Happy Fun Hat Light

January 13, 2009

If you work with your hands, as opposed to your brain, feet, lips or other appendages, you have probably had the need to shed light on whatever you are working on. Then again, if you want a shed light, just go to Home Depot and  buy one. The problem with busy hands however, is how are you going to use  your hands to illuminate the work when your hands are busy…uh… you know..working?   You could use the sun  provided you were working in the daylight. You could use the moon though it is difficult to see in the daytime and not always present at night.

The solution of course is some sort of a hands free light.  Hands free as in  “look Ma, no hands!”  The  Germans say, “Look Ma, no Hans”.  Anyway, there are many types and kinds of hands free lights. We already mentioned the sun and the moon (yeah, I know the moon isn’t really a light)  but there are others ( lights that is,  not moons, there is only one moon)  as well.  There are head lamps which are usually some form of light on an elastic band that fits around one’s head.  Flashlight holders that hold small flashlights on one’s hat or on a band around one’s head. Your thirteen year old could hold a flashlight for you if he/she is not too busy playing video games.  Heck, you may as well duct tape a Mag-Light to your head or hold a candle in your teeth than try on depend a thirteen year old kid to help you.  There are also lights that clip onto the bill of one’s cap.  The latter,  in my opinion, being the most practical unless you don’t have a cap, or a bill, or a light.

If however you are like me, or even if  you just like me, or don’t like me, I don’t care. I have a low cost solution for all you light challenged individuals.  The solution of course is the happy fun hat light. It is cheap, easy to make, looks cool in a geeky sort of way and most importantly it sheds light on all your inadequacies.

Here is how to make one…

Get yourself a hat (steal it from your worthless kid when he/she is playing video games), a light, some scissors, and some hook and loop sticky tape stuff. I can’t say VELCRO because VELCRO is a specific copyrighted and trademarked brand.  The hook and loop stuff is similar to VELCRO, in a hook and loop sort of VELCRO way.  Oh, for Pete’s sake,  if you want VELCRO just buy VELCRO!

By the way, Pete’s suggestion for a light is this little LED key chain light from dealextreme.com . http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1253 They are quite bright and you can get 10 of them for less than $5.00. Use one for your hat.  Put the rest on all your key chains.  Give them to friends and relatives. Don’t forget  Pete, he needs one. Give one to Hans as well if you can find him. Maybe he is out in the shed.   Hand them out at Halloween if you want, why would I care?  Or you could just use the duct tape and Mag-Light.

Dealextreme.com  is in China and ships by the proverbial slow boat. Plan ahead and make sure all your dark projects are done during the daytime or in well lit areas while you are waiting for that slow boat from China to arrive. By the way, they are available in a variety of designer colors.

In the mean time, cut your hook and loop fasteners into little pieces. When you get your light, stick one of the hook pieces on the light and the loop pieces on the hat. If you are in Australia, put the hook piece on the hat and the loop on the light.  I personally like to place my lights under the rim to protect them from rain, snow, meteors and the like. You can just stick yours anywhere you want like on that thirteen year old bum in your house.

The end result is a happy fun hat light at a bargin price which will enlighten your perspective, help you find Hans, cure warts, and make you devilishy attractive to moths.

Posted in Do-it-yourself