lighting

[v-6]

how did you without hiring someone make your shop 50% brighter

 

[Ed Caffrey]

Well, when my finish shop was first built, all it had was florescent lighting. I attended a show not long afterward that had sodium vapor lighting int he show hall. When I opened my knife case to put stuff on the table, I saw things that embarrassed me! Things that I had missed that I swore were not visible when I left home.

When I got back home I installed incandescent track lighting over my grinders and finish bench (in addition to the florescent lights), and installed some halogen and sodium vapor swing arm lights. Its not only the amount of light you have, its the KIND of light you have. I now have florescent, halogen, incandescent, and sodium vapor lights over all the "critical" areas of the finish shop. I didn't run out an purchase everything new, some came from garage sales or home remodeling jobs, a couple from a "truckload" tool sale that came through town, and a couple of the halogen swing arm lights I built myself from old outdoor motion lights that I took the on/off sensor out of, and converted to switches. Its not so much the fact of needing it "brighter", its more important to have different kinds of light as each will show things a bit differently.

 

[Dan Seaver]

Hang some fluorescent tube lights over your working area and keep a light near other machines. This doesnt increase the light in the whole shop by much but does help with working.

Sodium lights are good if you end up getting a light professionally installed. The only drawback is that you need to wait about 4 minutes for the light to heat up before it will properly light your shop. One large sodium light should light your entire shop.

edit-Ed Caffrey made an excellent point on using different types of lighting.

 

[sunshadow]

Flourescent tube lights are generally the best shop lighting as they are reasonably bright diffuse source lighting, they give you relatively even somewhat shadowless light at a reasonable cost. Colors will not be quite right (if you're really bored some time google "metamerism") as they are not a continuous spectrum source. Halogens are very specular (point source which will give you glare and shadows) but they are continuous source with a 3200K color temp (read reasonable color rendition, a little bit on the red/yellow side compared to daylight) regular household bulbs give you a dull yellow-red light (26-2800K) but they are cheap and continuous spectrum. Sodium and mercury vapor lights should be avoided in a shop setting in my opinion. They are specular source, discontinuous spectrum (only a couple very specific frequencies of light so your colors are F**Ked up) with high voltage high amperage circuitry that would be really bad to get steel dust into.

I was a photographer for 20+ years, light was my stock in trade

-Page

 

[Fred.Rowe]

My wife works for the bureau for the visually impaired. I was looking through one of her useful publications and found these goose neck lights, with a goose neck magnifier on the same base. They are great for doing close up finish work. You can put both the light and magnifier where they are most useful.

For the final look, I go outside in the sunlight and assess what I have made. There is no substitute for sun light.

Fred

 

[Will Leavitt]

I use 2 el cheapo halogens bolted over my grinder to do my grinding. I have flourescents all over the shop, over the area where I do my assembly and hand rubbing I have flourescent and halogen swing arm lamps to inspect and do final assembly.

Will
formerly known as badbamaump

 

[Bufford]

I use both incandesant lighting and regular florescents for lighting the shop. When I am putting a final finish on a knife I go outside to look for imperfections in regular daylight before I am satisfied with the result.

 

[Sweany]

http://www.sizes.com/home/fluorescents.htm

 

[Barkes Knife Shop]

Most knifemakers know that good lighting in the shop is important part. One can never get too much light. And I as well never judge a knife by just one type of light. I will check it with direct light and in home and go outside and check. But for the most part I do have great light here in the shop.

When I first setup my shop, that's one thing I did. I installed high output florescent light in. I also want to mention that if you have white ceilings and walls it to will produce a brighter appearance in the shop. You can never get too much light. The more you have the better you can judge your work. You get what you pay for in the long run. :thumbup:

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Will
formerly known as badbamaump[/quote]

Thanks Will:thumbup: I find Will, A hole lot easier to pronounce. But, then again, bad in bama has its appeal.

Fred

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

The easiest way to increase light is to increase the bulb wattage in the fixtures you already have.

Most of the people I see with the four foot florescent fixtures are using the more common 25 watt bulbs. Replace all the bulbs with 40 watts and you got much more light.

 

[B Finnigan]

I use both fluorescent and incadescent. The fluorescent is over my grinder and filing bench and is inline with the blade. That way I can see a full length reflection on the blade as I am grinding or sanding.