500w to 1000w Work Light Mod

If you have ever tried using halogen work lights as low budget film lights you may have noticed that the light output is not as much as you'd like, especially after you diffuse it. Well, I have a solution for you. What I have done is take a 500w work light from Lowes and converted it to use a 1K bulb found in the Mickey-Mole and other pro film lights. While the beam spread may not be as good as the name brand lights, it gets the job done for a fraction of the cost. The total cost for this project is $25.

1. Go to Lowes (or Home Depot) and find a 500w work light ($10). I'm not sure if the light I used is exclusive to Lowes since Home Depot didn't have one.
2. There are two options for a bulb. This one ($10) may be able to go directly into the light without any modification, but I haven't tried it. If you use that bulb, skip to step 7. This is the bulb ($15) I used, which required some extra steps.
3. Since the bulb I used is shorter than the one designed for the work light I have to shorten the bracket. This is what I came up with:

    I made this out of a piece of 1/16" steel. It just took a lot of hammering in a vice.

  4. I then took apart the work light and removed all of the inside parts.

      5. After installing the new bracket and r7s connectors I put the light back together.

      6. To get the bulb to fit well I had to make some cuts on the reflector.

      7. Install the bulb, and there we go, the new light puts out about 2 stops more light!

Note: This projects violates what the fixture says about not using a bulb higher than 500w. Proceed at your own risk. I have used this light for hours at a time without problem, although the light does get VERY hot.

Next Up: I will be writing up how I have modified the work light to make it more film friendly, such as a stinger rope and a TVMP adapter.