Custom Clear Indicators
I'm not really happy with the look of the orange indicators in the front apron, and after an extensive search, found that no clear indicators are avaliable for the AE101 Levin.
So I decided to make my own.....
Here is how I did it.
First of all, I needed to obtain a suitable material for the new lens. I found that the diffusive panel used for fluoruescent light fittings would work quite well. Being an electrician, this stuff is quite easy to come by for little to no cost.
This is the stuff. The lenses will be lined up with the direction of the pattern, so the squares run parallel to the length of the lens. The panels come in various sizes, but the most common is about 300mm x 1200mm or so. Enough to make a good 10 lenses if I'm careful with how I cut them out.
The next step was to pull the original lens apart. I set the oven to 150 deg.C and stuck the lens in on a piece of non stick paper for 5-10 minutes or so. This softened the sealant used to attach the ens to the body of the light and allowed me to pull it apart with minimal effort.
Once I had it apart, I stuck a piece of the diffusive panel in and let it soften for 10 minutes. Once it was all floppy, I took it out and moulded it over the original lens and let it go hard. I moulded it so the bumpy side of the new lens was facing inwards, to give a smooth finish to the outside of the lens.
Oh, don't forget to wear gloves. Hot plastic hurts...
The next step was to cut the shape out. I traced around the old lens and took to the diffuser with a bench grinder. I found the bench grinder makes short work of the plastic and leaves a reasonable edge. I also found the bench grinder is very good at flicking molten plastic on bare feet...
I then polished the edges on the polishing wheel to make it all smooth and shiny.
Time for a test fit.
I installed the indicator housing without the lens and installed the lens on top. I'll have to modify the lens a little to allow the screw to screw in properly and the other side to clip in nicely.
Apart from that, it's starting to look pretty good!
I think the edges of the housing will have to be painted silver before the lens is glued in, so that orange border isn't seen. I didn't have an orange globe either, so the photo is just with a normal globe. Maybe LED's are in order??
I'll be making a new set of lenses, as the one shown above was only a prototype. I still have to work out exactly how I will stick it to the body of the light fitting and how I'll go about the screw hole without cracking the new lens. The diffuser plastic is quite brittle and can crack easily, so a bit of experimentation is needed.