Task Light

This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 6 October 2025 at 09:33 by Vic.

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1 September 2025 at 20:03 #814827
Vic
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@vic
My new task light, made from a spare LED torch and a Gooseneck from Amazon. Both ends of the Gooseneck had 1/4” 20 male threads that didn’t look overly durable. I decided to make a couple of stainless steel spigots that screw onto the ends but slip over about 18mm of the main body of the Gooseneck. The spigots are a snug fit providing support. Next I made a clamp for the torch and a couple of thumbscrews from aluminium alloy. The smaller thumbscrew has a plastic thread to help prevent damage to the body of the torch. The top spigot fits into the clamp and the lower into a retort stand base I already had. I may make a magnetic base at some point or make something to fit an existing mag base.
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2 September 2025 at 09:31 #814856
noel shelley
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@noelshelley55608
That’s neat ! An alternative to the plastic thread is a small plug of plastic or a plastic tip on the metal screw to avoid damage to surfaces that you do not wish to mark. Noel.
2 September 2025 at 15:15 #814927
Vic
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@vic
Yes, I did think of inserting some plastic into a metal thread, I’ve done this with brass and copper inserts before. I’ve got some M6 plastic number plate screws, so used the thread from one of those. I was torn between, Black, White or Yellow. 😆 I went with White in the end.
5 October 2025 at 17:00 #818864
andy198712
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@andy198712
How did you make the knobs? Just plunge a 3mm end mill to get that effect on the rotary table or? Nice
5 October 2025 at 21:50 #818905
Nigel Graham 2
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@nigelgraham2
Very neat lamp!

I have made scalloped fittings like those knobs, in two ways.

One by end-mill and rotary-table as Andy suggests: I cut radially rather than by plunging.

The other by drilling a pitch-circle of holes on what would become the final diameter, then turning the rim down to that, thus halving the holes. That was on a lamp bezel, and drilling under-depth gave a neat closure to each scallop, resembling those on the original plastic moulding I was replacing. (A ball-ended end-mill of course would give a hemispherical rather than hemi-conical run-out. )
6 October 2025 at 02:33 #818920
Paul Lousick
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@paullousick59116
I have something similar that I bought from ALDI which has an LED light and a clamp on the end of a flexible support. It has a USB plug on the end of the cable and can run from a mobile phone charger or power bank.
6 October 2025 at 08:23 #818924
larry phelan 1
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@larryphelan1
I have three of those Aldi/Lidl type lamps, bought for very little and I find them to be one of the best things I ever bought. I use one on my lathe, another on my mill and the third one between my drill and my laptop, depending on which needs it most.

Well worth keeping an eye out for them show up again.
6 October 2025 at 09:33 #818936
Vic
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@vic
On 5 October 2025 at 17:00 andy198712 Said:

How did you make the knobs? Just plunge a 3mm end mill to get that effect on the rotary table or? Nice

I mounted the material in a Spin Indexer and used a Bull Nosed End Mill.
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