.
Cheap junk, is all I can call them.
If the end of the threaded rod is out of wack, there is a simple way to fix that:

• Get 2 nuts that are the same thread as the rod and screw them onto the rod.
• Secure the rod and nuts.
• Get a 4" grinder with a fine grinding wheel and grind it flat.
• When finished, screw the nuts off of each end, this will cut a new thread on the ends that the grinder took off.

I realise this is a lot of un-necessary mucking about, to correct a manufacturing fault, but if you want things to fit correctly, you should do this.

Just my $0.02 worth.

I had one with the three or for piece down rod that you screw together and hangs from the canopy. After I finished putting it up, I stood back to look at. It was totally cockeyed, even with the swivel ball in the canopy. I guess if it was in the middle of a ceiling it wouldn’t really have been that noticeable, but of course, it was in a stairway only about 3-feet wide so it stuck out like a sore thumb.
Owner supplied fixture, my price was supposed to be just to install it, not remanufacture it, but you know how that goes.

I suggest also to contact the manufacturer and dipomatically complain to them. you may not get immediate action out of them but if enough complaints come in, they may just listen. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. I have even contacted manufacturer on very good products. The manufacturer rely on feedback from the field. No news is good news to them. Sound off but in a professional manner.