Craft Supplies has this. http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=382-0100 Has anyone got any info? Thanks
Paul
Paul
-
Beware of Counterfeit Woodturning Tools (click here for details) -
Johnathan Silwones is starting a new AAW chapter, Southern Alleghenies Woodturners, in Johnstown, PA. (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Jim Hills for "Journey II" being selected as Turning of the Week for May 6th, 2024 (click here for details) -
Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.
Flexible hollowing light
- Thread starter rightuppercut
- Start date
A couple of years ago I purchased a flexable light - not LED at the AAW Symposium. I want to say from The Sanding Glove. It was about half the price - runs on 2 AA batteries (easy to get). The body of the light was metal with a metal flexable extension with a small light on the end. There was also a small magnet on the end of the light. Really handy tool. I turn a lot of vessels and it is great for checking inside. I use the magnet to find the tool bits that come off the tools. I use that and a "Mini Mag" flashlight which for $10 is the best buy for flashlights, especally for checking the inside of vessels. I have not tried the Craft Supply light.
Hugh
Hugh
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
I guess it depends on what you want to do with it. There are a variety of lights available for peering down into hollow forms for instance. I just use an LED flashlight, but an LED on a stick might work better.
Bought one
Used it
Liked it
Lost it
Bought another
Used it
Liked it
Lost it
Bought another
flex light
I bought a flex light from NAPA auto supply for 9.95 and it does real well. I have also bought several smaller ones from the Homier truck load group for 4.95 and they tend to be the ones I reach for most of the time.
Vernon
I bought a flex light from NAPA auto supply for 9.95 and it does real well. I have also bought several smaller ones from the Homier truck load group for 4.95 and they tend to be the ones I reach for most of the time.
Vernon
I would like to attach it to a scraper and use it as a final thickness gauge on a green hollow vessel and was wondering if its bright enough to shine through the walls. Say somewhere less than 3/32.
I doubt attaching the light to your scraper would work no matter how bright the light. That is, if the idea is to have the light on as you make your cut with the hope the light would shine through the wood to indicate you've got the piece thin enough, wouldn't the shavings from your cut quickly block the light? So, too, wouldn't the shaper itself often be between the wood and the light -- casing a shadow instead of the beam you are looking for?
rightuppercut said:
The two brands of flexlights I have played with (one with a magnet on the light head, the other a slender black unit) both use an LED that is too dim to check wall thickness. You would need to use one of the new 3 Watt LED's to do that I think. Anyone else out there tried a 3 watt LED for wall thickness?
Be careful if you do tape the light to your hollowing tools. Don't let the light lead you into the bad habit of peering into the bowl as you turn. That is horrible ergonomically and quickly leads to back and neck issues. Not fun.
I use the light taped on the tool to help me visualize what is going on inside the bowl, especially if I heard or felt something odd while hollowing and want to see what is there, or if I am trying to double check the location of a ridge or rough spot I am trying to peel carefully away. When I am actually hollowing though I stand upright and do everything by feel.
For gauging thickness I use the magnetic base lamp I have mounted on top of my headstock. I keep a bright lamp in it and simply pull it closer to the side of the bowl and look inside, or position it so it is aimed inside the bowl so I can see how translucent things are from the outside.
Dave
No they really work well. I have a friend who uses a fiber optic light to do this. I just wanted to go the cheaper route. What you do is tape the light to the top of the tool, turn the lights off in the shop and the light attached to the scraper shines through the walls of the vessel.davidwalser said:
I watched the late Frank Sudol attach a 12v auto parking lite socket with several feet of wire and attach both with tape to his hollowing rig during a demo. The wires were then attached to a 12v trickle charger. Semi darkened the room and easily lit the piece well enough to judge thickness.
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
The principle is right. With enough lumens you can see through the vessel with a light, on lighter colored woods.
I just don't think a single led is bright enough. I have seen fibre optics used for this, but they are way expensive by comparison. Fibre optics has the advantage that the light source and the heat are remote to the tip and light output. LEDs will have a similar advantage as far as heat goes. It just may take multiple bright LEDs to accomplish your task. The other advantage that an LED would have is how rugged they are. A filament light, like a tail light, can't take as much vibration as an LED can.
I just don't think a single led is bright enough. I have seen fibre optics used for this, but they are way expensive by comparison. Fibre optics has the advantage that the light source and the heat are remote to the tip and light output. LEDs will have a similar advantage as far as heat goes. It just may take multiple bright LEDs to accomplish your task. The other advantage that an LED would have is how rugged they are. A filament light, like a tail light, can't take as much vibration as an LED can.