# Milling Machine Quill Light



## Billh51

I had a little shop time recently and put together a light for my milling machine. I remember reading BG Hansons post about one he made for his mill and I was impressed with the one he built. So Bruce, hope you don't mind I kind of copied your idea.
 My light is a 100 millimeter diameter, that I also bought off E Bay. I didn't have any aluminum stock the right size so I used a piece of 1/2" MDO plywood and three magnets glued on the top side to hold the light ring in place on the mill. I picked up a used 12v dc power supply for $2.00 and a toggle switch for $2.00 also. The rest of the supplies I had laying around my shop. My total investment is about $12.00 and it works quite well.


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## Terrywerm

Nice job, Bill. I still need to do the same for my mill.


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## Eddyde

Nice job!!
I put one on my mill temporarily, using clear tape to hold the magnets in place, that was 2 years ago... You post is inspiring me to implement a more permanent solution.


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## BGHansen

Billh51 said:


> I had a little shop time recently and put together a light for my milling machine. I remember reading BG Hansons post about one he made for his mill and I was impressed with the one he built. So Bruce, hope you don't mind I kind of copied your idea.
> My light is a 100 millimeter diameter, that I also bought off E Bay. I didn't have any aluminum stock the right size so I used a piece of 1/2" MDO plywood and three magnets glued on the top side to hold the light ring in place on the mill. I picked up a used 12v dc power supply for $2.00 and a toggle switch for $2.00 also. The rest of the supplies I had laying around my shop. My total investment is about $12.00 and it works quite well.
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Great job, but I can't take credit for the idea. Many others here have posted their builds. Great idea on the magnets for easy removal.

Bruce


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## talvare

I made one of these for my mill a while ago, but I'm still looking for a better solution. It works fine as long as the quill is fully retracted, but as the quill is lowered it blocks the light. I still use my old magnetic base goose neck light a lot. Anyone got any better ideas ?

Ted


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## Firestopper

I like your mounting solution. Its nice for setup with quill up and better than no light during operation. One thing to consider is color temp as it make a world of difference. 
http://www.theledlight.com/color_chart.html


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## brino

Great job Bill!
The whole thing looks very professional with the wire loom and switch plate.
-brino


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## chips&more

talvare said:


> I made one of these for my mill a while ago, but I'm still looking for a better solution. It works fine as long as the quill is fully retracted, but as the quill is lowered it blocks the light. I still use my old magnetic base goose neck light a lot. Anyone got any better ideas ?
> 
> Ted


Yes Ted. I’m in agreement with you. Billh51 did a great job. But it does not light up the immediate work area. Like with the pic of the chuck. The chuck is blocking the light at the center of the work area. I made the same kinda light ring and have the same problem. Also, those light rings have a weird color temp that I do not like. Like you said, the goose neck lighting is the best so far. On another note, I just received a 250W 3000K par38 15° LED flood. What a nice light source! Two of those things on a mill in goose neck would be more than enouph!...Dave


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## BGHansen

I cheated the angles a bit by going with dual 100mm and 110mm lights.  Still far from perfect.  Geometry bites us in the rear; closer you get to the table, the light diameter needs to get bigger to beat the angle.  They make the lights in bigger diameters; 110 mm, 120 mm, 130 mm, 140 mm and at least up to 150 mm.  But the only way to get the light down on the center with the quill 1/4" from the table is to flood it from the side.

Bruce


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## RandyM

I just bought a couple of these LED task lights. It looked like to good of a deal to pass up. The company has some pretty good deals on some other stuff right now also. Check out their specials and close-outs.

https://www.aventools.com/product/machine-tool-led-task-light-compact-with-18-flexible-arm/


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## ch2co

I posted this awhile ago, but here it is again. Instead of a ring light which I thought would still have a shadow around the exact same 
work place that I'm trying to illuminate.  I just threw this together with some other LED panels that I had from who know where. By 
spreading out the light source over a larger area,  the shadow goes away. If I did this over, I probably would make a large circular plate
for the lights to mount to, if they didn't get in the way of operating the mill. The back plate is held to the mill with button magnets and




the light array can be disconnected from electrical source with a connector.


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## Billh51

firestopper said:


> I like your mounting solution. Its nice for setup with quill up and better than no light during operation. One thing to consider is color temp as it make a world of difference.
> http://www.theledlight.com/color_chart.html


After using the light for a little bit, I am not sold on the color temp on this light. Maybe I just need to get used to it.


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## Billh51

chips&more said:


> Yes Ted. I’m in agreement with you. Billh51 did a great job. But it does not light up the immediate work area. Like with the pic of the chuck. The chuck is blocking the light at the center of the work area. I made the same kinda light ring and have the same problem. Also, those light rings have a weird color temp that I do not like. Like you said, the goose neck lighting is the best so far. On another note, I just received a 250W 3000K par38 15° LED flood. What a nice light source! Two of those things on a mill in goose neck would be more than enouph!...Dave


Thanks, but I will agree with you that the light does not light up the center as well as I expected. Also as you lower the quill, it seems to hide a little more. I think it's always fun to make and try out different things to see what works and what doesn't. I think I will keep it but may try a gooseneck lamp of some sorts to help it out a little. To be continued.


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## Firestopper

From the photo it looks on the blue side of temp, but photos of LED's can be deceiving. I like the 5-5500K range for a white light.
Again, you mounting solution was clever.


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