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L.e.d task lights

Joined
Jun 10, 2004
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Ames, Iowa (about 25 miles north of Des Moines)
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rwallace.public.iastate.edu
I am interested in the IKEA LED lights being sold for $ 10, and just checked their web site....

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they do not sell them on-line....:mad:

Looks like someone in Los Angeles is selling them on eBay for $ 18.88 each, plus $ 12.88 shipping.... :mad: :mad: :mad:

Closest store to me is in Minneapolis..... ....to buy one, I'll have to wait 'til I'm up there, I suppose....NO WAY I'm payin' $32 for one of these!

Rob
 
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Joined
Jun 25, 2010
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West Palm Beach , Florida
friend

I am interested in the IKEA LED lights being sold for $ 10, and just checked their web site....

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they do not sell them on-line....:mad:

Looks like someone in Los Angeles is selling them on eBay for $ 18.88 each, plus $ 12.88 shipping.... :mad: :mad:

Closest store to me is in Minneapolis..... ....to buy one, I'll have to wait 'til I'm up there, I suppose....NO WAY I'm payin' $32 for one of these!

Rob

If you have a friend near IKEA he/she can ship you one:D

There is an IKEA 8 miles from me PM me

Tim
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2006
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Location
Martinsville, VA
i have bought several lights, the one i use now is a work light with long cord with a 100 watt bulb in it, i only use it with the lathe off and hand turn the turning :D it even works to check the inside of hf s
 
Joined
Sep 11, 2006
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Ormond Beach FL
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turnedbygeorge.com

I got this one as along with the lighted 5X magnifying glass. The magnifier ROCKS!!!
I haven't even had the light option out of the bag, and the Ikea lights are so GREAT that I may never even open the head I got from Rockler.
I got 16 of the Ikea units, I'm going to stick them everywhere... I have an idea for a Mustard Monster add on that should be done soon, I'll post it when its finished.
 

AlanZ

Resident Techno Geek
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Mar 15, 2009
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Oradell, NJ
I just created a page showing how I'm using the Ikea LED task lights around my shop. It shows the lights mounted on various shop machines, and also has photos of me making a couple of magnetic bases.

If you're interested, click here

I hope folk find this useful.
 

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AlanZ

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Greg,

Those look very similar to the lights previously offered by Woodcraft (no magnifying glass).

I purchased a couple of the magnetic base LED lamps from Woodcraft last month when they had them on sale for $19. I like the lamp itself (base, switch, 2aa battery or AC and a nice short gooseneck) but not the light output.

The 7 LEDs put out a very low quality light. It's not very bright, it's very spotty, and VERY blue. Pretty miserable.

Because I like the overall lamp, I'm having a flashlight customizer friend of mine replace the head with a single, high power, high quality, color corrected LED.
 
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Joined
Jun 3, 2010
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Pleasanton, CA USA
AlanZ,

Ask your friend for specs on that LED and his idea for making a reflector. I'd like to modify these ones too. But mine came with little freznel (sp?) lenses that almost doubled the light (but made it more spotty).

GK
 

AlanZ

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Greg,

He and I are collaborating on the project. He's got a few options for replacing the LED, but reworking the power driver circuitry is in his plans too. I'll let you know what we come up with, but it will likely be a little pricey.

So if you don't need the battery power, the Ikea lights are a spectacular buy.
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2006
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Location
Hanover, MD
This morning's Sunday paper had an ad from Harbor Freight for a FREE LED flashlight (no purchase required...only the coupon.)
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2006
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Location
Tallahassee FL
I have one of the contraptions (a set of 5 LEDs clipped on a hat visor) worn by Bob Hamilton in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWQuLi7LDaM

It has no markings, and I've lost the container, but Google found it here: http://www.dinodirect.com/5-LED-White-Hat-Clip-on-Bicycle-Light-Black.html

Since it's promoted for bicycle users, bicycle shops might be a source. Switch modes are 1, 3, 5, 5(flashing), and OFF.

I'll test it later today as a woodturning accessory.

It took a while for me to wise up, but I now carry the Harbor Freight coupon pages in my car. With the cutoff dates written large.
 
Joined
Sep 11, 2006
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Location
Ormond Beach FL
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turnedbygeorge.com
Ikea Light MADNESS!

Some of you may know about the LED lights available at Ikea
I always have light issues, so I thought I'd gang them up and use them at the lathe, and maybe even be able to line them up and use them to back light THIN turnings (like hats). That is yet to be seen.
I used a piece of walnut to make this articulated arm thing, took a few hours, as I made it as I went along, figuring it out as I went.

Brandon my (step) son cut the wire safety cage off of its main shaft and then cut the shaft short so that I could use the post to mount the arm on. I drilled the walnut JUST snug and there were stubs left on the post, so the fit was tight... The pin holder for the shaft is a bit sloppy, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do about that, but this was what I came up with...

Comments and Critiques welcome.
 

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Joined
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Tulsa, Ok
George that's quite the setup. Are five lights needed to provide enough light?:confused:
I'm curious as to why so many grouped together.
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2004
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Milkyway
George that's quite the setup. Are five lights needed to provide enough light?

One light is enough light. The LED light is different from other lights. These Ikea lights have heavy lenses which results in an even white light 3' in diameter when the light is 3' away, 2' at 2'. They make great task lights. They provide a good shadow which is terrific for an inspection light. Having LED lights coming from different angles would be great for seeing what you are doing.

I would be curious to see how long one of these lights would work on a rechargeable battery (3 cells would give the right voltage). Sure would be nice to ditch the cord.
 
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turnedbygeorge.com
George that's quite the setup. Are five lights needed to provide enough light?:confused:
I'm curious as to why so many grouped together.

No, one light is plenty, I was just playing around.
The idea is for me to line them up when I'm doing thin walled stuff so that I can get a band of light instead of just a spot.
Also, I can use the lights to focus on specific spots when/where needed.
 
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turnedbygeorge.com
Our group experimented with one last week and one light worked just fine for turning a thin lamp shade.

NOW you tell me!:(
I used two of the lights this morning to show a beginner the place he was cutting and the horizon where he will eventually watch when his confidence in eye hand coordination improves.
It was excellent for that.
 
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O.K. just asking:cool2:.
Have to admit that I like the setup you have made.
If I can get some of these lights I might do the same thing with two or maybe just one:D.
Thanks George
 
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O.K. just asking:cool2:.
Have to admit that I like the setup you have made.
If I can get some of these lights I might do the same thing with two or maybe just one:D.
Thanks George

My "studio" lighting isn't all that great. I had a beginning turner in there today. I used one light to focus on the tool and another to focus on the horizon. The idea being to make sure he could see where on the gouge he was cutting AND to give him the opportunity to look at the curve he was making instead of where the tool was cutting... Worked pretty well!

I may never need to articulate the gang to get the light in the right place, but I'll never need to add anything to this to meet future needs... Also, the way I made it, it unplugs from the power and from the mount and can be put out of the way for roughing and/or BIG stuff.
 
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Update

My "studio" lighting isn't all that great. I had a beginning turner in there today. I used one light to focus on the tool and another to focus on the horizon. The idea being to make sure he could see where on the gouge he was cutting AND to give him the opportunity to look at the curve he was making instead of where the tool was cutting... Worked pretty well!

I may never need to articulate the gang to get the light in the right place, but I'll never need to add anything to this to meet future needs... Also, the way I made it, it unplugs from the power and from the mount and can be put out of the way for roughing and/or BIG stuff.

I managed to get the lathe hopping around pretty well with a large, somewhat off balanced piece of East Indian Rosewood and I can now say that the lights bounced a bit, but stayed almost exactly in place. The more I use the setup, the more of the lights I use and the more refined the positioning gets... I could almost turn all of the other lights in the shop (um "STUDIO") off and still have good light on the lathe.
Next, I'm mounting some on my bandsaws and grinder.
 
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Got some last week and have one mounted to the bandsaw.
What size washer are you using for a shim?
Or are you making your own.
 

AlanZ

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I just drilled two holes (if I recall, they were 5/8" apart on center) in something a little thicker than the posts.

On my bandsaw, the installation looks those shown below

I have photos of other tool installations... click here for photos and notes.

I've been having a good time fitting these all over the shop... working out the best mounts for each tool.
 

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Joined
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I just drilled two holes (if I recall, they were 5/8" apart on center) in something a little thicker than the posts.

On my bandsaw, the installation looks those shown below

I have photos of other tool installations... click here for photos and notes.

I've been having a good time fitting these all over the shop... working out the best mounts for each tool.

I really like the page you set up (link provided).
I'm sure it will be a big help to me when I actually get around to doing my installs.
 
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Jun 3, 2010
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Pleasanton, CA USA
So from all comments the Rockler/Woodcraft/Peachtree LEDs are too blue and too dim. I bought three just before this thread came along and I can agree with that. But I have a soldering iron so thought maybe I could remedy that problem. I bought some new, brighter, and yellower LEDs and swapped them out in one of the lights.

This first set of photos is testing the brightness and beam by mounting the two lights next to each other on my lathe and pointing them at the garage door 8 feet away.
LEDcomp-1.jpg

This one is the stock light
LEDcomp-2.jpg

This one is the modified light.
LEDcomp-4.jpg

And this last one is both. You can see that where they overlap the new light is brighter and the beam is wider.
LEDcomp-3.jpg

If you have these lights and want to make this modification you will need 7 of the RL5-WW15030 from SuperBrightLEDs.com. $0.99 each.
 
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This next set of pictures is both lights mounted on the bed of my lathe and pointed at a maple bowl 2 feet away. They are both mounted the same and pointing to the same "relative" spot on the bowl: center of beam pointed at the beveled section of the inside of the bowl.

The first is the bowl with neither light on:
LEDcomp-5.jpg

Then with the standard light:
LEDcomp-6.jpg

Then with the new light:
LEDcomp-8.jpg

And lastly with both lights on. notice how the beam is wider and the light brighter on the new system.
LEDcomp-7.jpg
 
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Now for the reality check. This is comparing the new, brighter light against a modest 20w, daylight CFL.

First is no light. It is really dark so I could leave the camera settings the same as I progress.
CFL-LED-comp-4.jpg

Then just the LED
CFL-LED-comp-2.jpg

Then just the CFL
CFL-LED-comp-3.jpg

And finally both. The LED is brighter but wayyyyy narrow.
CFL-LED-comp-1.jpg

I think in the future I will buy more CFL lights unless I'm trying to look down into a deep hollow form.

GK
 
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