No, I'm not talking about a new Powermatic mini lathe.
I've had a Moffatt lamp attached to the headstock of my lathe since I first set it up. It's been great, but it's not long enough to reach around a lot of larger pieces. I decided to build an articulating arm to mount the lamp on. I stole this idea from my buddy Philip Morris on another forum, but modified it a bit to elevate the horizontal arm enough to clear large pieces and my DC scoop.
Here is it folded up, and tucked in close to the headstock...
Folded
...and partially extended...
Partially extended
...and fully extended, beyond the end of the lathe bed...
Fully extended
When it's stretched out all the way, it sags a bit, but I don't anticipate using it out there a lot. It will be handy, though, for times when I'm using the tail end of the lathe bed as a spare bench space for things like signing the bottoms of pieces and such. It'll also reach the Workmate I have set up behind the lathe, as well as the bandsaw to the left of the headstock.
The whole thing is mounted to the lathe with this. It's a 3/4" hardened steel bolt welded to a piece of solid 1" x 1" steel bar. (The old guy at a local machine shop did it for me in a couple of minutes, then refused to let me pay for it.)
Bolt
Lock washers keep it in place, but I also drilled a detent hole in the bolt so I can use the spring pin for a little extra backup. (The bracket and spring pin were originally for mounting the wire safety cage that I've never attached to the lathe.)
Mount
The vertical bar (the solid steel one) is tapped in the top end to accept a 7/16" hardened steel bolt. The threads go about 1 1/4" down into the end of the bar for strength. I've got bronze thrust bearings (look like washers to me) top and bottom to allow the horizontal arm to swivel without loosening the bolt.
Swivel bushing
The horizontal arms are 12" long 1" square tube, and the joints are just 5/16" (I think) bolts with nylon washers between the pivot points and the tightening knobs. The nylon washers allow me to tighten things up so they don't move unless I want them to.
Typical joint
The end piece has a stud bolted onto it to accept the quick-release swivel connection at the base of the Moffatt lamp. (The stud is normally mounted on a bracket.)
Moffatt stud
And another shot showing the base of the lamp attached...
Lamp attached
I have another Moffatt lamp that's mounted on a non-swiveling magnetic base. I move it wherever is handy, but much of the time it lives stuck to the bottom of my hanging air filter.
Magnetic Moffatt
Between the two lamps, my lathe area is pretty well-lit now.
Light show
I hope this post is illuminating and that it helps enlighten others looking for bright ideas for handling this dark issue.
I've had a Moffatt lamp attached to the headstock of my lathe since I first set it up. It's been great, but it's not long enough to reach around a lot of larger pieces. I decided to build an articulating arm to mount the lamp on. I stole this idea from my buddy Philip Morris on another forum, but modified it a bit to elevate the horizontal arm enough to clear large pieces and my DC scoop.
Here is it folded up, and tucked in close to the headstock...
Folded
...and partially extended...
Partially extended
...and fully extended, beyond the end of the lathe bed...
Fully extended
When it's stretched out all the way, it sags a bit, but I don't anticipate using it out there a lot. It will be handy, though, for times when I'm using the tail end of the lathe bed as a spare bench space for things like signing the bottoms of pieces and such. It'll also reach the Workmate I have set up behind the lathe, as well as the bandsaw to the left of the headstock.
The whole thing is mounted to the lathe with this. It's a 3/4" hardened steel bolt welded to a piece of solid 1" x 1" steel bar. (The old guy at a local machine shop did it for me in a couple of minutes, then refused to let me pay for it.)
Bolt
Lock washers keep it in place, but I also drilled a detent hole in the bolt so I can use the spring pin for a little extra backup. (The bracket and spring pin were originally for mounting the wire safety cage that I've never attached to the lathe.)
Mount
The vertical bar (the solid steel one) is tapped in the top end to accept a 7/16" hardened steel bolt. The threads go about 1 1/4" down into the end of the bar for strength. I've got bronze thrust bearings (look like washers to me) top and bottom to allow the horizontal arm to swivel without loosening the bolt.
Swivel bushing
The horizontal arms are 12" long 1" square tube, and the joints are just 5/16" (I think) bolts with nylon washers between the pivot points and the tightening knobs. The nylon washers allow me to tighten things up so they don't move unless I want them to.
Typical joint
The end piece has a stud bolted onto it to accept the quick-release swivel connection at the base of the Moffatt lamp. (The stud is normally mounted on a bracket.)
Moffatt stud
And another shot showing the base of the lamp attached...
Lamp attached
I have another Moffatt lamp that's mounted on a non-swiveling magnetic base. I move it wherever is handy, but much of the time it lives stuck to the bottom of my hanging air filter.
Magnetic Moffatt
Between the two lamps, my lathe area is pretty well-lit now.
Light show
I hope this post is illuminating and that it helps enlighten others looking for bright ideas for handling this dark issue.
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