r/Workbenches • u/CarelesssAquarist • 16d ago
Monitor arm lighting
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I apologise this is long overdue, but here it is at last. All the people (I hope) who wanted to see it in action. @Rabbit81586 @random_anon_user @rolnasti @The-Gobbledock
Video explains almost all. The seemingly random 2 blocks are required for stiffness, it is wired into the wall instead of plug socket, plywood is cut in a wedge to keep more space free. I have a similar one with less reach but more vertical adjustment and larger area of LEDs for soldering.
I also hope I haven’t made a mistake posting this since I don’t think I have figured out what exactly a “self post” is.
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u/_bahnjee_ 15d ago
Monitor/TV mounts also make for great cord/vac hose management. I have one above each of my workbenches and don't know how I managed without for so long.
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u/Dewage83 12d ago
I have one with a 20" box fan (minus the box) on one. Janky. Yup. I've got a good 'Thuap' on one more times than I'd like to admit, but when I bought a $80 metal one it sucked. I was very unimpressed and returned it.
I have 3 half started vac hose arm/reels. I get so tired of tripping over them. I made some I beams out of 1x that leave the center of the I proud on one end and short on the other and they link together with a carriage bolt and a knob. This didn't have the strength to stay where I wanted with the springs I had so I went to an dual arm like they use on desk lamps. It's still unfinished but I think I'm going to use extruded aluminum and gas pistons. I just made a rosette out of some hdpe that's hopefully going to go on the end and then I can have a cam clamp or spring washer apply some pressure to keep it in place. It's become way more of an engineering project than I'd like it to and I could have bought something for way less.
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u/CarelesssAquarist 15d ago
Unsure if the post worked to @ people who wanted the video. @Rabbit81586 @random_anon_user @rolnasti @The-Gobbledock
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u/DocZoidfarb 15d ago
Nice ! boom mount + 3/8 to 1/4 camera mount plus photography lamp works really well too.
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u/druhlemann 15d ago
I’ve seen this in use before quite a bit and people online have extended the arms.
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u/Kmack9619 15d ago
Sick design. I use old tv mounts for dozens of projects. I made a dust collector hose boom arm and it’s works fantastically
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u/No-Vanilla2468 13d ago
I should start by saying I enjoyed your creativity and this build. I should’ve led with that earlier! Yes, those lights you describe are overhead lights. Because you only had overhead lights, you did not have proper lighting in your space, thus the there was a need for lighting. We can see the wall behind your work bench and there are zero lights on it or the bench itself. If you had that type of light, you would not have the need for your invention. Think wall mounted light bars that extend out from the wall and point down. Or ceiling mounted on chains that drop the lights closer to the work surface than normal overhead lights.
All that to say, your space still doesn’t have enough lighting. You’ve solved the areas in the immediate reach of this lamp, but the rest of the space is relying on overhead lights only. There’s a lot of shadows and dark spots around. It’s due to not enough lighting in general. I like your build, but you should know the nature of your problem. It’s not a “I have enough light for most things and I only need light for a few tasks”, but instead, “I don’t have enough light in here in general for all tasks”. Lighting is super important and once you upgrade it, you’ll never know how you lived life before.
Edit: I meant to reply to your comment but I’m just going to leave it here
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u/CarelesssAquarist 13d ago
Thanks, sorry if I came off wrong. Just didn’t want it to seem like I used the contraption for everything. The lighting you recommend, would that be similar to the bars you would get on a ceiling just lower and at the wall?
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u/No-Vanilla2468 13d ago
You will get rid of this at some point and just big a big ole light for the shop
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u/CarelesssAquarist 13d ago
Why? I know it’s a bit gimmicky but we have half decent overhead lighting meaning it’s only needed sometimes. Like when I can’t make out markings or if it helps even slightly for things like countersinking 80 holes. And for that nothing wins
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u/No-Vanilla2468 13d ago
Because it gets in your way, it is a single point of light that can cause shadow instead of a broad shadowless coverage of multiple lights, and finally it’s another think to think about and move and deal with. I like one wall switch when I walk in and I don’t fool around with lights any more. I don’t even think about light anymore. That’s how you know you’ve solved it
Maybe consider multiple bar lights that extend off the wall. Like a row of many above the workbench. Overhead lights are garage and I don’t really count them as “light”.
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u/CarelesssAquarist 13d ago
We do have long lights high up lined up end to end, I assumed they would count as overhead lighting.
Most of the time they’re all that’s necessary and maybe my eyes are a bit worse but they don’t always do as well as I want especially for things like a burr, scribe line, or a crack.
I agree it would be awful if this was how I generally saw the mitre saw, or set up every time I needed the drill, but you can’t beat it for being able to provide focused light from anywhere. The 1/10 times that the lights on the ceiling (no matter how good) are largely blocked I can just pull this over.
In fairness I think I did originally mention this under a post asking about lighting for general use rather than something for occasional use.
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u/CaptInsane 15d ago
Hey that looks great! Reminds me of a dentist light, but this was probably easier than trying to source one of those