As many of you know, I consider a good bench light one of my most important tools. I have a magnifier/light combo that I love- except the switch is going bad. This is the second light of its type I have bought- the first one also went out with a bad switch. I think the guys in Asia who design and build these things are unaware of the high voltage kick from fluorescent light starters, which can fry unprotected switches.
I saw a neat LED fixture in a recent All Electronics flyer, that works on 110 volts. They also featured a power cord with an inline switch. The light was five bucks, the power cord two. With LED lighting there should be no spike to damage the switch. Made a little swivel fixture to mount the LED fixture to the shade of the lamp. Magnifier, counterweight springs and friction knobs stay same. Wired the fixture with the new cord and removed the old cord. Love it! About the same brightness as the fluorescent tube.