Hi All,
I had to install 8 foot lights by myself. I needed a tool to hold the lights in place. Originally I was going to use a shower curtain with a spring tensioner on the the end of a pole but you can't buy them anymore -- they are all a twist style with no spring these days.
So looking around the shop I came up with an idea. I took a 1 x 2 and drilled a hole about 1 1/2 inches up from the bottom. I passed a rope through that hole. Then I slid the 1 x 2 inside a piece of 2 1/2" PVC I had laying around. I tied one end of the rope to the top of the pvc (drilled a hole for tieing it). You can see where its tied off on the right side of the PVC.
The other end I attached to one of those clamps that closes as you squeeze the trigger handle. I drilled another hole in the 1 x 2 and passed a wire through it and tied off the opposite jaw of the clamp - so it served as an anchor.
When I squeezed the handle the jaws would close and it would pull on the rope and lift the 1 x 2 out of the PVC making the whole mechanism longer.
I was able to hold the light in place with one hand, with the other hand I would position the tool and squeeze the handle until the 1 x 2 pressed the light against the ceiling. It had enough pressure that I could let go and let it stand by itself...adjust each end of the light for alignment and then screw the light in place.
It worked so well I could have walked away and got lunch and it would still have been holding the light tight against the ceiling. To say it worked awesome was an understatement. Thought I'd share the idea since so many people probably have the same stuff laying around.
I know you can buy a tool for about $40 but this was free and I didn't have to order the tool.
I forgot to mention - you can untie the rope from the pvc and shorten the rope if you need to increase the total height of the mechanism...that way you can adjust it to work within the amount of travel your clamp provides and get the right amount of tension depending on your ceiling height.
I had to install 8 foot lights by myself. I needed a tool to hold the lights in place. Originally I was going to use a shower curtain with a spring tensioner on the the end of a pole but you can't buy them anymore -- they are all a twist style with no spring these days.
So looking around the shop I came up with an idea. I took a 1 x 2 and drilled a hole about 1 1/2 inches up from the bottom. I passed a rope through that hole. Then I slid the 1 x 2 inside a piece of 2 1/2" PVC I had laying around. I tied one end of the rope to the top of the pvc (drilled a hole for tieing it). You can see where its tied off on the right side of the PVC.
The other end I attached to one of those clamps that closes as you squeeze the trigger handle. I drilled another hole in the 1 x 2 and passed a wire through it and tied off the opposite jaw of the clamp - so it served as an anchor.
When I squeezed the handle the jaws would close and it would pull on the rope and lift the 1 x 2 out of the PVC making the whole mechanism longer.
I was able to hold the light in place with one hand, with the other hand I would position the tool and squeeze the handle until the 1 x 2 pressed the light against the ceiling. It had enough pressure that I could let go and let it stand by itself...adjust each end of the light for alignment and then screw the light in place.
It worked so well I could have walked away and got lunch and it would still have been holding the light tight against the ceiling. To say it worked awesome was an understatement. Thought I'd share the idea since so many people probably have the same stuff laying around.
I know you can buy a tool for about $40 but this was free and I didn't have to order the tool.
I forgot to mention - you can untie the rope from the pvc and shorten the rope if you need to increase the total height of the mechanism...that way you can adjust it to work within the amount of travel your clamp provides and get the right amount of tension depending on your ceiling height.
Attachments
Last edited: