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This is the bulb I'm thinking about: http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index....p;productId=221 I'm not sure, though, about the transformer requirement, and if my MR 11 halogen lamp from Artisan will work. Ed

Bree, Does Campbell Bosworth offer wholesale pricing? Their website prices seem higher than Weaver's. Ed

As the wires from the female plug go to the old circuit board, there is a black (Y1) and a white (W1) to one side of the circuit board. To the other side is a black (Y2) and a white (W2). The female plug has a dividing canyon in the housing and appears that the Y1 black and the W1 white are considered one side or a pair of some sort. I understand that I will be connecting two of these wires to one of the plug-in ballast wires, and the other two wires to the remaining plug-in ballast wire. Am I correct in thinking that the two blacks (Y1 and Y2) should be connected to the ribbed wire coming from the ballast, and then the two whites (W1 and W2) should be connected to the wire coming from the on/off switch, which is pictured in one of the attached photos. The switch is the little square box in the housing of the magnifying glass and circline bulb holder. Ed

I've been making nice with my safety skivers. They told me to keep them supplied with fresh, sharp new blades and twenty cents a pop and they will take care of my needs. We have become very, very good friends. Thanks, again, for talking me out of that unnecessary purchase. Ed

I'm not taking it to anyone else. This is 90 percent of the fun. I'm almost there. I've uploaded more pictures. Who knows, maybe this information will come in handy as a bunch of these lamps may end up being available very cheaply in the future. All it comes down to is how I connect the two wires from the plug-in ballast, which I now feel is indeed a better route than just the magnetic ballast from either my California source or a difficult-to-near-impossible-to-find adapter with the magnetic adapter. Basically, should the ribbed wire go directly to the female plug for the bulb,and the other wire directly to the on/off switch? In the original setup, just in case I haven't already detailed this, the white wire from the power source is connected to the ribbed wire that runs through the arm and connects directly to the female plug that connects to the bulb. This might indeed be why the electronic ballast burnt out after two months of use. That's fun to diagnose the problem. Everything is telling me that the plug-in ballast, which was designed for a handheld 22-watt circline magnifying task lamp, does include the starter plug. By the way, what's the damage risk if I wire up this thing and no starter plug is indeed installed? Will the lamp simply not start, or will something more serious happen? About the four wires from the female plug to the burnt out electronic ballast. To be clear, these four wires have to connect directly to the two wires coming from the plug-in ballast. I'm not certain how these should be connected. Here are my options (additional pictures have been uploaded): 1. connect them any way, as all that is important is that current flows through the female plug. I wouldn't imagine this to be the case. 2. Attach the black and white from one side of the female plug to the ribbed wire (hot wire, which I will correlate with the ribbed wire coming from the plug-in ballast. And attach the black and white from the other side of the female plug to the wire that goes directly to the on/off switch. 3. Attach the two black wires from the female plug to the ribbed wire coming from the plug-in ballast. and Attach the two white wires to the wire that goes directly to the on/off switch. I've attached additional pictures. Thanks Ed

I like the idea of getting the halogen lamp from Artisan and fitting it with an MR-11 Cree LED bulb. Haven't actually used this bulb yet, but am planning on it. ed

Steve, I've also found New Yorkers to be the friendliest people. It has been written that in liberal Berkeley, California, you will find the meanest people. I believe it. In California there is a dark, nasty underbelly to the Wal-Mart greeting. People in New York feel the jostling and battering that takes place daily and sincerely enjoy and appreciate human contact when it happens. We Americans escape to California to get away from human contact. When we do have it, it is mostly on the level of the Wall-Mart Greeter. Emotional and physical isolation in the West that is the darkness. In New York, you may feel battered and beaten rushing against the crowd to get up or down subway steps only to fight your way into a crowded subway car. It often feels like Sisyphean labor, but the magic happens once you are able to accept your place and stop fighting, once you are able to smell the sweat and the stink and take in the filth and the beauty. Strangely, every so strangely, you lean just a little more against the person nearest you, to be both bolstered against the jolts of the train and reminded that you are human. You find yourself at peace and have forgotten what an asshole your boss is. You smile, only to return and do it all over again the next day. And if you ever do return to California, Mars would be a more attractive place. Perhaps it is true: "You can't go home again." ed

Mike, I just get an idea and can't put it down. In the long run, I acquire quite a bit of knowledge about a lot of things. That eclectic knowledge ends up coming in handy for disparate things further down the road. I've got firends who spend hour playing poker every week. Fiddling with things is my poker. I approach as if it's a game. I like these magnifying lamps, and they are well made. I bought them each for about $25 on Ebay. To replace them now would cost $120 to $160. These plug-in ballasts were $15. Everything but that electronic ballast is very well made and I hate to throw stuff away if I have a suspicion that a fix wouldn't be too difficult and just a matter of assembling the right bit of information. I see people throw out laptops. I pick them up and remove their usable internal parts: hard drive, memory, optical drives, etc. I also hate the mentality with which corporations have brainwashed us into thinking that we need to replace their preplanned malfunction. Thanks for the bit on the ribbed wire. Of the wires coming out of the ballast/transformer, one has printed specs on it and the other is ribbed. I looked closer at the lamp wiring. IT has three wires coming from the three-pronged plug: green (ground), black, and white. Those wires go into the base of the lamp. Inside the base of the lamp, the green wire is connected to a metal plate. The black wire is connected to a printed wire that runs through the arm up to the circline bulb. That wire connects directly to the on/off switch. The white wire going into the base connects to the ribbed wire, which runs through the arm, up to the circline bulb and connects directly to the burnt-out electronic ballast. My educated-guess fix is to remove the original wires going into the base and substitute them for the wires coming of the new plug-in ballast, which is rated for a 22-watt circline fluorescent bulb, the same that my lamp requires. Inside the base of the machine i would substitute the ribbed wire off the plug-in ballast for the original white wire, and the other wire off the plug-in ballast for the black wire. The only thing missing would be the ground wire, which may be obviated by the plug-in ballast. One thing for which I'm not very sure is what to do about a starter plug. If it's possible that the plug-in ballast contains a starter plug, then I'm fine. This is what I'm hoping for. However, even if that is the case, I would still need to know how to connect the female plug that connects to the four prongs of the circline bulb to the two wires coming through the arm of the lamp: one goes directly to the on/off switch, the other is the ribbed wire. The PDF directions show a start-plug that was taken from an adapter with a magnetic ballast (copper wire wrapped around iron). This start-plug has only two wires coming off it. I'd like to use the original female plug on my lamp, which has four wires coming off it: two sets of black and white. Is it possible just to treat each set as one wire or must they cross: the white from one and the white from the other being treated as one wire; and then the same for the black. I have attached a picture of these wires. Thanks, Ed

I think the bonded poly puts down a nicer stitch and will hold up better to oils and conditioners and sunlight and whatever else.

Mike, Your response makes me feel so good. I don't have my pictures yet, but I have attached PDF instructions from a guy who has made a similar repair with the exact same lamp. His instructions gave me the confidence to save these lamps until the day I worked up the nerve to attempt fixing them. Because I was unable to find the circline adapter with a magnetic ballast, as instructed in the PDF, I attempted to order a magnetic ballast fro California. The did not send me a magnetic ballast like the one in the PDF. Instead they sent me a wall wart/plug-in ballast with two wires coming out. I'm thinking that this wall wart might be a better route. I do know that the wall-wart/transformer/plug-in ballast is indeed rated for a 22-watt circline fluorescent bulb. It is actually intended for the LM747 handheld lamp listed on this page: http://www.affordaproducts.com/visualmate.htm The magnetic ballast that I had attempted to order is the BL022 listed on the following page. I received, however, the "22-watt ballast" listed on the same page: http://www.affordaproducts.com/accessories.htm Thank you ever so much, Ed LampFix.pdf LampFix.pdf

I've got two 22-watt circline fluorescent magnifying task lamps. They are very well made but for the electronic ballast, which has burnt out in both. Instead of throwing the lamps out, I decided to try to buy two magnetic ballasts and use them to replace the burnt out electronic ballasts. (Are "ballast" and "transformer" synonymous terms?). I Ordered magnetic ballasts but was sent two plug-in ballasts. Before I send them back, I was thinking that these plug-in ballasts/transformers (which have a magnetic ballast built-in) may work out even better and they were the same price as the magnetic ballasts, anyway. These plug-in ballasts/transformers have two shielded wires coming out and are stripped of 1/4" insulation on the end. Only one of the wires has specs printed on it. I'll post pictures a bit later for clarification. First Question: How do I tell which of the two wires coming out from the ballast/transformer/adapter/wall plug/wall wart is positive and which is negative? Second question: Once I figure out which is positive and which is negative, which one should go directly to the 4-hole plug that fits the four prongs of a 22 watt circline fluorescent bulb, and which should go directly to the on/off switch on the lamp? If the specs that are printed on one of the wires is any indicator of polarity, as long as everything else was constructed to standards, the original lamp wiring has the printed wire going directly to the on/off switch. I know pictures would be much more helpful, and I will post them later. Thanks for the help, Ed

It seems that the rubber mats I originally had in mind are quite heavy and expensive to ship. After two hours of internet searching, I came across EVA dense closed-cell foam matting. http://www.horse.com/Mighty-Light-Stall-Matt-BRM02.html Does anyone know if this EVA foam would work well, or will it be too soft, even though it is used for horse stalls? Might anyone also know of a foam or rubber supplier that sells this as an industrial product rather than a use-specific product. Foam 'n' More and many of the other Michigan-area suppliers don't seem to have it. I'll try McMaster. Ed

Here's a good lead I've just now come across (from an Amazon.com review): A much better alternative is a 4' x 6' x 3/4" thick rubber mat that you can buy from a farm supply store such as Blain's Farm and Fleet or Tractor Supply Co. I can't take credit for this idea. I discovered this when searching the web for a durable mat. This was suggested by many bodybuilders on the bodybuilding dot com website/forum. These rubber mats are called "Horse Stall Mats" or "Cow Stall Mats". These mats are made to last for years of abuse from cows and horses stomping, urinating, and other shtuff. Therefore, they will certainly hold up to exercise equipment, dumbbells/weights being dropped, and human sweat without a problem. I purchased two of these Cow Stall Mats from Farm and Fleet for $39 each. ed

To protect flooring and absorb vibration, I currently have scraps of veg tan underneath each leg of my 441 stand. I've been thinking of replacing these scraps with a thick rubber mat. Does anyone have a good source for such a mat? I was also thinking of using squares cut out from a poundo board, but I think I like the idea of a large, thicker rubber mat more. Thanks

Does anyone know what brand of bonded poly Weaver Leather sells? I usually order Eddington from Campbell Bosworth, but since there are a few things I really need from Weaver, I'd like to place the whole order with Weaver. Thanks, Ed

Zack White Leather has it. I tried a quart but still prefer the 88 or Tandy contact cement. Ed

Weaver leather seems to have the best price on 100 count solid brass and nickled brass chicago screws. If you don't need that many, try Sew What? Supplies. I suppose Tandy has them too. However, I have never seen copper. ed

I love this Danray lamp. I've come to the conclusion that the proper work lamp adds noticeably to productivity. Not having to fiddle with an inferior lamp keeps you in a production rhythm that allows for smoother transitioning to the next piece or stage. It doesn't break your mojo. ed

I've acquired some 1" cocobolo and lignum vitae turning blanks and some basic turning tools. I haven't yet had the time to learn what I need to do the basic turning required, but I have stumbled on something that seems simple enough and very practical: 1. Cut off a 1" section of a 1" dowel. 2. Drill a 1/8" hole down the center to be used for a dremel mandrel. 3. Sand out or cut out a groove of desired width, perhaps one groove per 1" section. I think such a simple tool would work well chucked in a dremel or used by hand. The smallest possible piece of wood would be best for the dremel, though a larger piece would be better for hand burnishing. I've done two of these, but they are very crude. Ed

I was thinking about something like this semi-portable from Sailrite: http://www.sailrite.com/Sailrite-111-in-Po...category=100065 ed

What is the actual purpose of bag kote and tan kote? I've started using bag kote on my logos. It gives a nice lustre to the leather, especially vegetable tans. Over that I still put a coat of Aussie Wax. I've ordered a bottle of tan kote to see how well it works,and I'm assuming it is similar to bag kote but with a glossier finish. ed

I was thinking that the 2600 might be about 80 lbs, something like one of sailrite's heavier machines, which I think is called the sailmaker. ed

I know I should probably ask this question in a woodworking forum, but there's just no place like home. I need to get a drill press vise that aids in drilling holes down the center of cylinders. Pen State Industries has this one: http://www.pennstateind.com/store/DRILLCENT3.html However, for the price, I was hoping to find a vise that is more versatile. Anyone have some suggestions? Thanks, ed

Thanks for the kind comments. This bag is made of 5/6 oz oiled chrome tanned leather. ed

I hate the messiness of dye. Being water-based, does Fiebing's Edge Dye clean up easily from surfaces and skin?