High Power LED Torch /Flashlight From Junk

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This straightforward project reuses a broken dust buster that would have been thrown in land fill. I had a Makita dust buster vacuum that stopped working, and I was going to repair it, but after I pulled it apart it was obvious it was not worth fixing. So with a cheap LED driving light and a bit of time the dust buster is now an excellent rechargeable LED torch. After I built it my friend was so impressed he wanted one too, so he made another one with a square LED driving light

Supplies

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You won't need much just an LED driving light a screwdriver, drill a hole saw some plastic and a soldering iron, some shrink wrap is also useful.

Driving light

Assess the Damage

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I was going to repair the dust buster but, the motor and the fan were both melted and the parts are unavailable, so what to do? Seem like a wast as Makita makes so great 18volt tools with removable battery, so I decided a torch would be easy enough and quite useful

Fitting the LED Light

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I just gutted the motor and fan from the case and cut a couple of large washes with a hole saw from an old plastic barrel. They call them cherry barrels in Australia, they are great for all sorts of projects. Next, I put the light in the end and test-fitted everything to see if there were going to be any problems. It was a perfect fit.

My Friends Build

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The other dust buster had the square LED driving light it was mounted just the same but the dust catcher part was cut to make a cover for the light. the cover made the torch look a little better, and help protect the LED from damage if dropped.

Wiring

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The wiring is straightforward just 2 wires from the old motor go onto the LED light. Just check the polarity is correct or the LED won't work. A bit of solder, some shrink wrap and a cable tie to stop the cable from being pulled out of the housing, and you're done. I've found most LED driving lights will work on any voltage from 10-30 volts, so 18 volts it works great.

Reassemble and Test

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The trigger switch needs to go back in and then the case can be screwed back on, I added a cable tie to the handle so the torch can be left switched on by moving the tie onto the trigger.

All done the torch is very bright and lasts for ages on a single charge, Also kept most of the dust buster out of the landfill.