Fierce Anglepoise Rgb + Strobe Desk Lamp Shiny Silver Future Retro Punk Party

MeGa BRiGht low energy multicolour worklight, with strobe functions and future retro punk design. Electricity and spectacles are expensive , rgb leds are not, the lamp base was a beautiful art deco/utilitarian relic from my uni days, Its head was cut off and used as a paint hopper for an special art project in 1999, significantly reducing its ebay value today. the video below demonstrates its ferocity, the camera struggles to keep up.

Materials

• anglepoise lamp
• general purpose glue, uhu or evostick
• felt or baize
• abrasive paper . p60,p180,p320.p2000
• wire wool medium and fine
• cream metal polish, autosole or t-cut
• wadding metal polish, duraglit or similar
• polishing cloth
• cellulose thinners
• spare nut and bolt with washers m10
• electrical flex 3m
• bungee cord x2
• heat shrink various sizes. 2 ,5 &10 mm
• mains plug , i got a see through one.
• m8 studding
• m8 nylock nuts
• m8 split spring washers
• epoxy resin glue 2 part. araldite.
• rgb exterior security lamp. £12 ebay!

Tools

• spanner
• pliers
• drill
• scissors
• prying screwdriver
• brass wire brush
• regular screwdrivers
• soldering iron
• wire cutters strippers
• tweezers needle point
• nut bolt and penny washers(large washers)
• electrical screwdriver
• heat source for heat-shrink a lighter would work

my lamp had a unattractive patina of rust dirt and various layers of paint, to clean it well it needed disassembling .if a washer or other little bit drops on the floor,find it before you continue. only have the parts you need apart when you need them apart. your less likely to loose parts or forget how they go together, if you round off a nut or something fix it as you go.

the new baize simply glues on once the old rotten cloth and glue is scraped off the internal base part.

medium then fine steel wool and cellulose thinners soften and removes paint from aluminium without causing too much damage to the metal. letting the thinners soak into the paint over time makes removal easier. cellulose thinners are extremely flammable ,they also evaporate at low temperature,is not good for your lungs or skin.. also wire wool is hazardous through splinters and dust. also it creates an ignition source with electricity.

health and safety sheet for cellulose thinners

..

using a medium paper i found out how thick the paint was, i used some coarse paper to carefully make it thinner, scratches in the metal would make much more work. when i could start to see metal patches i stuck to 180 paper.

buff out scratches ,using increasingly finer papers, after the 2000 paper . i repeated 2000 with water.

apply cream metal polish with wet and dry paper ,then buff.

if only id done this earlier, it would have saved some time.and the fine scratches would all be in the same direction and less conspicuous.

repeated spinning with metal polish gets a near mirror finish.

the base is steel ,therefore it will rust, the arm is aluminium it will oxidise and go dull grey, quickly. as soon as possible remove any grubby fingerprints get a clear coat on it to keep it all shiny.

braided fabric old style wire is easy to buy in many styles, i did this to see it it could be done,

remove the hooks and elastic from a bungee cord. force and enthusiasm helps. i found that small stray bits of elastic would get left in the middle of the braid, they can be hooked out through the side of the braid with tweezers. loose bits of rubber inside make threading the wire almost impossible.

i cut the wire to a point and wrapped in sellotape to make it smooth.

heat shrink makes the fluffy ends tidy. trim off big fluffy parts with scissors, push the braid under the shrink , if using flame to heat the shrink ,protect the braid with something, i used sandpaper.

my braid would not fit through the frame, so the section between the frame and plug are braided, and the section between the frame and lamphead.

i only had one of the original rubber grommets and it was difficult to force back in,i think the original wire must have been thinner.

look inside video .

getting the led driver box out took enthusiasm, its metal case came off in the process, im surprised i didnt break it.

the lamp head needs to weigh very much less than the led light as supplied, different lamp base designs are more forgiving than anglepoise.

what i kept. 323.3g

• 161.2
• 95.2
• 76.9

what i removed 482.7g

• 48.3
• 434.4

after seeing how light i cam make the head, next its time to work out how far the head can extend from the elbow, the lighter it is the further it can go.

i would have done some mechanical moment calculations calculations,

((old elbow distance x old head mass)=(new elbow distance x new head mass))

however i dont have the original head, so trial and error with gaffa tape holding it together, to fine a happy balence.

m8 threaded bar (studding) fit nicely inside the remaining portion of the frame,once i was happy with the length i used epoxy resin to set it in. nylock nuts with a spring washer hold the lamp head at the other end while still allowing it to rotate.

before removing the wires, i put coloured spots where the wires went. when removed the led goes to a safe place far far away from the warzone of my desk.

A shiny aluminium lamp stand deserves a shiny aluminium lamp head, not a grey one.

after much slowness, i found that a brass wire brush and thinners was the most efficient way of getting most of the paint off. (see safety notices of earlier paint removal step.)

polishing was similar to the base omitting the spinning bit.

aluminium takes little time to tarnish grey, so clearcoat keeps it fresh and reflective.

fresh thermal grease, and some tidy english soldering , note that i shortened the wires for appearances and weight.

i think in retrospect i could have put the remote sensor somewhere better, like mounting it sideways in the heat sync or something.

pay attention to the colour coding, drill a hole shorten the wires, reattach and insulate.

after another bungee cord battle for the top section of braiding, reconnect the led driver, i put its tin cover back on, i like its utility look despite the dents.

i thought it would be wise to see how hot it gets, after being on for several hours , it got a little warm, but not what id describe as hot..