Lighting

[StevieB]

OK, its time to upgrade the dismal lighting in my workshop so was wondering what people reckon is the way to go - flourescent strips, normal light bulbs, or possibly halogen spots.

Fluorescent strips buzz but are bright, light bulbs are dim but easy to fit and halogen spots are bright but might be a bit too narrow in their field of illumination.

Any suggestions welcome!

Steve.

 

[Waka]

Steve

I use 3' strip lights in my WS, got 5 covering an area of 22' x 11'. These are mainly positioned over areas of machinery and wookbench, you mention buzzing form the strips, I have to admit that its not something I notice.

B&Q do stips at a very reasonable price, I think mine were less the £10 each.

Also additionally the heavy duty desk lamps can be a bonus although as yet I haven't put any up yet. In my view the more lights the better especially for those cold dark winter nights.

Hope this helps

Waka

 

[sawdustalley]

Striplights are almost a must in the workshop, simply because they provide evenly spread light, and the shadows are minimal. I don't notice mine buzzing at-all......not .ever :shock:

If you go for spot-lights (Like you may use in a kitchen) or floodlights only - You will shadow your work. These are also more expensive.


I use a mixture of the 2, mainly because I do alot of photography in the workshop for articles etc. I find that striplights have a sense of being dim, and makes everything dull looking.

Spotlights add more "cheerful brightness" to the workshop, and although I don't rely on them for the lighting, they are trendy little things and inspire me more

 

[johnelliott]

Basically you need two different types of light for woodwork. The first, main light is best provided by neon tubes, and plenty of them, well spread out on a white painted ceiling to avoid shadows.
Then, for sanding and finishing, you need a point source light. I use a 500w floodlight mounted in one corner. With this, and the neons turned off, you will be able to see all the dips, bumps, scratches and dents in the surface that previously looked perfect.
John

 

[Philly]

Stevie,
I have a few 6 foot twin tube fittings in my shop-go for twins over singles, you will be surprised how much stronger they are. They are reasonably priced for the amount of light they put out. Also, bulb changes are few and far between, which is more than I can say for spotlights.....
cheers,
Philly

 

[StevieB]

OK, striplights it is then

Thanks for the info guys, although not sure about the 500w for sanding, I suppose I could always use it as a heater in the winter :lol:

Steve.

 

[Philly]

Stevie,
I have an anglepoise lamp on the corner of my bench, you can have extra light where you need it! I used to use a flood light but found the intense light off-putting, as well as bl##dy hot in the summer! :shock:
here is a pic...
http://groups.msn.com/ukwoodworking/han ... otoID=1267

cheers,
Philly

 

[Gary H]

Stevie.
Yep, go for fluoro's. I've got a couple of twin strips waiting in the garage for when the workshop is extended roll: as soon as that may be!!).
I've also decided that when I do the roof, I intend to use some triple wall UV reflective UPVC sheets that I have, for a 'natural' light, then use the strips when the winter sets in. An anglepoise is also useful when drawing plans/templates etc. as you can keep the light to either side.

Ta muchly

Gary

 

[Knot Competent]

I vaguely remember, a long time ago, someone telling me to never use a fluorescent light to illuminate a lathe, as there was a danger of it's strobe effect making a turning lathe look stationary.

However this is probably as big a load of rubbish as most of the other stuff tucked in the corners of my brain!

John

 

[Philly]

Knot,
I think this one is an Old Wives tale.
Any offers?
Philly

 

[Jake]

I'm not so sure. Conventional fluos do emit no light at the zero-crossing point. High frequency ballasts are available that take it up into the Khz range (where I don't think the brain could detect any strobing), but the bog standard fluo will strobe at 120Hz (I think). But then you have to get very close to a multiple of 120 revs/min to get that effect to work on a tool. It would also have to be pretty dark without the lights on. I've never seen it happen, but then I don't have a lathe.

Incandescents don't do this, as the filament stays hot enough to emit light while the zero-crossing point is being passed. Supplement fluos with an incandescent bulb if you think this is a concern.

 

[Anonymous]

50Hz flicker from standard flouros - mains AC frequency. It is a real problem with strobing and there are bitish standards advising against use of flouros above lathes.

 

[Jake]

I think we're both half right there Tony, 100Hz wouldn't it be, two zero-crossings per cycle?

Jake

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, two zero crossings per cycle

 

[Dewy]

Flourescent tubes are usually in a colour similar to light bulbs.
At work this caused problems for those doing close up work so the company bought daylight balanced tubes.
This almost instantly stopped all the headaches these men suffered from.

 

[Bean]

Tony and jake are right its a bad move to place Fluro's over moving/rotating machinery.
I use a couple of twin tubes to lighten up the workshop but I have made a few small spotlights for my few machines. A dedicated light on your bench/pillar drill is a must and makes drilling much easier. A large anglepoise near to the bench adds more light where I need it.

Bean