Workshop lights

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Drcal

Drcal

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2009
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175
Location
Tampa, Florida
Does anyone use any shop lights other than the typical long tube fluorescents?

I need some additional lighting and don't want any more of the tubes.

Ideas?

Thanks

Carmen
 
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Depends on what you want to do, if working on the lathe then task lighting good but lots of it. If for the shop overhead then fluorescent is still the best bet, but you need to go with T5 type and you will have all the light you could imagine.

Lin.
 
Fluorescent lights are good lights but not the cheap big box store lights. My shop is about 24x24 and I have 2 rows of 8' two tube fixtures. They are T12 high output with a total of 8 bulbs. They are spaced about 4' from the outside walls. They provide a lot of light. I still have a cheap halagen work light over my lathe.

Something else that I did was to paint the walls white that also makes a huge difference. My bulbs are about 8 years old now and I need to replace them not looking forward to that as they are not cheap but well worth the cost.

Mike
 
I read that the bulbs for my 4 foot fluorescent lights are no longer being made and there is a new style that will require installing a $20.00 kit or buying new lights. I have ten of them out there and will have to phase them in I guess.
 
I have a 4' T8 fixture over my primary work bench, and several additional conventional porcelain fixtures with 1600 lumen CFLs as general area lighting.

My lathe has a built-in worklight that I've equipped with an 800 lumen CFL. This fixture is mounted to the headstock, and positioned so that it is above and slightly behind the spindle I have a second 800 lumen CFL in an aluminum reflector that is clipped to a shelf about a foot to the right of the tailstock. This combination provides ample light on the lathe itself, but with enough directionality that I usually see defects in the surface of a workpiece on the lathe.
 
wouldentu2? said:
I read that the bulbs for my 4 foot fluorescent lights are no longer being made and there is a new style that will require installing a $20.00 kit or buying new lights. I have ten of them out there and will have to phase them in I guess.
Click to expand...
That is Only the T12 lamps.

Lin.
 
I bought a LED desk lamp and set it on the table behind my lathe. IT gives off great lighting and focused on my work area. spent $20 on it, like it so well I bought another for my counter area. Next for me is goingto wone of those great big magnafying glass wiht LED lights around it for my counter area.

Phil
 
In Australia, we operate at 240V 60Hz AC power supply, and while I haven't seen the effects with Pen turning, I have witnessed on larger turnings a "Stroboscopic Effect" similar to the old Western Movies, where the Wagon Wheels suddenly would appear to rotate in reverse.
I am not aware if the USA 110V 50Hz demonstrates the same effect.
I had been told that fluorescent lights contribute to this effect.
I am not technical in that sphere and have no reason as to why, However Dr Google has this to say
Stroboscopic effect in Fluorescent Lamps
1. "en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroboscope‎
o A strobe light flashing at the proper period can appear to freeze or reverse cyclical ... is caused by temporal aliasing, commonly known as the stroboscopic effect. ... so that when viewed under fluorescent lighting powered at mains frequency, ..."

It is very off putting to perceive that the object you are about to put your Turning tool against, is going the wrong direction.
So I tend to use Halogen, LED, or Incadescent lighting at my working area.
Brian.
 
OZturner said:
I had been told that fluorescent lights contribute to this effect.
I am not technical in that sphere and have no reason as to why, However Dr Google has this to say
Stroboscopic effect in Fluorescent Lamps
1. "en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroboscope‎
o A strobe light flashing at the proper period can appear to freeze or reverse cyclical ... is caused by temporal aliasing, commonly known as the stroboscopic effect. ... so that when viewed under fluorescent lighting powered at mains frequency, ..."
Click to expand...

First, the power supply frequency in the US is 60Hz, and I believe it is 50Hz in Australia.

But Brian is correct that fluorescent lights sometimes cause a stroboscopic effect. Fluorescent lights are discontinuous light sources that flash at the frequency of the voltage applied to the lamp. So conventional fluorescent tubes naturally flash at the frequency of the power supply (60Hz in North America). That stroboscopic effect can cause objects that are rotating at a multiple of the 60Hz speed to appear stationary. For that reason, conventional fluorescent lights are fine for area lighting, but are not recommended for task lighting around conventional power tools where the speed of rotation is also related to line frequency.

Modern COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMPS (CLFs) don't operate at line frequency. Instead, there is a small power converter in the plastic base of the lamp that produces a higher frequency voltage. As a result, the inherent discontinuity is at a much higher frequency. So using CFLs as task lights around conventional power tools is not a problem. However, there is still a potential concern with power tools that operate at speeds that are much higher than the 'synchronous speed' of the power system - 3600 r/min in North America, 3000 r/min in Australia etc. - such as air-powered tools or tools powered from DC or variable-frequency power supplies.

Incidentally, line-frequency fluorescent lights can also cause headaches when they are the primary source of light in situations where people are doing intense work such as traditional drafting. I once worked in an engineering office that had installed 60-400Hz motor generator sets to supply 400Hz lighting for their drafting rooms to avoid that problem. Obviously, the advent of CAD has made that problem go away.

Incandescent and LED sources are continuous and don't have a stroboscopic effect.
 
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I believe having my workshop area covering a largish space that as an electrician myself it lights up all over fairly brightly covering far more places than necessary I observed recently depreciation setting in on fittings etc having installed three phase early a fair mix of voltages in running motors etc.

In the planning stages if new starting I would have covering light and lots of smaller lights where you most need it depending on your age at 79 I need more for some tasks than others.

Lots of good advice so far but best not to stint on new techno lighting fittings etc.

Have fun seek friendly help cover safety angles with expert advice on power requirements legalities for insurances etc.

Kind regards Peter.
 
I just happened on these brushed nickel clamp-on LED lamps in Lowes. They run $17-20. Because Lowes' website is poorly organized, I can't give you a link. Sorry. Showed them to people in my woodturning club. After that, the club bought one for each of our lathes, and a lot of the guys bought multiples for their own shops. They give great light, and are VERY durable. Note the picture of the one that I had mounted, insecurely, on my band saw. In the middle of sawing, it came off and chattered along the blade until the saw dug further into it. Like a Timex watch, it "took a licking and kept on ticking!" Still works fine. Now I put a couple of pieces of anti-slide under-carpet material between the jaws to help get a better grab. The lights really are great. Russ
 

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I had 4, 4ft fluorescent fixtures in when I bought the house, replaced the ballasts and tubes and they all failed within a year. Rewired the lights about 3 years ago and put in regular fixtures with 150W equivalent curly q flourescents and haven't had a failure since. Also have a few swing arm lamps with the same bulbs for specific task lighting. Since they have mercury in them I figure I will ship them to our local politicians that are pushing us to replace the regular lights with them. Figure that will cost less than to drive to the nearest hazardous waste disposal depot.
 
lorbay said:
Depends on what you want to do, if working on the lathe then task lighting good but lots of it. If for the shop overhead then fluorescent is still the best bet, but you need to go with T5 type and you will have all the light you could imagine.

Lin.
Click to expand...
I agree, go to HD and look at the difference between the T5 and all the others.
Tim
 
If you just want task lighting over the lathe, I have a shelf and bar with 4 of the cheap smaller reflector clamp lights. I mounted CFL's in the lights so the heat isn't a problem.
 
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