Author Topic: Rear lights on the cheap  (Read 3120 times)

Rear lights on the cheap
« on: 17 July, 2011, 09:21:03 pm »
Aldi do a pack of three torches. Three torches, 9LEDs each, plus batteries (3xAAA each) for £4.99. Works out at £1.66ish a torch.

They work well as front lights about town. Not focussed enough perhaps for seeing the road on an unlit road, but nice and bright for being seen by. Easily fixed to handlebars with zipties, or oversized O rings or similar.  If only there was a matching rear light.

Well, you need a torch and some of this:



This happens to be off an old Landrover. You need enough for a disc 2.5cm in diameter, so a nice flat bit picked up off the road might do.

You hacksaw it down to a square a little bit bigger than you want to end up with, and then you need one of these:



By which I mean a belt sander, not MFWHTBAB, although having a MFWHTBAB is very handy in many situations.  Or just some sand paper. (In place of the sander, not MFWHTBAB)

Sand down to a disc of the right size to fit just inside the bevel around the lens of the torch.  Apply some araldite to the rim:



and press in the red lens.





Presto!  At less than £2, they are cheap enough to leave zip tied to the bike!  MFWHTBAB has one rear and two front ziptied to Granville the Hungarian folder (thus increasing the value of the bike by 33%!)
If I had a baby elephant, it could help me wash the car. If I had a car.

See my recycled crafts at www.wastenotwantit.co.uk

Jacomus

  • My favourite gender neutral pronoun is comrade
Re: Rear lights on the cheap
« Reply #1 on: 26 July, 2011, 01:29:24 pm »
Very nice and simple mod there Arch. Top draw :thumbsup:
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity." Amelia Earhart

Kim

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Re: Rear lights on the cheap
« Reply #2 on: 26 July, 2011, 01:43:50 pm »
Back in the day, I used to have a maglite with some blue gel sandwiched between the lens and the reflector, for backstage use.  An offcut of #106 could be used as an alternative if you don't have any bits of landrover lying around.  No sanding or adhesives needed.

Of course, red LEDs are more efficient than white LEDs with red filters on them.  But that's not really the point here.  Top botching!

Also, I have drill-press envy.

Re: Rear lights on the cheap
« Reply #3 on: 26 July, 2011, 08:27:21 pm »
Back in the day, I used to have a maglite with some blue gel sandwiched between the lens and the reflector, for backstage use.  An offcut of #106 could be used as an alternative if you don't have any bits of landrover lying around.  No sanding or adhesives needed.

Of course, red LEDs are more efficient than white LEDs with red filters on them.  But that's not really the point here.  Top botching!

Also, I have drill-press envy.

And there's the lathe.

And that's only the metalshop.  There's a woodshop as well....

Shortly after we got together, I was telling a friend about him, and the friend said "It had never occured to me before, that you had a 'type' but now I realise you do. Engineers."

 ;D

It's a good point about the relative efficiency of red and white LEDs, but when the torches are so cheap, they are irresistable, and anyway, he rather enjoys the bodging. ;)

If I had a baby elephant, it could help me wash the car. If I had a car.

See my recycled crafts at www.wastenotwantit.co.uk