How to mount a swing arm lamp to an MFT

[kryn13]

Anyone have a good idea on how to mount a swing arm lamp to an MFT?  I need to add some supplemental lighting.

Thanks

 

[Mauri Motti]

I remember PaulMarcel showing a lamp attachment on his video blog, check it out halfinchshy
Guess any clamp lamp will do...
[attachthumb=#]

 

[flair woodworks]

Either a bushing like this or a C-clamp.

 

 

[ccarrolladams]

First of all, Welcome to FOG Kryn!!!!

Personally I have always disliked having anything permanently sticking up on a cutting bench, such as an MFT, because those interfere positioning stock. For years I placed my work tables under suspended lights. I also modified some C-clamps by welding a round holder to them which fit the pin-base of commonly available work/task "Tensor-Like" lamps. The holders has a screw with a knob to keep the pin from rotating.

After buying my first MFT, I found the extrusions too thick for my existing modified C-clamps. Although I did not find the part numbers for replacement pieces in the catalog, a call to Festool USA customer service gave me the number for the part which indexes the guide rail for cross cutting. I bought one of those. On it I have bolted a holder which has a hole for the lamp pin and a tapped hole for the screw to control rotation. This Festool part easily slides onto the extrusion from either end. Should the lamp interfere with positioning stock I can remove it quickly or move it to a different place, almost as easily as I move the C-clamps around the edges of 19mm thick sacrificial surfaces.

Sorry, I don't have photos. I machined the newer holder from solid aluminum, but a friend made one from an off-cut of walnut, using a threaded insert for the screw and a couple of pieces of brass tubing as bushings for the lamp pin. He bought those at Rockler.

Anyone have a good idea on how to mount a swing arm lamp to an MFT?  I need to add some supplemental lighting.

Thanks

 

[PaulMarcel]

I attached a task light like that to my MFT along the back on the offcut side of the guide (so, far right corner).  Just a block of scrap Oak with two holes through it for T-bolts that were put in the T-track on the side of the MFT; screwed down with two thumb screws.  For the top of the block, all I needed was a hole sized for the rod at the end of the light.  It is very easy to remove, though I rarely find a need to do so; just lift it out of the hole in the block as the block is below the table surface.  It is very useful for seeing anything you are lining up with the guide rail or, say, router markings.  Mostly what I use it for is putting the light very low while sanding; the raking light makes the scratch marks very very obvious.  Actually, it's well worth it even if you only use it as a raking light.

(Thanks for the call-out Mauri!  [cool])

 

[kryn13]

Thanks,  I'll pick up some parts and mount it to a block that slides into the track.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

I'll bet it would be a cinch to connect a lamp to the work center, too. ;D

Pretty soon we should have a thread showing how folks have tricked out their WCRs.  Mine already has a 'Fibber McGee and Molly's closet' feel to it with all the stuff that has attached itself.

For the young one's among us and others not familiar with Fibber and Molly,

watch this!