which socket type?

Hello, I'm designing some lamps using standard bulbs and want to mount the socket right into a wooden base, as in the photos. My lighting supplier has many different types of sockets. Which type is recommended? Thanks for reading.

 

Sockets & bulbs get hot & depend on free air to limit their max temperature & so extend their service lifetime.
Wood is somewhat of a thermal insulator. With a high wattage bulb you may get charring of the wood.

It's in your favor that the bulb is above the socket.

With that second pic, I'd drill small horizontal holes at the socket height to allow air to enter, keeping the bulb & socket cooler.

Best would be to have free air circulate around the socket by having the socket hole 1/8" larger in diameter than the socket exterior diameter.

Hot air rises, the Stack Effect.

 

I would certainly use LED lamps, they run much cooler.

 

"My lighting supplier has many different types of sockets. Which type is recommended?"
Much of that depends on you and the tools you have available. High on the list would be ease of installation. Which sockets can YOU successfully mount?

Also, do not forget some sort of power cord strain relief. If someone pulls on the cord you don't want the connection to the socket to be the only thing holding the cord in place. Usually there is a knot or strain relief of some type before the cord exits the fixture.

 

>knot

For some reason they call it an Underwriter's Knot.