Thanks John! I'll give it a try. I can maybe rig up some sort of diffuser that would be easy to slide out of the way when I would prefer the stronger directional light.
I use LED headlamps almost every day around the farm and when working on electronics, engines, and such, but not at the lathe. One their real weakness - the light comes from very near the eyes so the view is "flat" and the true shape of the surface is diminished. I found this out in the 70's when I used headlamps extensively when spelunking, especially to free my hands when climbing, but when walking I also carried a hand-held lamp held low down by my leg. The second light cast a glancing light on the floor and showed me all the irregularities underfoot.
Al, think outside the box. Here's what I came up with: As I lay there waiting for my dentist to begin his exam I realized that the perfect solution would be a dental light. I found them (I have one over my primary workbench too) and they are fantastic. Look for one for sale that the ballast doesn't work. All I was interested in was the mechanism. the track was easily made with angle iron from lowes positioned on the sides of a 2x6. I replace the quartz spotlight with a $25 desktop lamp ($30 at office depot) and put in a 150wt equivalent LED bulb. no heat and extremely bright. The light over my lathe cost me $25 but there was $50 in shipping. I have extremely bright light where ever I need it.
woodturnerswonders.com
woodturnerswonders.com
Thanks for response. There are only like 3 reviews on the entire web for these PM6294925 lights so I figured no one is buying them for some reason..
My kids bought them for me ... birthday and Christmas 2 years ago. I don't think I would buy them ... they cost more than the Woodturners Wonders lights.
I bought the Powermatic light for my 3520 and I like it. I got it at Woodcraft last year during their black friday sale for $135. There are times when doing the inside of small bowls that I have to wiggle it around to get the light where I want it. The light from Woodturners Wonders would be better for that situation. If you get theirs get the brightest one they have. What I like about the Powermatic light is that it's bright and iluminates a large area.
Thanks, I will probably take a hard look at one of these on black Friday...
Its the goose neck that has a single bulb
For those of us without a lot of metal working equipment (or time, or hate hacksawing) WTWs sells Lamp Anchor Plates. I see they are $3 more now than when I bought three of them several years ago. Lamp Anchor Plates
Bill I was thinking it looked like Christmas Vacation!
Check out our full line of lamps and don't overlook the Eclipse, which goes right on the tool rest and looks into the bowl. For Powermatic and larger lathes, I suggest the Quasar or Auroa because the flex neck goes into the side of the lamp head at 90 degrees, making it a choice for a headstock mount because of the graceful arc into the bowl. Super Novas and Beacon lamp heads are parallel to the flex pipe so tail stock side works better for me. By the way, I am still consulting for Woodturners Wonders, still work on new tool inventions, and still do the symposiums. You can reach me at ken.rizza@ woodturnerswonders.com for questions or issues and I will do my best to help you out- thanks. Ken
That looks good but did you know Woodturners Wonders sells an Anchor Plate? Its a heavy medal rectangle about the size of our big lamp magnets with two recessed screw holes. In my old house I actuall put one of those on a low hanging wood rack I had mounted to the floor rafters and hung a Super Nova upside down.
The Aurora has a 220 Pound pull magnet and the Super Nova has a 286 Pound pull magnet.
Well, I went ahead and ordered one of these. However I sent it right back. It's not easily adjustable, as the mechanism requires a hex screw to make any changes. In other words, you'd have one set direction for the light unless you undid a screw to point the light somewhere else. This kind of negates the point of being adjustable. My moffat lamps are really old and tired. In my old shop I'd actually gone to the extent of tying a small piece of twine to the wall above the light to keep the gooseneck from sagging. I need a better solution, as in my new shop, I have more space behind the lathe, so the moffat lamps don't have quite the length on the gooseneck to reach to the edge of the bowl.
