Light for a Brush Trimmer

I have a pretty decent sized lawn with a long fence line to trim along and plenty of bushes and other stuff, so i don't always finish in one day, In fact, I rarely finish in one day. There is always something that didn't get mowed/trimmed. I live out in the country with neighbours several acres away so I don't have to worry much about noise after dark, But you can't trim in the dark... Or can you?

This instructable will let you do just that. a major benefit is you won't be trimming out in the hot sun.

So, Grab a few inexpensive supplies and follow along as I rewrite the rules of brush trimming.

Step 1: You're Going to Need Some Things.

The tools/supplies for this build are:

1:Solder

2:Flux

3:Soldering iron

4:Heatshrink (Electrical tape will work.)

5: An LED "Puddle" light: https://www.amazon.com/iJDMTOY-Power-Bolt-Parking-... is what I used. Cheap, super bright, and you get 2!

6:A 9 volt battery

7:A 9 volt battery hookup.

8:An old trimmer handle. I see them all the time at the sides of the road and often at the dump. https://www.amazon.com/Poulan-Craftsman-Replacemen... will also work very well.

Not in photos:

1:pair of diagonal cutters

2:Electrical Tape

3: drill w/ 3/8 drill bit.

4: Heatgun, match, or lighter.

That's it. Let's build the things.

Step 2: Handle Prep

You're going to want to drill the hole in the handle and feed the wire through and attach the nut first.

Otherwise you'll end up abusing your 9 volt clip like I did.

I used a 3/8 drill bit and had to thread the light through it, twisting it like a screw until it bottomed out.

You can avoid this by wiggling the bit slightly as you drill. Bear in mind that the handle I used had a hollow spot in it and that may cause you to drill crooked. once the LED is attached to the handle, we can move on to the next step.

Step 3: Soldering.

Strip the wires so that they are staggered. this will prevent you from having to heat shrink the individual wires.

Slip the heat shrink over the wires and use the flux, soldering iron, and solder, to solder the wires together. If you have no experience soldering there is an excellent instructable on that here: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solder/

Pull your heatshrink up to cover the bare wires and shrink it down with heatgun, match, or lighter.

Step 4: Attaching the Handle and Securing the Battery.

In this case, attaching the handle is as simple as pushing it onto the bar and setting the carriage bolt in place, then tightening a wingnut over it. Simple, and secure. You DO NOT want to drill any holes in the shaft of your trimmer. If you do it you WILL ruin the trimmer.

Since I don't want this light on my trimmer all the time, I simply tape the battery in place and wrap the wire around the shaft to keep it from hanging loose.

To turn on the light, just clip the 9 volt clip to the 9 volt battery.
I'm not sure how long this will run, but I've gotten an hour out of it so far, and it still seems pretty bright.

Step 5: Go Trimming in the Dark!

Yep. That's it. Now you can trim in the dark.

This IS at your own risk of course, If you are unfamiliar with the terrain, it could be very dangerous. And pictured here is a brush blade, I advise against that too. Stick with the string head and you should be fine.

Adding this didn't add a noticeable amount of weight for me, But my professional trimmer is quite heavy on its own.

It has improved our yard though and keeps the fence much clearer than before. And the bonus of trimming in the cool night cannot be oversold, it is GREAT! no more sweating like crazy under the hot sun squinting through fogged up safety glasses as sweat runs into my eyes. Hope you enjoyed this instructable! Remember to vote please!