Wednesday, October 24, 2012

DIY Umbrella mount hack for your Worklights



This should be quick and easy. (All links for reference only, I bought everything at Lowes)
I use 500 watt work lights for my videography, especially at events. I mount the hole in the bottom of the bracket to a light stand using a 1/4" (or 3/8" depending on the lightstand) wingnut/butterfly (yes, I know the pic above shows a nut. I was too lazy to dig out a butterfly for this photo. Sue me). If I need to use umbrellas, I have been jamming them into
the light somewhere and taping them down, usually not very successfully. But I recently realized that the grounding bracket (from my LANC hack tutorial ) should fit an umbrella pretty well. So I went to Lowes with an umbrella and sure enough, the $1.58 grounding clamp fits perfectly. Here's what you need:
Tools:

  • ·         Drill with 1/4" drill bit
  • ·         (Silver marker -optional)
  • ·         Screw driver
  • ·         Wrench or pliers
For each light: All found at Lowes


  • ·         One grounding pipe clamp (found in the electrical aisle of Lowes or HD near the electrical piping) Make sure to buy the silvery one, the bronze/brassy one is double as expensive  (Link to item for reference only)
  • ·         TWO- 1/4"-20 half inch screws (Link to item for reference only)
  • ·         TWO- 1/4"-20  nuts (Link to item for reference only)
Total cost: less than $2

  • 1.       Mark holes for the screws on the light's bracket using your silver marker, or any method you'd like



  • 2.       Drill 1/4" holes into the light's bracket
  • 3.       Mount half of the bracket using the two screws and nuts
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I was planning on replacing the screw for the shaft holder with a thumbscrew, but since you don’t really need to crank down too tight as the shaft fits snugly I feel tightening the screw by hand is sufficient.
You may want to consider using a pencil to toughen up your umbrella shaft if you find it bending.
If you need help keeping track of your wingnuts/butterflies, read this article.
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Enjoy and comment please!
-Josh

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