12v DC cockpit light dimmer ?

[bubba3884]

I'm rigging some cockpit lighting using a 12v DC converter from an old cassette deck and some 12v bulbs from radio shack.

My question is, what can I use as a dimmer ? - I remember having a cheap old dimmer from a cheap electronic kit when I was a kid, but no one seems to know if its not 120v AC.

[beaky]

Might want to splurge on a new rheostat... eBay is your friend, and Google is very helpful also...

Not sure if you could use a 120V AC dimmer; might have too much resistance.
How about:

Those cheap halogen torchiere lamps that people always throw out when they move (there's one on the sidewalk on every block in any major city at any given time)?
 I think those are low-voltage and the dimmer circuit is post-transformer... usually all that's wrong with discarded floor lamps is that the bulb is burnt out or the super-chintzy structure has failed because the cat touched it.