gketell
Local Chapter Leader
I bought several of the LED shop lights that are available from Rockler/Woodcraft/Peachtree/etc.
This light is a 7 LED system and I found it to be too blue and not very bright. I decided I would try to fix this myself and I ordered some new LEDs and whipped out my soldering iron.
The first set of photos has both the original light and my modified light mounted next to each other on the lathe and pointed at the garage door 8 feet away.
First with no lights:
Then the stock light:
Now the new version:
And finally both:
Notice how the new version is brighter, wider, and less blue.
Now for some photos "in use". These are mounted on the lathe pointing to the same "relative" area of a maple bowl chucked up 2 feet away.
No lights:
Original light:
New light:
And finally both:
You can really see the wider spread of light. It is also brighter and yellower, although the photo really doesn't show that well.
Lastly, a few photos to compare the newer, stronger LED to a relatively modest 20w CFL in a cheap reflector.
First no lights (very dark so I could leave the camera settings alone between shots):
Then with the LED:
Then just the CFL:
Lastly both lights:
You can see that the LED light is much brighter but has a much much narrower beam.
I think the LED light would be good on a drill press or scroll saw where you only need a little spot of light but on something like a lathe where you want the entire piece you are working on lit up, the CFL is the better choice.
If you have some of these LED lights and want to replace the LEDs to get a brighter, wider, and more pleasing color you can go to "SuperBrightLEDs.com" and order 7 of the RL5-WW15030 LEDs at $0.99 each.
I hope this helps someone.
This light is a 7 LED system and I found it to be too blue and not very bright. I decided I would try to fix this myself and I ordered some new LEDs and whipped out my soldering iron.
The first set of photos has both the original light and my modified light mounted next to each other on the lathe and pointed at the garage door 8 feet away.
First with no lights:
Then the stock light:
Now the new version:
And finally both:
Notice how the new version is brighter, wider, and less blue.
Now for some photos "in use". These are mounted on the lathe pointing to the same "relative" area of a maple bowl chucked up 2 feet away.
No lights:
Original light:
New light:
And finally both:
You can really see the wider spread of light. It is also brighter and yellower, although the photo really doesn't show that well.
Lastly, a few photos to compare the newer, stronger LED to a relatively modest 20w CFL in a cheap reflector.
First no lights (very dark so I could leave the camera settings alone between shots):
Then with the LED:
Then just the CFL:
Lastly both lights:
You can see that the LED light is much brighter but has a much much narrower beam.
I think the LED light would be good on a drill press or scroll saw where you only need a little spot of light but on something like a lathe where you want the entire piece you are working on lit up, the CFL is the better choice.
If you have some of these LED lights and want to replace the LEDs to get a brighter, wider, and more pleasing color you can go to "SuperBrightLEDs.com" and order 7 of the RL5-WW15030 LEDs at $0.99 each.
I hope this helps someone.
