what can you make out of 2 bicycle seat adjusters, a cheap lamp from the goodwill, a locking collar from some free weights, a piece of curtain rod, and about 10$ in hardware? an adjustable lamp for the shop! thats what.
when i saw the bicycle part in the burn pile after my brother scrapped a bunch of bikes, i knew it would be good for something. so I grabbed the other 3 of them and threw them it the shop until I thought of something good for them. finally, when I was working on the lathe, i got sick of the inadiquate light in the shop and bought an 8$ floor lamp from the goodwill and sat it behind the lathe. but it kept falling over, so I tried to think of a way to get light without cluttering up the floor of the shop, and this is what i thought of.


now the lamp stood about 5.5 feet tall stock, and the bracket pushes it out from the beam about 6 inches, so it is almost to the opposite wall of the shop! the shop is 7 feet by about 25 feet, we added it to the garage so it is a wierd shape. not bad for a grand total of about 20 bucks. also it is at about 7 feet over head, so a person like me don't even need to duck under it.

Ed Steinkirchner

clever use of recycled junk some times you just need a little extra light I have a clip light with a 20 ft cord.

I like it, recycled and it swings out of the way
Does it have a U.L. certifiction?

I like it, recycled and it swings out of the way
Does it have a U.L. certifiction?

Looks like my lighting, 'UL Blacklisted' - I like it.

Clever. If you could find the kind with springs, then your light would have a suspension for impact protection.

Now I can add bike seats to my list of things to pick out of garbage cans while walking the dog. I bet they'd be handy for a few things.

not sure what a UL certification is, but odds are, no matter how safe it really is, it is "unsafe" for not having it.
Also it is grounded and all the wear points have thick rubber covers, not just tape, because the last thing i need is to get the blankity-blank shocked out of me when i'm trying to drill a hole. and my dad doesn't mind, and it's in his garage!
anyway, I was thinking about making another for the forge-end of the bench, but hot metal and plastic-coated wire dont get along well. But i will if i find some used couduit or metal-clad wire. afterall, I have all the parts, I just have to realize that is what they were made for.

Ed Steinkirchner

Ed, nice lamp. If UL and OSHA visited my hobby shop they would use me as the before poster. I try and be as cautious as possible and follow all safety rules but I'm sure that there are some things that aren't up to code. Hahahaha, code. Riiiiight. I am a shade tree (literally) hobby blacksmith and make what I need.
Your lamp looks great.

Mark<><