Sir Snark-A-Lot

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worldwood said:
Im wondering what most people use as lighting in their shops?
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I just use regular old flourescents. You can pick up a 2x 4' ballast with bulbs and a cord at any big-box store for like $15. I never cared much for 8-footers, they're just not as efficient, and they're certainly not as easy to put exactly where you need 'em. Now if I suddenly had a bunch of extra money to throw around, I'd go with metal halide.

zzyzzogeton said:
There is no such thing as TOO MUCH light.
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That's absolutely true. The first thing to do is coat everything you can reach with cheap, flat white paint or primer (whatever's on sale). The reflection/diffusion makes a huge difference compared to plain concrete or wood walls.
 
james terrio said:
I just use regular old flourescents. You can pick up a 2x 4' ballast with bulbs and a cord at any big-box store for like $15. I never cared much for 8-footers, they're just not as efficient, and they're certainly not as easy to put exactly where you need 'em. Now if I suddenly had a bunch of extra money to throw around, I'd go with metal halide.



That's absolutely true. The first thing to do is coat everything you can reach with cheap, flat white paint or primer (whatever's on sale). The reflection/diffusion makes a huge difference compared to plain concrete or wood walls.
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I would have preferred 4-ft lights due to ease of changing, spares storage and an efficiency standpoint, but at the time I was installing them, the 8-fters were on sale for less than half the cost of the 4-ft units. So 6x8-ft rather than 8x-4ft. Also took less wire and conduit and fewer mounting brackets. I also had over 40 8-ft bulbs lying around left over from when my dad closed his store.

Ditto on the white... first thing I did after I got the walls covered with plywood and peg board was to give all 4 walls 2 coats of flat white water-based paint.

I conduited all my electric wires to protect them from rats and mice chewing on them causing shorts. My roll-up door allows easier mouse/rat entry that a regular paneled door would have allowed, but I wanted to be able to install a hoist that could be used even if the door was open, which a panel door would not have allowed. Mouse/rat problem solved via perpetual trap deployment. Caught 64 mice and rats in the shop last year.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
WW - IMO, personally I prefer as much light as possible.

The brighter the better. Fewer mistakes. Fewer accidents. Easier to see gray pencil lines on whatever is being modified.

My home workshop is 24' x 32'. I installed 6 sets of 4 bulb 8-ft florescent lights. I also have a 5 portable workstation floodlights for use where needed - drill press, 6" grinder, chop saw, band saw, scroll saw, leather working table. they are used to reduce shadows at the work point. I have screwed up more than one piece of work material by following a shadow line rather than my pencil mark.

I also have an 16-ft wide roll-up shop door to the south for ventilation and additional (read free) light during the day.

There is no such thing as TOO MUCH light.
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james terrio said:
I just use regular old flourescents. You can pick up a 2x 4' ballast with bulbs and a cord at any big-box store for like $15. I never cared much for 8-footers, they're just not as efficient, and they're certainly not as easy to put exactly where you need 'em. Now if I suddenly had a bunch of extra money to throw around, I'd go with metal halide.



That's absolutely true. The first thing to do is coat everything you can reach with cheap, flat white paint or primer (whatever's on sale). The reflection/diffusion makes a huge difference compared to plain concrete or wood walls.
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Some good info here.

Ill look into those 15 dollar setups, i just need to light up an area thats around 12'X8' the setup down there now lights up the entire basement LMAO

I wont be painting. Its against my lease agreement.... And havent you seen the pictures of the walls down there? The amount of prep work to get them walls paint ready would be ridiculous. If i owned the place or even if i was buying it and not renting i would indeed paint the walls, but in this case i just need some light for a small area and dont want to deal with all the hassle of rebuilding someone else's basement. But i know what you mean about the reflection/diffusion. There was a time when i took that into account strongly... But my priorities have change LOL

Still not sure if ill sell the lights though. The extra money would be nice but in the long run i may wish i hadnt sold them. I bought them in a store a good while back and i have found them online these days at right around what id be asking the guy anyways so i may just direct him to a good website link and tell him to get them from there.

I do like having them up when taking pictures!!
 
Dres - The package came in today.
Ah, the prodigal son has returned. I was anxious to see how it held up on its travels.
 
Good, I am glad it showed up safe and sound.

Keep me in the loop about any progress you guys make. It really is an awesome setup.

Jeremy
 
Got a free eye exam, and free glasses on order today. Haven't had my eyes checked in 27 years, haha.
 
I'm liking this thing. My new grinder. 2x72 2 hp variable speed.


It took me about a hour to assemble. It came in 4 boxes. Man this thing is heavy. I would guess it at 200 lbs. Got some more accessories coming for it. A 8in contact wheel, a small wheel attachment, more tooling arms and a ceramic platen. That ought to do me.;)
 
Silverthorn said:
If she floats then shes a witch !
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Hah! And I'm pretty sure that açai berries contain caffeine.....OK, looked it up and they do not. There goes that theory out the window.

Jerry D. said:
Dres - The package came in today.
Ah, the prodigal son has returned. I was anxious to see how it held up on its travels.
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dresnor said:
Good, I am glad it showed up safe and sound.

Keep me in the loop about any progress you guys make. It really is an awesome setup.

Jeremy
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What? What? Why jou teeze me like dat?
 
The Warrior said:
Damn Todd, that's nice. :thumbup:
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dresnor said:
Yeah, I gotta get me one of those.... Holy crap Todd.

Jeremy
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Lol, yeah, thanks guys. I've wanted one of these bad boys for a few years now. Figured since I quite my job and income relies a little more on this stuff I'd go ahead and pull the trigger on one. They weren't going to get any cheaper. So I just went all out and got what I wanted. I should be good for a while I suppose.:p
 
1066vik said:
good looking grinder Todd!
who made that one again?
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Brett Mathews out of Oregon. Really good work. Sturdy that's for sure. Brett is very good at what he does and a pleasure to do business with. He made this one to my specs so I didn't have to pay for stuff I didn't want. KMG or burr king either one wouldn't do that for me.
 
My pos Gateway keeps shutting down on me about every 15 minutes or so. Frustrating. Just get into a project, and it crashes, then I lose everything I just did.
 
worldwood said:
Awesome stuff there Todd! Looks like a great setup.

I think i need me a TW-90 now :D
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I looked at the tw 90. Its definitely a nice grinder. There also on the high end of the price range. The one I was looking at was over 4 grand and the only thing it did that this one doesn't is that it had the swivel base that turns it 90 degrees. Hardly thought that was worth it.
 
TMHunt said:
Brett Mathews out of Oregon. Really good work. Sturdy that's for sure. Brett is very good at what he does and a pleasure to do business with. He made this one to my specs so I didn't have to pay for stuff I didn't want. KMG or burr king either one wouldn't do that for me.
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damn.

The Warrior said:
My pos Gateway keeps shutting down on me about every 15 minutes or so. Frustrating. Just get into a project, and it crashes, then I lose everything I just did.
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blow the dust out!
 
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