How to Hang an Overhead Light Above a Table

How can we get this light, over this table, without going to a lot of trouble and expense?  Here’s how:

I’ve stretched a couple of pieces of string across the table to find the exact center.  And then hung a third piece of string with some washers on it right here.  And attached that to the ceiling up here.  Now this gives me a point on the ceiling that is exactly above the center point off the table.  On the marked point, I drill a pilot hole, then enlarge it using a spade bit.Now the hole is big enough accommodate the toggle bolt at the end of this hook.

At this point we’d take down the old light add a longer length of chain and wire, and then go over here to our hook.  But in this case the homeowner wants to put it a new lamp, so we’re going to take this one down. I remove the cover of the old fixture, making sure the power’s off at the circuit breaker, then cut the wires. Next I hang the new light on the hook that we just installed, check the amount of wire and chain we’ll need, and remove the excess.

Then I thread the wires through the mounting hardware, and strip off the insulation from the ends. The new lamp wires are connected to the wires in the junction box by twisting the bare ends together and securing them with a wire nut. Now I’m ready to screw in the mounting post and attach the decorative cover.

Final step?  Just hook the open chain link onto the cover and and bend it closed. Now we’ve got that light just where we want it.