Helmet light

[Luke'sScreenName]

So I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this but...
I was lamenting my cruddy shop lighting and annoyed at having to keep moving work lights while grinding today....
First I was thinking someone probably makes a welding helmet with a built-in head light. Or I could modify my existing helmet.
I had a $15 LED impulse buy from Lowes with an adjustable base lying around. Took off the band. The adjustable base already had a hole in the center.
I drilled a hole in the top and inserted a bolt:




Then mounted the light:


3.5 year old approves:

 

[davesl708]

Cool. Looks like it will work well.

 

[weldingisfun]

Hey, if your 3.5 year old son approves, that is good enough for me. Looks good. Think I'll give that a try too.

 

[skyhook]

Great idea, so,, did this give you the light you were hoping for? Does it work well?

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Yes, it definitely helped a lot. Not as good as a perfectly positioned spot light shinning over your shoulder but still good (and much more convenient).
I have only used it for grinding so far. Will do some MIG this weekend.
Again, this is a $15 "checkout isle" LED light. I'm sure there are brighter headlamps out there. If I were starting over, I'd find the brightest spot I could with an adjustable base (if the price was right).

 

[Gem99ultra]

Now here's a man that can think outside of the box... err helmet. This may be the start of a fix to an age old problem. Good thinking Luke!

Please let us know what you think about this after a bit of welding.

 

[Ford850]

Not as good as a perfectly positioned spot light shinning over your shoulder but still good (and much more convenient).

This made me smile as I remembered the countless times my dad would say (as I was holding a flashlight over his shoulder) "Point the light where I'm looking, not where you're looking".
Thanks to helmet lights etc, I rarely get to tell my son that same thing.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Now here's a man that can think outside of the box... err helmet. This may be the start of a fix to an age old problem. Good thinking Luke!

Please let us know what you think about this after a bit of welding.

Thanks Gem,
So I used it MIG welding yeasterday and it did not mess with the auto darkening (I did not have to change any settings).
I looked when I was at Lowe's and the model I have says 150 lumens on the packages. If I were starting over I'd get the 250lumen one for $5 more.

 

[dragoneggs]

I'm going to have to try this... have a couple of light weight camping headgear LED lights. One might find its way to my shop!

 

[Gem99ultra]

Thanks Gem,
So I used it MIG welding yeasterday and it did not mess with the auto darkening (I did not have to change any settings).
I looked when I was at Lowe's and the model I have says 150 lumens on the packages. If I were starting over I'd get the 250lumen one for $5 more.

I'm looking at what's called a 'miner's headlight' on Amazon for $5.89. The description says "9pc 11,000 MCD Ultra Bright LED Bulbs". I sure don't know how to convert that description into lumens, but I'm going to give it a shot. The idea is just way too good to not try it too.