I like those old articulating arm lamps. I've made several things from them but they have one major draw back and that is that if you have anything heavier than a lightbulb at the end they can't hold the weight. The reason is that there is just not enough friction on the pieces.
My redesign changes that by making disks from wood, thereby increasing the surface area thereby increasing the friction. But even then, wood doesn't deliver the required friction so rubber pads are needed. I used tool drawer liner. It worked better than expected because I don't have to really reef on the knobs to keep the arm in place.
Which brings me to the other element in this project, and that is the knobs. I found the jig that I made on the internet but on clicking it, it just took me to a website trying to sell wood working plans and had nothing to do with the jig itself. It's a simple thing, but I can't credit myself for coming up with it, and I can't give credit due either. However, by my adding the disk under the knob it gives me that much sought after friction and I just think it looks cool. I may have to make some and paint them in bakalite brown. They certainly work better than a wingnut!
Although this is a prototype, it works good enough that I'll keep on using it. Eventually I may make something 'pretty', or I might not. I would like to make another one for my desk so that I can use my computer and tablet at the same time. And a couple of larger lamps would be pretty neat too. But for now, it's on to other things.
(scroll up to see the original "Arm">
Friday December 15 2017
The Arm 2
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The original works great but I like this one better. These are fun to make so I'm sure there will be more to come!
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