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I finally got around to adapting this great idea to my Ultrapod tripod and Photon Micro Light.
I went to the hardware store (Lowes) in search of the lightest 1/4-20 nut I could find. I was hoping to find an aluminum nut and had forgotten all about nylon or Delrin threaded parts. What I found was a nylon nut and it was fairly deep too -- that is a good thing.
I was thinking about using JB Weld epoxy, but I had used a Loctite brand of super glue that is a two- part product with an activator and the glue. It is made specifically for joining plastic. It works great on things like sunglasses, so I went with the super glue (Loctite 01-07011). I spread activator on the bottom of the Photon light and one side of the nylon nut, waited 30 seconds, and applied a drop of the super glue on the bottom of the nut. Taking care to get the nut centered on the Photon, I held the parts together for 30 seconds and I had a Micro Light with a tripod mount.
As you can see from the photo, the nuts don't weigh much: 3 nuts won't register on my 0.10 ounce graduated postal scale. The nut is deep enough to take all the threads of the tripod screw. This is a good thing as the screw won't push against the bottom of the light and possibly pop it off the nut. The screws on the Photon are still fully accessible for battery changes and I'm happy to see that the nut actually aids in operating the lamp rather than getting in the way. The nut makes it easier to grip the lamp and operate the sliding lock for the switch. Using it with the tripod is easy enough: screw them together and point the light where you want it. Thanks to Tim Garner (slowhike)for the inspiration!
 3 of the 1/4-20 nuts don't equal 0.10oz!
 The Photon Micro Light with a nylon 1/4-20 nut, the Loctite 2 part Super Glue and the Ultrapod tripod.
 The nut is simply glued to the bottom of the Photon Micro Light.
 Here is a close-up of the lamp mounted on the tripod.
 Here's the combination in action. It has a nice pool of light for reading, cooking, or making repairs.
In use, you can stick the Ultrapod in the your shirt pocket or the vee of your neck zipper to illuminate your hands or a book or use the Velcro strap on the tripod to wrap it to a trekking pole, branch, etc.
Edited by dwambaugh on 09/01/2006 17:48:58 MDT.
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