Do Not Disturb Reading Light

I waken during the night. If I do not fall asleep again in a short while, I get up and make a good use of my time awake. I looked into reading lights that would not waken my wife. I decided I could do as well by using what I had on hand.

• Scrap 16 gauge sheet metal
• LED worklight/flashlight
• Shoe lace or cord

This is the current version of an LED worklight/flashlight that can be found at Harbor Freight stores and many other places. The current price on Harbor Freight’s web site is 99 cents. It uses three AAA batteries for power. A button on the front activates a switch. The version shown is just a little different from the one I have, but basically the same. A magnet on the back holds it on any steel surface.

My reading light does not provide even illumination over a whole page. The hot spot is not as stark as the photo would lead one to believe. But, I also find it very easy to place the hot spot where I am reading at the moment. I find it a very satisfactory reading experience. Read reviews of commercially available reading lights and they do not always provide even lighting for a whole page, either.

Update: I did buy one of the new style lights shown in the previous step. It illuminates more widely and more evenly without a hot spot.

The photo shows my reading light turned over. Its background is a cutting grid my wife uses for sewing projects. The squares are one inch in size.

I used a scrap piece of 16 gauge steel that formed a long, narrow right triangle. I needed to convert it to an isosceles triangle. I drew a centerline from the point of the right triangle to the base line of it. I used a square to draw a new baseline perpendicular to the centerline and trimmed the right triangle to make it an isosceles triangle.

I trimmed excess from the top or point end of the triangle and bent a right angle to fit under the light when it rests on my chest. I made another right angle bend where the sheet steel crests the top of the light. See the second photo. After you are finished, adjust the second bend as needed so the light points where you want it when in use and resting on your chest.

I drilled a hole in each corner at the base of the steel triangle and attached the end of a shoe lace long separated from the shoes on which it was once to be used. Adjust the length to fit you. Secure the ends of the lace with knots.

You will find this reading light works quite satisfactorily, especially after some practice using it. I use it down a hall and around a corner from where my wife is sleeping. I do not think I would try using it while she is sleeping next to me in bed. It is about the brightness of a tablet screen.