Task lighting trick

Ian Gillis

Member
Messages
443
Location
Nova Scotia's beautiful south shore
Hi

My bench doesn't get enough light, so I use 1 or 2 Luxo type lamps (articulated) to give me extra light for saw filing, joint making, and for anything else the 50 year old peepers need help with.

My bench is too thick for the clamp that came with the lamp, and the cast iron base takes up too much space on the bench top. I move the lamps just about every time I change from one operation to another and the time lost was bugging me.

Well, I have 3/4" dogholes at both ends of the bench. I can't just drop the stem at the bottom of the lamp arm into these -- it just flops around.

Today I took a length of 18mm dowel which is just slightly undersize in the 3/4" holes. I bored a 1/2" hole in the end of the dowel to accept the stem of the lamp, built up the top with masking tape to keep it from splitting and slipping through the hole ... and Hey Presto! ... lamp problem solved.

Oh, and I bored that (off center) hole with a brace and bit, so it's a legit handtool post ;)
 

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