# Can You Build Me This Light for My Mom's Sewing Machine?



## Bolster (Feb 21, 2011)

I'm looking to pay someone to custom build me an LED solution, that will make a nice little old lady (my mom) very happy. 



Here's the deal: Mom loves sewing on a 1960s vintage Italian Necchi sewing machine. However it has a 1960s vintage light source to light up the fabric as it goes through the machine...very, very dim, as you can see: 











Mom's getting up in years and she just can't see the fabric well enough. I've installed bright new overhead lights but there is still a shadow that shows up... see how the machine is made and you'll understand. We've also tried various other lighting solutions all of which get in the way. What I need is a modern LED that can put out 50-100 lumens of neutral white (or thereabouts) directly above where the fabric goes through.



Here I've popped open the front cover and inserted a tape measure below, in the fabric path...the bulb takes up about 1.5 inches...










And here you can see the light assembly better...just above and left of the sewing machine foot. 










There is a power source right there ... I assume it's 110v AC...it's the grey plastic cable with the shiny metal tie-down a few inches above. Now this may be the deal killer...I don't know anything about powering LEDs but maybe they're only powered by low voltage DC? In which case, I'm screwed, because there's no place to insert a transformer. And I really don't want to be running a cable to a battery pack somewhere. 



So...is it possible to upgrade this light source? The new light source would have to fit into a space about .5 x .5 x 1.5 inches, where the old light sits now. 



Yes, I realize this is not a battery solution, its a wired solution...what do you think? If I get you precise measurements, and do the modification/installation myself (which Im sure I can do...I own a mill and can custom make any mounting hardware I need)...



...can anyone help me out?



(PS: I'm open to other less radical solutions, such as standalone lamps that might work for the job...it's just that the existing task light is in the perfect position where it is; if I could just get it brighter life would be good...)


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## MikeAusC (Mar 12, 2011)

You can't see enough of the bulb to work out what it is.

Is it 6 or 12 volts fed via a transformer or 110 volts directly ?????

You need to remove the bulb and show a photo of its base.


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## vestureofblood (Mar 12, 2011)

Hi Bolster,

A couple of thoughts. "If" that bulb is something even reasonably common there may be a similar bulb at a higher wattage you could replace it with. Seems like a fairly slim chance on a machine that old though, a picture of the bulb and any numbers found on it would help.

Getting a small powerful single AA flashlight like a 4 sevens mini AA or similar and sticking it to the front of the machine could also be an option.

If you are dead set on replacing that bulb with an LED you still have options. Doing so would require a few tools and much care since I am assuming you would like to run it off 110V.

The easiest way I know (and very cheap) would be to get an old cell phone charger for a power source. This will step the power down to around the needed voltage/amperage. You WILL have to use a resistor in combination with the power supply to make sure the current does not emceed the rated capacity of the charger. Then just shrink wrap or tape the chargers wires along with the existing cord so it runs up to the machine. A cree led on a PCB running at only a few hundred ma should give plenty of light, and you could just stick it to the bottom of the machine near the existing bulb.


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