recommendations for shop lights?

[ljmulledy]

Hello,

I am in the process of outfitting my studio with shop lights. I have no natural light source and need light that is going to be bright enough for detailing. Also, I want to position lighting so it doesn't throw a shadow over the work. Anyone have any suggestions for types of worklights and placement of lights?

Thanks,

Mulledy

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Lots of them! lol I use mostly 4 ft fluorescents and have 8 in the shop, could use that many more!

[Ashbys]

I use fluorescents as well, they do a good coverage area light, but have some drawbacks.
The first is they distort colors as do most light souces. But for cost, and light output they are hard to beat.
I think if I was setting up for a stuido, I would still use them , but I would have 3 or four of the lights used for photos. So that when I was working , I could have the extra work lights around the work bench and when painting they would counter the fluorescents color distortion. A good photo shop should carry them.

Ash

[Mark N. Akers]

I have a 24x30 shop and I have 14 fixtures up,they are 4 bulbs per fixture and T8 bulbs at 32 watts.They do real nice in this area,I also put a ceiling fan and light kit over my carving bench,hope this helps.My wife teases that you need sun screen to carve in my shop now.

[Lynn O. Doughty]

I also use flourescent lighting. I have two areas set up in the shop, one for painting and one for carving. Both have a 4' 2-bulb fixture directly above and slightly behind where I set to give me lighting from above and behind. Another 4' fixture is above and in front to give light from that direction. I have tilted the front fixture so light doesn't hit me directly in the face but falls on what I'm working on. It took some experimenting to ge the lights exactly in the right spots.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I have two other lights that hang, one over my carving area and one over my sharpening and woodburning area....but can't think of the name of the bulbs? (Halogen?) they are hot (put out a lot of heat) but are extremely bright, bad thing is here in the desert, the heat is uncomfortable in the summer, hot enough! Smile

[Ron Davidson]

I carve in the dark! But the light that is in the shop is florescent 4' bulbs.

[Anthony Filetti]

Also be mindful of the type of Fleurescent bulb purchased. The better the bulb (costlier) the better the light provided...just something to consider.

[dryheat]

I use a combination of florescent and incandesce lights. A few years ago I read in one of my woodworking magazines that florescent lights could have a strobe effect on the moving parts of machines i.e. saw blades. So, when I set up my shop I used both. My shop is about 500sf and I have five 2 tube florescent fixtures and 5, 300 watt incandesce bulbs. The 300 waters do produce a lot of heat but I think they make the shop an easier, safer, and better place to work. I really notice it when one burns out. My wife notices the difference in the color rendition when using just the florescent lights. I can see it too but not as well as she can. I believe that good lighting is a great contributor to good work and less fatigue.

ES

[whitecree]

There are also 'natural light' flourescent bulbs, like the ones aquariums use. They have a cleaner, closer to full spectrum lighting than regular flourescents. Almost no colour distortions.

Hang a bank of these overhead, as many as you can afford. Then have a half dozen or so clamp on lamps (with small flourescent bulbs) handy to focus on a given area.

Mixing light types in a shop is a good recipe for eye strain and headaches.