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Monday, July 22, 2013

That Featherweight Light!

Oh, the questions, the excitement, the wonder!

And I was in such a hurry to get the slide show posted the other day before running out to class that I forgot to post the info on this thing!

I love my students – they are a wealth of knowledge, inspiration, and ideas!

And of course they have hubbies that  help with gadgets too :c)

One of our quilters came with this little magnetic gadget on the side of her machine and I came over right away to see what this goodie was all about.

***DISCLAIMER***

Vintage machines are all metal.  They have no computerized parts.  Do NOT put a magnet on a computerized machine!

However, if you find a flashlight that has no magnets, perhaps a bit of velcro could hold it there instead of magnets?

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This is a little LED flash light, found at Harbor Frieght
((Or we think so, according to what our quilter thought she remembered her DH saying))
They come in colors like this blue one – or you can go classic chrome like this:

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Push the button on the end of the flash light and the light is VERY bright!

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The flash light has magnets on the side…and it simply clings itself to the metal faceplate of our Quilter’s Featherweight.

I don’t know what the price is.

I haven’t been to a Harbor Freight to find one.  I’m not 100% sure that he even GOT them at Harbor Freight, but they have to be available at a place like that ---they run on batteries.  I don’t know how long batteries will last, but when the power was out at her house our Quilter was able to sew and sew and sew on her treadle machine for many hours with just this simple solution.

If you happen to go find one at Harbor Freight or anywhere else,  would you drop me a line on the price and location?  I’ll add the info here!

We quilters love gadgets, and this is one I’d like in my travel tool box!

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39 comments:

  1. Cool light! That would be a nice help on featherweights. Love the gadget tips from this group :-)

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  2. We have those lights here, my hubby loves them. He has found them at ACE hardware and Walmart. I think most Lowe's or Home Depots have them as well. Hope this helps you out. My hubby said they are around $3 not a bad price.

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  3. Looks like they're on sale right now for $2.99. Here's the link:
    http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=LED+flashlight

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  4. Every once in awhile they have a coupon that you can get them free with a purchase - I always post their coupons on the garage refrigerator so they are available when we run out the door. I have several of them around. My grandson loves to play with them outside in the dark in the back yard. Now, I have to go find one along with a magnet and try it. The girls at quilting on Wednesday will be so excited!

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  5. I know tractor supply has them also, they are 2/$5.

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  6. Be careful to purchase the ones with magnets!

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  7. how did she run her featherweight without power?

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    1. She was using a treadle when the power was out (you pump it with your feet to make it work - no electricity)!

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  8. THat's why I was gonna ask..maybe the flashlight worked but the machine still had to be plugged in, right?

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    1. She was using a treadle when the power was out (you pump it with your feet to make it work - no electricity)!

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  9. Not sure why you are asking about power to the machine. What has the magnetic light got to do with plugging in the machine???

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    1. How did her magnetic light help her to see when there was no power....when her machine needs power?

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    2. She was using a treadle when the power was out (you pump it with your feet to make it work - no electricity)!

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    3. Third from the last paragraph mentions sewing on a treadle for hours using the light rather than the FW. I had to read the post again to catch that as I had wondered the same thing.

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    4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. Anonymous5:16 PM EDT

    These look like the flashlights that are available at Harbor Freight free with a coupon. What a wonderful tip - I have several of these here and will try this.

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    1. Where did you get the coupon? I need one !

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  11. Anonymous5:20 PM EDT

    Is the FW converted to hand-crank? If not..... it must have been rather slow turning the fly-wheel by hand for 'hours and hours'.

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    1. She was using a treadle when the power was out (you pump it with your feet to make it work - no electricity)!

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  12. I'm not sure about the magnetic part but I've seen flashlights like that at home depot. Cheap!

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  13. In Phoenix Arizona, they're free if you get the mailer! They say the regular price is 6.99. This is at Harbor Freight. We probably have a large handful, all different colors. There are no magnets attached to the light. I'll figure out how it's done!! Very cool with a red light and not having the light bulb on FW burning my hand!

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  14. Thanks for the post! I will be looking for one very soon!!
    Quilters sure do come up with great ideas!!!
    Cindy in NY

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  15. My husband has several of these for use in his shop when he's working on things. It's his third hand. LOL He purchased his from Harbor Freight and I think they were only a couple of dollars each. The expensive part are the batteries.

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  16. Dang, I just ordered the Ikea table light for my sewing. Oh, well, this would be handy for my featherweight and probably weigh less. I'll see you Fri. in Hersey and the Tea.

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  17. Hey... found these

    http://www.harborfreight.com/led-flashlight-mini-2-piece-9-led-3-12-69112.html

    http://www.harborfreight.com/8-led-flashlight-95750.html

    How did he magnetize it?

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  18. Yea...I don't think either of these have magnets. You could get a couple of those adhesive backed Velcro circles and have it like that temporarily. You'd be less likely to scratch your FW face plate with Velcro, too.
    BUT, a FW has a light, so you usually wouldn't need it, unless you just want more light, or your light wasn't working. I think the treadle machine Bonnie mentions above was NOT a FW...but, I don't know for certain. I have magnet lights with long flex-necks for my treadle & hand cranks...works great, and I have used it when the power has gone out.

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  19. I bought a similar one at a Lumber store in my home town for use at the dog park during winter after-work hours. Looks like it has another use for me. :-)

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  20. Oh oh oh! I just love gadgets must have a few of these! Now I need the coupon for a free one!

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    Replies
    1. Who Knew? I opened my Valpak this morning and guess what i had waiting on me? A coupon for a free flashlight! YIPEE!

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  21. For any New Zealand readers of Bonnie's blog a similar version can be found at Mitre 10 in several colours. I bought one yesterday whilst shopping for disaster emergency supplies and remembering the pics from the blog. We had a huge quake on Sunday with aftershocks every few mins since so it brought home we should be prepared, and now I am, I can continue to sew on my treadle if the power goes out!

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  22. Those little flashlights are available nearly everywhere...even drugstores.. and very inexpensive. Not so with the cost of replacement batteries. But I have had to throw 2 flashlights away that the switches would no longer work. They were well used tho!

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  23. The flashlight idea is a terrific idea! Am going to look into getting this setup for my FW

    My FW has the light on the front of the machine. It gets extremely hot to the touch also. Have burned my hand several times. Just might be the way to get around that.

    JulieinTN

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  24. Anonymous11:35 PM EDT

    My husband gets them at Tractor Supply for about $2. He has several and buys them for everybody else. The grandkids love them. Dian

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  25. I use the same for reading in bed after hubby has turned out the lights. He sleeps like a baby and I'm insomnia woman. The LED puts out LOTS of light.
    Thanks for sharing quilting ideas you cncounter.

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  26. This idea sounds great, just got a treadle machine, he looks like your cleo. Was playing with him last night, and realized that are ancestors must of had very strong leg muscles to treadle for hours. Sidney as I now refer to my tradle sits in the living room bay window. When I look at him, he just makes me think of the Mother living on the frm in her dress and of course she has an apron on, and she is sitting at this treadle patching a pair of jeans for her hubby, and thinking that next time the jeans migh just have to get cut up and used in the next quilt she will make.

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  27. Love that idea! Thanks for the tip! :) Vickie

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  28. Darn! And I was JUST at Harbor Freight *yesterday*!!! I'll have to remember that for the next trip! :)

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