www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

I have posted this in bargain tools as it costs nothing to make,most of us at some time or another have binned our old battery drill for what ever reason,well after 4 years loyal service my 12volt B&D battery drill finally gave up.so me being the type of person that likes to find another use before it goes in the bin started taking it apart to see what was salvagable from the drill,
last week i was sorting my cupboards out i decided to go round the house and take stock of what bulbs we have as you know you buy one then realise you already bought one ages ago well i came across some 12v MR16 50w bulbs which reminded me about a project i was looking at on the internet some time ago so I decided to have a dabble myself
first up i removed the motor


then connected the bulb holder wires to the switch wires


finaly refitted the casing,as luck would have it the bulb sat neatly into the case without any modificatio


my new battery torch


so there you have it I know some might say well why mot just go buy a torch,well i have loads of torches scattered around the place,this was just a just an hour's work when i would have been sat about bored and it was fun to make

Very Canny, got to have a go at one of them

Now where's that old Bosch drill.

That is a great idea, thanks!

that is a brilliant idea. Where is the Argos own cordless my mum bought me years ago - that should be in tip top condition as I havent even taken it out of the box!

gonna give that ago at the w/e :)

Back to the drawing board on this one,I need to find out why the bulbs keep breaking,the first time i put it down to being knocked around in the back of the van,I fitted a new bulb and carefully stored the torch in a bubblebag placed in a shoe box under the seat,I got the torch out today and the bulbs smashed again,I fist thought's are thermal shock as these bulbs get hot then going into a cold van however its not really cold out is it,second thought is the bulb is secured by the case maybe to much external pressure on the glass
Any ideas chaps

Without seeing exactly how you wired it but i would reckon its to do with the push switch, as it would have had variable option on it you would want it on or off.

If you look at the second picture I removed the motor and connected the lamp holder to the motor wires,the switch hasnt been modified in anyway from the original squeeze to start operation,can i point out the bulb works fine under operation it's something to do with the transportation i think

But if you have the same switch won't it be like a drill, the more you squeeze the trigger the more grunt your giving the light?

I see your thinking,however wouldnt it be up to a max of 12 volts at full squeeze.the bulb is 12v,i'm just guessing here

Righto,just tested the voltage,the battery chsrges at 15.2v,the trigger kicks in at 12.6 and at full squeeze knocks out 13.6v,so to much power for the bulb maybe,but if this is the case why is it the glass surround shatters but the actual bulb itself still works