How to protect light over lathe

Re: How to protect light over lathe

Robert Cox

>uhh ohhhh...

I decided the other day that Ineeded more light too. And was gonna moount a 4' Flourescent cheapo light.

I never thought about protecting it!

Thanks for the heads up.

Re: How to protect light over lathe *LINK*

Richard Allen

>Hi Chuck

F40SP35/RS/WM/CVG - 34W T12 SHATTER / THERMAL SHOCK PROTECTED

These lights have:

" 15 mil thick polycarbonate plastic shield with Teflon coating helps contain glass fragments if the bulb breaks. Resists breakage from heat and thermal shock that can occur when water, sleet or snow come in contact with the bulb. Maintains bulb integrity up to 250 degrees F. The shield will not turn yellow over the life of the bulb. Shield can be removed for recycling."

Thanks

Richard


One supplier. I am sure there are others

Re: How to protect light over lathe

Fred in NC

>I have seen them a Lowe's.

Re: How to protect light over lathe *LINK*

Richard Allen

>Hi Chuck

Another option is:

F32T8BULBS - Shatter Guard For F32 T8 Fluorescent Bulbs

Which are plastic tubes that fit over the bulbs.


One supplier. I am sure there are others

Re: How to protect light over lathe

Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA

>Chuck and Robert

I would scrap the flourescent light and go with an incandescent light. Flourescent lights pulse, and can give the appearance of the lathe moving backwards, standing still, or even moving forward at a much slower speed than it is actually moving. This can cause injury to you, or at the least problems with the piece. There are a lot of lights on the market designed for turning, or just regular work lights that would be better suited for a work light on the lathe.

Bill

Wow-- fast responses!

ChuckS

>Thanks guys. What I'm afraid of is a bowl blank smashing the fixture. I have shatter resistant bulbs, but they will lose a fight with a 30# blank, as will the ballast, box, etc.

Bill-- good thinking on the pulse effect. I hadn't thought of that. I think I'm stuck with the flourecent over the lathe, it's only 3" thick & all the incandecents I've seen are thicker. The flourecent is only supplemental lighting. I have 2 other incandecent ceiling fixtures & 2 magnetic base lights I try to position to help me out. (I need all the help I can get... :-) I'll play with it. If the lathe speed appears different than what the lathe says, the flourecent goes bye-bye. Thanks for the warning.

Re: How to protect light over lathe

EagleS.C.

>I picked up a swing arm lamp that mounts to a table at Wal mart for $10.00 about 6 months ago.

The price went up $5.00 around Christmas.

Ithe clamp mech. sux so I drilled a hole in the edge of a cabinet I keep near the lathe.

It comes in very handy.

I can position it where I want or move it out of the way.

The magnifier comes in hand too.

Re: How to protect light over lathe

Robert Cox

>Ahh yes, some years ago in my industry it was discovered that the lights (All lights pulse, some are just more obvious)made the machines appear to stop.

Quite the issue when it is a 100 yard long turbine! Seems the turbine is ALWAYS in synch with the light! Imagine that.

The fix for large facilities is to use lights on different circuits. We typically use 480 V 3 phase to drive the light switchgear. one leg of that gives you 277 volts single phase. Most office flourescents are 277!

Careful layout means mixing the feeds up so no one area is lit exclusively by one leg/phase.

Time to rethink.

Re: How to protect light over lathe

Fred in NC

>However, newer flourescents with electronic ballasts pulse at a much higher frequency, and don't have this problem. Cheap shop lights don't usually have the newer ballasts.

Re: How to..WARNING!

JamieDonaldson

>Do NOT use a fluorescent fixture over your lathe as a primary light source. The strobe effect can actually induce seizures in some people, and the soft light doesn't show surface defects such as sanding marks as well as more directional fixtures. Home Depot used to have a really nice enclosed Q/H shop light of a perfect size to hang over the lathe, and the price was right! Check it out before using something else.

Re: Wow-- fast responses!

Russ Fairfield

>The problem with flourescent lighting is that there are no shadows. We need shadows to see the sanding scratches, torn grain and dings in the surface of the wood.

It is usually easy to tell a piece of wood that was finished under fluorescent lighting. These are always the folks who say, "I didn't see that until I brought it out of the shop."

The harsh light from a clear incandescent bulb will create the shadows we need to see.

Re: How to protect light over lathe

Dick Hines

>When I got my new lathe set up I did not put lights in the over head. I installed 3 flood lights on the wall behind the lathe. One pointed at the back of the chuck. Ones pointed at the front of the chuck and one down at the tail stock end pointed at the head stock. Lights have been there 3 years and have not been hit. Yet. This being said I guess I will break one or two tomorrow.

Re: Wow-- fast responses!

john Lucas

>I have 2 incandescent lights. One mounted more or less left and right. This not only show off shadows in scratches well because I can turn off one lamp at a time but also gets the lamps out of the line of fire.