Shop Lighting
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Tagged: fluorescent, LED, lighting
- This topic has 5 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 5 months ago by leahfj.
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20 September 2015 at 6:06 pm #130703
Good morning,
I’m playing “Musical Garage Corners” trying to stay out of my girlfriend’s way (she’s a tool chick!) but still get enough light and access to my bench. This last shakeup has my bench by the one available window which will provide some light but I’ll still need an over the bench light source.
Ordinarily of course for a garage a nice flat fluorescent fixture would be the way to go but I REALLY hate fluorescent lights and won’t put another one up.
I’m looking at LED fixtures for their energy savings mostly. Has anyone got any experience with them in a shop situation? I’m also interested in light sources that claim to offer “natural spectrum” lights.
Where do you think an overhead source should be located? I had planned on directly over head but that creates some hazard for breaking and I’m kind of famous for not watching where one or more ends of the board are going when I’m moving them. I don’t want to have the light coming over my shoulder I think because that puts my head shadow in my work. But I could put lights just past the far side of the bench and angle them a bit back.
Does anyone else keep a lamp on the bench for a focused light source?
Any thoughts or hard experience with this?
Thanks,
John
John,
I have a desk light that I use sometimes. It is like the one in the attached photo.The round base on my lamp seems to have disappeared so what I have left is a 1/2″ tube at the bottom.
To make this fit on the bench I drilled a couple of 1/2″ holes. This means I can move it either to the left or the right of where I am standing. Right now the holes are in front of where I stand so that the light comes from the front. Sometimes I set it on a stand behind me to either side if that helps.
I use this if I have to do something like dovetails where I need all the light I can get. Otherwise, the lighting I have is a couple of incandescent lights, and they can cast a shadow on what I’m trying to work on.
Working with just this lamp on its own would not be sufficient for everyday use, though. A couple of ceiling mounted lights would be better for general use with the lamp for close work. I’d have the work-space lit up like a surgery though, if I could.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.20 September 2015 at 9:13 pm #130710Thanks Jude. I have a lamp like that on my little sharpening bench along with another light/magnifying glass that I like a lot. Between the two of them I’ve got that part of my shop illuminated just the way I like.
I hesitate to put one on my work bench because I’m sure to slam it until I lay it aside and once it gets to the floor it will take something extraordinary to get me to put it back. That said, I did pick up a small desk lamp so I could focus extra light exactly where I wanted it but this reorganization came along before I tried it out.
I’ve got a heavy duty string of work lights using the brightest of those CFL bulbs I could find as my overhead light source now. It’s very flexible, low cost, low heat solution but clearly a temporary solution.
Thanks for the reply. My eyes are needing more help these days while my wallet is providing less so anything I can learn from someone else’s experience is welcome.
John
I posted a link to some information about shop lighting here: https://woodworkingmasterclasses.com/discussions/topic/workspace-lighting/
That article will explain illumination levels and how to calculate how many fixtures. If you choose LEDS, check the rated number of lumens. The ones I’ve seen are not as bright.
You can find many bulb colors in fluorescents, but if that isn’t an option, that won’t help.
The LED lights in our kitchen have a kind of stroboscopic effect to them. I don’t know why. They are on a dimmer, but even at full brightness I see it. Other LED lights we own do not act this way. I would not be able to tolerate it in a shop.
I recently completed a kitchen renovation and as a last minute decision went with LED fixtures. BEST DECISION I MADE! I replaced 4ft tubes with 4 ft LED fixture and have more light and better light. It also uses 1/3 the power. In a shop situation there is no breaking hazard since they do not have a tube or bulb.
Don’t underestimate the reflected light gained by painting a wall gloss white.Hi John, hopefully you have gotten a light or two by now. I worked for many years doing lighting design and installations. You may want to look at installing two or more lights to hit the “task” from different angles. The specifics of your issue will be different than everyone else in minor ways but the principles will be the same.
IF you look at an outdoor recreation field you will see the players will have several shadows following them around the field. This may be better than one shadow (from your head) if you place the light source directly overhead. IF your chisels are really sharp you do want to see where the pointy part is going. ;>)
As to the natural spectrum issue. I would be cautious of any sales rep stating he/she has full natural spectrum lamps. Take a quick look online at ‘visible light spectrum’ you will see a LOT of results. Usually LED’s or fluorescents will have a colour temperature rating (3000k 5000k) k standing for degrees Kelvin.
Good luck
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