DIY Magnifier and Lamp

[Tako Kichi]

In this thread... http://stevedgood.com/community/index.php?topic=5452.0 ... I mentioned I had a need for a magnifier/lamp and explained how I had found some items to build my own at a fraction of the cost of commercial units.

I have now built the device and thought I would post pictures in case anyone was interested. It is designed to be functional at present and looks were not a consideration. I just wanted to see if the principle would work. Now I have proved the principle is sound I can always go back and make it 'pretty'!  

The three key pieces are an 8" x 10" Fresnel lens with 2x magnification found in the Walmart craft section for $4.65 CDN, a $3.00 CDN aluminum flashlight with 9 LEDs that is super-bright even in daylight or with the room light on at night and a 'broom clip' that cost $2.00 CDN for a pair of clips. In addition I used whatever I had to hand in terms of wood and a few hardware fittings and screws.

Here are a couple of shots to give you an overview.




The vertical rod is 7/8" dowel, the horizontal rod parallel to the machine is 3/4" dowel and the white rod perpendicular to that is a piece of 3/8" solid fibreglass rod left over from one of my kite building projects. The FG rod is very stiff for the diameter but if you were thinking of building something similar in wood I would suggest no less than 1/2" dowel for this rod as you need the stiffness otherwise vibration/sag could be an issue.

The Fresnel lens is fitted into a groove in the wooden block (cut on the scroll saw) and a saw cut extends up the block beyond the screws. The two screws then pinch the wood down onto the lens holding it in position. If I ever need to use the lens elsewhere then simply slackening the two screws will release it without having to drill holes in the lens. Likewise at the other end of the block a slot cut into the hole for the FG rod allows the two screws to pinch the wood down and clamps the block to the rod.

Here's a shot from the 'operator's position'. I did not zoom in excessively and the working area really does look that big through the lens. The distortion you see is partly down to the camera I think as the view in real life is much better.



Here are some shots of the flashlight and how it is mounted.





The main clamp bracket allows the flashlight to slide along the dowel and rotate around the dowel. The secondary bracket allows the flashlight to swing in an arc so that it can be positioned wherever it is need to give the best illumination. The 'broom clip' also means that I can easily unclip the flashlight if I need it to find any dropped parts (like a blade adapter dropped through the hole in the table!   ).

So there you have it. A functional magnifier and lamp for a little over $10 CDN with the hardware and whatever wood I had lying around the place here.

NOTE: The forum software has reduced the size of the images so if you want to see larger pictures right-click on them and select 'View Image' or whatever the term is in your particular browser.

[dgman]

Excellent Larry. Neat idea for those that have time to make their own.
If you factor in the purchased items along with the hardware and the time involved designing and building, What's the real cost?

[Gabby]

Priceless!!!!!!!
G

[Tako Kichi]

Excellent Larry. Neat idea for those that have time to make their own.
If you factor in the purchased items along with the hardware and the time involved designing and building, What's the real cost?

That depends on how you value your time and whether you are on an extremely limited budget (like me) I guess. I am stuck at home these days so the time used would otherwise have been spent moping around the place trying to find something to do. In that way it was not only beneficial in terms of building something useful but beneficial in terms of both mental and physical exercise as I had to dust off the grey matter to solve all the problems encountered and I had to move physically to build the thing rather than sitting at my computer for 16 hours a day. My illness is helped by a little gentle exercise and I don't do enough so moving around and building something was good and actually made me feel a whole lot better.

As to cost...well every dollar I can save in projects like this is another dollar I can use to buy more wood and saw blades! LOL.

[dgman]

Thanks Larry. I think your design will inspire a lot of folks to follow through with their own. Perhaps you can come up with a drawing for those that my want to make their own.

[Tako Kichi]

Thanks Larry. I think your design will inspire a lot of folks to follow through with their own. Perhaps you can come up with a drawing for those that my want to make their own.

I could make some drawings in ACAD and/or produce a PDF document if required but the biggest problem in woodworking as we all know is size is not size...lol. I could for instance say make the dowel clamp blocks out of 2 x 2 pine but 2 x 2 is never that. In my case it was about 1-7/16" x 1-3/4" which throws any related dimensions out of the window! All dimensions would have to be adjusted to suit your stock on hand. If anyone wants any specific dimension(s) then shout up and I will happily measure mine for you.

[wedo]

I like people that have a need and see the solution and go out and fix it! Great job TK
Bill

[Chachi]

Wow What a great Idea come to life I would have thought of doing something like that I'm more of the guy that can see it just don't know quite how to do it.  Great job thanx for the share

[julief]

Very clever. 

[CNLNC]

Great job on coming up with your own idea and seeing it through until its done. Thanks for sharing and being so detailed in your description of how the project was done.

One question though...Where's all the sawdust???

[ShadowB6]

Wow, great work Tako. Enjoyed reading how you did it. The reward here is that you had a need for it, and conquered it. I'm sure most of us have spent considerable time making something where we could have just bought it. It boils down to self satisfaction. I tip my hat to you.

Mike

[Tako Kichi]

Thanks for the comments folks, much appreciated.

As to sawdust, I cleaned up before I took the photos! 

To be honest most of the sawdust was created in a different room. The house I live in used to be a duplex and we lived in the ground floor apartment. After a series of bad news upstairs tenants the landlord decided enough was enough and she offered us the entire place for less rent if we agreed to take the electricity and gas service over in our name (she used to pay both services for the two apartments as they were shared services). This meant we got a bunch of extra rooms for little extra money and when you are trying to live on a disability pension that makes a big difference. There are two small additions on the front of the house that act as a vestibule/mud room/entrance room. Both are fully enclosed and have power and lighting so the one to the upstairs became a sort of workshop for me. That's where I keep my larger tools, tool chest and mechanics rolling tool box, bicycles etc. but it means I can only have one tool out at a time as space is tight and I only have a B & D Workmate to use as a bench.

What was the upstairs kitchen still has a double sink and a full set of kitchen cabinets but no appliances and when I was building my large kites that was my kite building shop. Now my scroll saw is set up in there alongside my tiny, table top, metalwork lathe/milling machine/drill press. It's OK as a lathe and milling machine but very limited as a drill press as it only has 1/2" of quill movement.

[jimbo]

I find it easier to buy cheap reading glasses from the $ shop, they come in all magnifications
Jimbo