Modifying a microphone stand into a flash&umbrella stand

I brought the microphone stand from home where it had been lying on the storage for a long time. I've had this idea in my mind for a some time now and after doing the umbrella modification I decided to finish it finally.

I cut two (9 cm and 4 cm) pieces of 20 mm by 3 mm aluminum and two 2 cm wide pieces of L-shaped 3 mm thick aluminum and drilled the needed holes to them. I covered all the large surfaces with black hockey tape to give it a nicer look and to get more friction between the moving parts so they stay better in place.

The stand is quite heavy for this purpose and takes a lot of space so it is a good partner for the uncollapsible umbrella ;) Anyway, it is very handy when I need a flash stand inside because I dont have other stands right now.