Carson Magni Lamp For Small Projects By KLKwid on Jan 16, 2009 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

Well, my boss was at it again-any time he comes up with any kind of project that requires any sort of artistic skills, I get to do it. That's fine by me because I love to do that sort of thing! His newest project required very tiny cuts to a very thin film of metal foil in an intricate design for a "science project" of his, as I like to call them. In order to get these cuts smaller and smaller as I progressed to the very tiny work, I needed a magnifying lens to help me steady my hand and be as accurate as possible. I headed to Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite hang outs!), and I purchased the MagniLamp, mostly because it was a table top item (not around the neck like some of the pieces), and it had a light.

Overall, it is an OK item. It is relatively sturdy, the base is big enough to hold the lens up, and the light is handy to have. The base, however, is thick and a C shape, making it hard to work around for tiny cutting. The lens is a good size and DOES help by magnifying 2x in the main lens and 4x in the smaller bifocal lens inside the main lens. The light is fairly dim and doesn't help too much, but it is handy to have. The unit itself is a modest 6 or so inches tall when in place, and the lens is about 4 inches in diameter.

I guess this is OK for small projects-I wouldn't get it as a graphics tool, though. I think $19 is a little overpriced, but Hobby Lobby ALWAYS has sales where you take off 20-70% off regular items, so I'm sure you can get a much better deal on this than I did.