Yes, it’s a shameless derivative of Stanford University’s Teeny Lamp, but mine solves for the battery box, directs the light down instead of at an angle, and triples the LED count.
Plus, I get to badge it with my horse’s name - Luimond.
I was going to wire up a switch, but the battery box includes one so I kept it simple and just provide a finger hole to access it.
Comes in handy for those times I’m using a computer in a dark room and need to read some printed material.
Huh, some interesting construction methods here. Captive nuts are cool… Though they require a bit more effort than glue, what was your reasoning about using them?
You can relax your tab/slot clearances since you’re not relying on friction, it is held together mechanically. It can be assembled/disassembled many times without corrupting the edges.
Also, I have little conviction of the integrity of any glue when dealing with cauterized wood edges.
Finally, the original Stanford design that this derives from was employing captive nut joinery. What better recommendation is there?
I usually break my prototypes on purpose to see how strong they are. Wood glue is pretty strong in the end, but those nuts are probably going to end up being stronger.
If I had to evaluate your design for any potential weaknesses, it might initially be the lack of a crossbrace. but on closer inspection I think your wire guide bit might give it the support you need against lateral shear forces.
On the other hand, if you’re experiencing shear forces on the lamp, something’s gone pretty wrong
First time seeing the captive nut method and I think it could really add to the look of some things to really make them pop! Not to mention being able to disassemble and reassemble over and over can be huge! Thanks for sharing!
Well, the little through-hole LED in the Stanford design really doesn’t throw much light. Even with 3 of them.
So I re-engineered the lamp to use surface-mount LED’s on strips and upped the count to 9 in total. It is much better and brighter. Used a piece of of semi-transparent white acrylic under them to diffuse the light into a pleasing glow.
That mare is my world. Took me many years, a lot of money, heartbreak and mistakes to find her, but she and I are a force to be reckoned with in jumper competitions.
Of course, horses in general are a prescription for financial ruin. But as Winston Churchill is supposed to have said “There’s something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”