Swinging Articulated Lamp

A local thrift store had a box of desk and wall lamps for $1 each. This one had a round base, hung on the wall and pivoted up and down. Useful, but too short for task lighting. So I trashed the base and built an arm that would reach my grinder on one side and band saw on the other. The individual arm segments are 1/2" thick and 1-1/4" wide.

video

Two shots of the hub, turned from scrap pine. The tenons on each end are slightly smaller than 1". At first the bracket was all one piece but got in the way and stopped the arm from swinging all the way left. So I cut the bracket in half and reversed each piece as you see below. 

I started with a 200W incandescent bulb that made a very bright task light but melted the plastic! So I switched to a 13W compact fluorescent (equivalent to a 60W incandescent). Next trip to the store I'll pick up a brighter one.

See the silver clamp light over my lathe, another $1 special.

Articulated camera arm

An articulated arm for holding my cell phone when shooting video or taking photos. Why use an arm instead of just a tripod? The arm allows me to position the tripod out of the way and yet have the camera close for filming. I can also move the arm over a machine or task and point the camera straight down for an overhead view.

I began by ripping three 3-3/4" wide strips from 3/4" birch plywood. Each strip was cut to length then ripped again into three 1-1/8" wide strips.

A 1/4" hole was drilled approximately 1" from each end and centered.

The ends were rounded on the disc sander.

Two bases were made, one for the phone and the other for attaching to the tripod. I cut a 1-1/8" wide dado across each base and drilled two holes.

From the extra 1-1/8" wide strip I cut four pieces around 2" long, drilled and rounded one end, then glued them into the dado. A screw through the bottom helps hold them in place.

The tripod attachment base got four 5/16" holes. I probably won't ever use the extra holes but they are there if I should want them.

The walnut tripod has a 5/16" threaded rod sticking out the top, the base slides over this and is temporarily secured with a wing nut.

The arm joints are linked with 4-1/2", 1/4x20 carriage bolts.

I made a phone mock up from MDF for testing the mount. A rubber band secures it in place.

The walnut tripod has adjustments for height and angle.

Jan 2017 Update: I still use this arm but have since mounted it to the wall to save floor space. Dimensions are between pivot holes.