I'm after some shop lighting advice. I simply don't have it right in my shop/garage. Too many shadows is one of my problems. I'm constantly trying to get the right angle on a piece of work. Tonight I just couldn't see my scribe lines for chisel work.
If it's not shadows then the lights are almost too bright and I am kinda saturating my work with light and unable to see the details.
I tried buying a floor lamp with the idea of bringing it close to my work and illuminating it, but I feel almost like I'm staring into car headlights and am some what dazzled; again not seeing the details; obviously I don't have the lamp staring me directly in the face.
Every now and then I'll move the lamp and catch the perfect angle where every possible detail is visible; that's what I'm chasing.
I feel my work is suffering for it.
Perhaps my ceilings are too low and the flourescent lights are too close?
There are three kinds of lighting important to detail work- the background lighting, the lighting in the area of the work and "task lighting, lighting directed on the detail. For a discussion of the first two types see my article in the Articles section of WoodCentral.
For task lighting I find these two lights useful and they stay near the bench. The black LED task light is from Lee Valley and I reviewed it here some months ago.
The suggestion above to turn some of the general lighting off and rely on task lighting for seeing anything enhanced by a shadow-a scribe line for example- should be explored.
Many are enamored by the new LED "fluorescent style" fixtures. Trendy, but not the best choice if the objective is to get more light. I have 8 T5-HO lamps in two fixtures over my bench and one 4-lamp fixture over the saw. My shop looks like a sunny day. Some relatively inexpensive versions are available at Home Depot. Nothing else comes close in light per lamp.
For general overall lighting in my shop, I have T8 troffer fixtures. For task lighting above my workbench and my lathe, I have track lighting. Above the jointer and router tables, I have a LED fixture (2 bulb work light).
About a year ago, I started to realize how much I appreciated task lighting! My shop is 16x20 and I have 8 dual bulb 4 footers. That was plenty for many years. I added a drop down dual 4' bulb fixture over my bench and installed nice warm colored bulbs. I like the warm (2700k?) color better. When I line up a cut on the TS, I use a tooth against my knife or pencil line. I decided I needed more light as I kept missing my lines! I added a very bright LED bulb in a lamp fixture/pendant I bought at Michael's (used their 40% coupons). It is a reflector type fixture. That helped a lot. I also have some other swing arm types and even Harbor Freight freebie led flashlights around. I made a swing arm for the drill press with an eBay LED board and an old wall wart. That has been very nice - 24 LED's and it is very bright! Nice thing about the new LED bulbs and such - no heat to speak of and very little watts for a lot of light.
My next new miraculous discovery was "up close" glasses! Wow!
The LED panels called Piranha (I think) are pretty inexpensive on eBay and some electronics sellers and they are very easy to hook up to a 12V wall wart - no resistors needed usually.
I agree. I bought some bifocal safety glasses from Lee Valley (mine are 2X) and they are great. I use them to close inspect sanded wood before finishing. They really help!! T
Overhead lighting, diffused lighting if possible, white walls and tasks lighting all help Tremendously in working toward a good well lit shop without shadows. I'm constantly improving on mine depending on where in the shop I work most often.
I like a color range of 3k but most overhead lighting will be 4-5k.
I like the walls to be white not beige and bright bright white at that.
Dark ceilings absorb light, so put something that reflects back if possible.
Both my shops went from being dungeonesk to being like a photo studio pretty quickly.
LED bulbs are getting pretty decent now and so I've been able to use entirely LED. I generally opt for the brightest possible bulb for each fixture.
Lee, I wonder if this will help your situation....
I have what I consider extremely good shop lighting - very bright T5 fluorescents which can be switched from 1/2 power to full power as needed, and task lighting at work areas, lathe, bandsaw, sharpening, drill press, etc. With all the lights on and the overheads on full power some people have joked they need sunglasses. I think it is perfect. I did position the overheads carefully to avoid glare from the shiny cabinet saw table.
It is well known the several smaller diameter task lights (so called "point source" lights) are better that broad, more diffuse lighting (such as fluorescents high on the ceiling) for certain things, specifically at the lathe. Scratches and other defects are easier to see when light is glancing (scratches can be in shadows) rather than diffuse (scraches can be invisible)
Another thing with task lights I find very helpful at the lathe is they make it easier to judge the surface - irregularities, curves. Diffuse lighting can be "flat" which removes some of the visual 3-dimensionality. Light from close to the eyes, for example, from over the shoulder also flatten the view, similar using a strobe on the camera compared to a studio shot with the light from the side.
I do have long, bright fluorescents high above the lathes but they are on a separate switch so I can turn them off as needed. Two high CFLs are widely spaced enough to help rather than hurt. Some lights are on cheap swing arms with various bulbs from HD. Some are different color temperatures (soft, daylight, etc) which I believe addes to the 3-dimensionality. I like the bright LED fixtures with magnetic bases that Ken Rizza sells (Woodturners Wonders) - I use them on 6 machines/work areas. I have three lights on the bandsaw (left, right, up in front) which makes it a joy to use.
I don't get glare or bright lights in the eyes anywhere I work in the shop.
I find several lights from different side angles the best. Here are some at my lathe (sorry, poor photo), overhead lights off.
With overhead lights on for general work.
Second lathe, overhead lights off:
Metal lathe, mill, similar task lighting (overhead lights off):
I don't know if lights like this would help with your issues but it might be worth a try.
I like the 4" LED fixtures I bought at COSTCO for general lighting. White painted walls and ceiling help too. However nothing is better than the daylight from the double window near my bench. It is diffuse but directional and casts enough shadow to clearly see scribe lines and features. At night the overhead has plenty of light for general tasks but I have a harder time seeing some details without a little shadow. I have a track light over my window with 4 reflector bulbs (LED floods I think) that I use when carving or doing hand tool work. I will even turn the overhead off when doing this to get a little more definition. I also have some cheap (IKEA) goose neck LED lamps that I can use to good effect for things such as hand saw filing.
