# your workshop - whats the best lighting?



## [email protected] (9 Mar 2008)

I'm really interested in how people light their work areas as having good light is bound to be conducive to doing better work.  

I read an article tonight that suggested lighting the ceiling as well as the rest of the space is a good thing as a dark ceiling tends to be foreboding - I thought this was an interesting one. :roll: 

Flourescent tubes seem to be the favourites as they cast alot of bright light and are cheap to run.

Does anyone use other lighting to good effect like haloghen spots/ downlighters etc? Has anyone changed their old lighting and got a vast improvement?

Finally, re. my other post - a few people are using Sodium lights (SON lighting) that apparently give an incredibly bright light but I don't think they are commonplace in workshop situations judging by the response so far :lol:


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## Harbo (10 Mar 2008)

I am afraid my workshop is my garage so if the weather is bad or at night there is no natural light at all!  
So I have lots of fluorescent tubes (4, 5 and 6 footers) which I have acquired over the years fixed to the ceiling at various working locations. I also supplement these with a few spot lamps when I need extra light.
I keep meaning to replace the tubes with daylight ones but have not bought any yet as the tubes seem to last and last. 
Not the best arrangement but I have to make do with what I've got.

Rod


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## beejay (10 Mar 2008)

A total of 6 fluorescent tubes in my workshop, all daylight and they produce an excellent light to work in.
I also use one of those little adjustable LED lights, as supplied by Craft Supplies, when Im working on the lathe.
regards, beejay


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## PowerTool (10 Mar 2008)

Fluorescent tubes,and walls painted white.Also have an adjustable lamp for the lathe.

Andrew


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## woodbloke (10 Mar 2008)

I have four double 5' tubes for the main lighting and another 4' tube over the bench as well as lots of big windows for natural daylight. I've also painted the ceiling white which helps as it reflects light back into the 'shop and I've got some clip-on spots (difficult to get hold of now from the main sheds anyway) in strategic positions ie two on the bench, one on the sharpening table, one on the lathe and one on my dark and dingy metalwork corner
Incidentally, placing the bench under a window isn't a good idea IMO as *too* much natural daylight falls on the bench surface and you tend to get a lot of glare, 'specially in the summer months - Rob


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## Philly (10 Mar 2008)

Matt
I have three double 6 foot tube fittings, and have two angle poise lamps at either end of my bench. I also have "detail" lamps at some of my machinery.
Painting the walls white is a great help - keeps the place bright and clean looking.
Hope this helps
Philly


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## misterfish (10 Mar 2008)

I've got four double 5ft flourescent lamps along the ridge of my workshop and lighting track with moveable GU10 spotlights around most fo the walls and also over the tablesaw/outfeed table..

The main flourescents give an excellent light. The spotlights with halogen GU10 bulbs give a good bright spot area where I'm working. I have tried replacing the GU10 halogen lamps with low energy flourescents which give a more diffuse light at what seems a lower brightness.

The track system lets me set up the lights where I'm working to suit the job in hand.

Misterfish


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## jonbikebod (10 Mar 2008)

Over my bench I have halogen light bulbs with conical metal shades. These also protect the bulbs a bit should I accidentally hit one with a length of wood….
An anglepoise on the bench fitted with a spot type bulb is invaluable not just for highlighting critical areas but also for casting a shadow to show up knife marks etc. This alone improved the accuracy of work and goes a long way to compensate for eyeballs not being as young as they were. This was one of the many useful tips picked up on David Charlesworth’s courses and I hope he doesn’t regard it as a trade secret…
I also have fluorescents for background lighting for the rest of the workshop.
Positionable filament lamps at all machines so you can really see what you are doing, there is also a safety question here as general fluorescent light can ‘strobe’ a blade at certain speed making them appear static when running. This is particularly relevant to me because I am deaf have been known wander off, deep in thought, forgetting to switch machines off… 
Jon.


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## Paul Chapman (10 Mar 2008)

I have fluorescent lights for general lighting and an old photographic lamp on a stand with a metal reflector which can be moved about for more directional lighting. Remember to wipe the sawdust off lights from time to time - it's surprising how much a build-up of dust reduces the light levels. 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## gidon (10 Mar 2008)

I have a main fluorescent tube, plus two standard ceiling mounted 100w bulbs plus an angle poise lamp plus a clip on lamp plus a window and glass door. Still not enough light. When I ever get round to my new workshop think I'd go for lots of fluorescent tubes - for the reasons you give. 
Cheers
Gidon


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## Adam (10 Mar 2008)

I fitted four sets of double 6 foot. The "office" style ones that only display downwards. A) Becuase they were free, & B) It protects the lamps when you are swinging long bits of timber around. They have saved me from a glass shower on several occasions now. :shock: 

Adam


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## head clansman (10 Mar 2008)

Hi Matt

if you can when you design this over sized shed of yours LOL . Build in to it as many windows as you can nothing compares to natural light , (just noticed robs comments on that) Nothing compares with natural light work out the direction of the sun place the windows in the right place you wont get any problems, place you bench where it get as much natural light as possible . You don't want dazzling sun in your face whilst working .

When sighting lights i use as most people do basically because of cost or there given second hand one's fluorescent lights ,normally I place them directly over head or place them so they don't throw a shadow when & where your working on something that requires it to be accurate if it does throw a shadow place another on the opposite side to remove any shadow.

I have one double and three large single no where near enough but enough for now to get started , when i start to fit out my shop with the machine that i want then I'll increase my numbers of light and place them over machinery so they don't throw shadows for safety reason


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## Adam (10 Mar 2008)

mjmpropman":1j88dukd said:


> Build in to it as many windows as you can nothing compares to natural light , (just noticed robs comments on that) Nothing compares with natural light work out the direction of the sun place the windows in the right place you wont get any problems, place you bench where it get as much natural light as possible . You don't want dazzling sun in your face whilst working



However if you, like me, work and have a family you will find the majority of the time you spend woodworking is in the evening under lights. I put a series of windows in my workshop as a token effort but I assumed I'd be working under lights 99% of the time and made a decent effort to get plenty of lights in there, and have found its eaxctly as predicted - most workshop time is in the evenings.

Adam


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## head clansman (10 Mar 2008)

Hi Adam
I'm now retired , we always used natural light when ever possible, we also used lights during daylight hrs for the reason i gave to eliminate shadow for safety reasons mostly whilst using machinery but just as much for marking out purposes as well , lighting is very important during the day in the workshop just as much whilst working at home in the evening and after darkness falls.


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## Nigel (10 Mar 2008)

I use 3 double fluorescent fittings with full spectrum tubes the sort associated with S.A.D. syndrome which give a great light as my workshop has no windows,
Plus the anglepoise and clipon halogen light,

Be aware if you choose to use these type of tubes the prices can vary greatly from £7.00 to over £20 for the same product,

I found this place very good www.telectronics-electrical.co.uk based near me in Farnborough, £7.85 +Vat

cheers Nigel


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## Richard Findley (10 Mar 2008)

Hi,

Tube lights are the norm, as shown by all previous answers!! One thing I would add which I remember from Health and Safty lessons at college is that you should use double tubes in machine areas as with single tubes the is an "effect" (insert technical name, which escapes me at the moment  ) Basically what happens is that the flickering of a single light can make spinning saw blades ect appear stationary but doubles don't because they flicker at different times which counteracts this "effect".

Hope that is clear  

Richard


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## head clansman (10 Mar 2008)

Hi Richard

Well done Richard , In my working life I have never heard of that one before I can see and understand what you mean , I'll use that method when I start to add the extra light for my machinery , who said you can teach an dog new tricks.


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## Richard Findley (10 Mar 2008)

Glad I could be of some assistance  !!

On thinking about it, would this be a strobe effect :?: 

Richard


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## [email protected] (10 Mar 2008)

Nigel":2wk9gqd2 said:


> I use 3 double fluorescent fittings with full spectrum tubes the sort associated with S.A.D. syndrome which give a great light as my workshop has no windows,
> Plus the anglepoise and clipon halogen light,
> 
> Be aware if you choose to use these type of tubes the prices can vary greatly from £7.00 to over £20 for the same product,
> ...



Nigel, are these spectrum tubes different to the standard tubes that most people have? I'm assuming they are - what sort of improvement do you see in the light given out?

EDIT
seems all is explained here
ebay link


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## woodbloke (11 Mar 2008)

Richard Findley":e81kqt76 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Tube lights are the norm, as shown by all previous answers!! One thing I would add which I remember from Health and Safty lessons at college is that you should use double tubes in machine areas as with single tubes the is an "effect" (insert technical name, which escapes me at the moment  ) Basically what happens is that the flickering of a single light can make spinning saw blades ect appear stationary but doubles don't because they flicker at different times which counteracts this "effect".
> 
> ...



Strobe effect? - Rob


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## jonbikebod (12 Mar 2008)

I mentioned the strobe effect of fluorescents in an earlier mail. The reason they flicker is the phosphors get excited 50 times a second because that is the frequency of the mains. I double fitment will therefore have the two tubes flickering at exactly the same time and not really improve matters. The reason a filament bulb lamp works better is the filament get heated 50 times a second but stays glowing in between (called persistence). Phosphors react more quickly and this is why they are used in the tubes of (older) TV sets. If they didn’t respond quickly, a moving picture would be blurred.
Jon.


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## Adam (12 Mar 2008)

jonbikebod":3k0op8p5 said:


> I mentioned the strobe effect of fluorescents in an earlier mail. The reason they flicker is the phosphors get excited 50 times a second because that is the frequency of the mains. I double fitment will therefore have the two tubes flickering at exactly the same time and not really improve matters. The reason a filament bulb lamp works better is the filament get heated 50 times a second but stays glowing in between (called persistence). Phosphors react more quickly and this is why they are used in the tubes of (older) TV sets. If they didn’t respond quickly, a moving picture would be blurred.
> Jon.



I have to admit I thought the "strobe" effect of fluorecents was only true years ago, - and that for many years now, electronic ballasts now excite at such higher frequencies that no strobe is visible. I've used flourescents as the sole light source in my workshop and never seen such an effect on lathes, electric drill, routers, table saw etc etc. 

As far as I know, all modern compact flourescents (as replacement for regular filament bulbs all use electronic ballasts.)



Wikipedia":3k0op8p5 said:


> Electronic ballasts usually change the frequency of the power from the standard mains (e.g., 60 Hz in U.S.) frequency to 20,000 Hz or higher, substantially eliminating the stroboscopic effect of flicker (100 or 120 Hz, twice the line frequency) associated with fluorescent lighting (see photosensitive epilepsy). In addition, because more gas remains ionized in the arc stream, the lamps actually operate at about 9% higher efficacy above approximately 10 kHz. Lamp efficacy increases sharply to about 10 kHz and continues to improve until approximately 20 kHz.[1] Because of the higher efficiency of the ballast itself and the improvement of lamp efficacy by operating at a higher frequency electronic ballasts offer higher system efficacy. In addition, the higher operating frequency means that it is often practical to use a capacitor as the current-limiting reactance rather than the inductor required at line frequencies. Capacitors tend to be much lower in loss than inductors, allowing them to more closely approach an "ideal reactance".


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## Richard Findley (12 Mar 2008)

Hi Adam,

I must admit that I've never actually tested out the strobe effect that I mentioned as my workshop already had double tubes fitted. I guess when a college lecturer tell you somthing you don't really question if the information is out of date  

I left college about 10 years ago so not sure if the lecturer was correct at the time or not :?: 

Richard


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## jonbikebod (12 Mar 2008)

Good point Adam. I am not sure how wide spread electronic ballast use is. I bought the ones in my workshop two or three years ago from one of the local shads. The certainly have a heavy block at one end which seems to vibrate at mains frequency. I didn’t take it apart to see if it was a wire wound ballast but that was the impression I got. I would guess that many workshops will be utilising ‘second use’ fitments as well. Can we agree that if you can hear them hum they have the potential to strobe?
If you read my original mail you will understand why I tend to be extra cautious.
Jon.


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## dickm (12 Mar 2008)

The forum has been through this strobe idea before! Personally, I can't see it being a real problem. To get a strobe effect, the rotating item has to have spokes or something similar (teeth of a saw blade, jaws of a lathe chuck, say) that are uniformly spaced apart, and the strobe effect will only occur at speeds that are exact multiples of 50cps and the number of "spokes". 

Readers old enough may remember that up-market record turntables used to have repeated patterns round the edge to use the strobe effect to make sure they were revolving at exactly 33and a third rpm.


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## PowerTool (12 Mar 2008)

dickm":wvy7jrdr said:


> Readers old enough may remember that up-market record turntables used to have repeated patterns round the edge to use the strobe effect to make sure they were revolving at exactly 33and a third rpm.



Ahh,good old strobosynchroscopes - on my old record decks,had them for 33 1/3,and 45 rpm (for anyone much younger than me,this was in the days of vinyl,before the advent of the CD :lol: )

Andrew (pub DJ back in the Eighties..)


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## exigetastic (12 Mar 2008)

I currently have a halogen worklamp.... the light is rubbish, but at least it warms up the shed  

Though as soon as I get the electrics sorted I'll be putting in some flourescents.

Si


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## Nigel (12 Mar 2008)

Matt there is a big difference in the light output of full spectrum tubes as apposed to standard daylight tubes they are much brighter and give a clearer light to be able to distinguish colours,
They are used in the various trades for colour matching and really give the impression of daylight and are a delight to work with if no natural light is available,


Cheers Nigel


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