Tension at the Joint

I set my sights on the desk lamp's curving neck, determined to reach the metallic summit. Grabbing onto a coiled spring near the lower hinge, I braced both feet against a heavy brass screw and hauled myself up. But my hard plastic fist bumped the loose wingnut right at the pivot! The joint suddenly groaned, dipped downward by two whole inches, and almost shook me off. I quickly wedged my boot into the hinge's narrow gap to halt the slide, then used my knuckles to nudge the wingnut half a turn tighter. It held! Not the smoothest climb, but definitely secured.