lights

almer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What kind of lighting do you guys use over your lathes i have 4 foot florescent over lathes fr roof on chains,different portable lamps,clamp on lamps,ive never tried incandecent lighting for cues but in my house i have 5 sets in the kitchen,they give great light,i think they give off a lot of heat,even the repair lathe what do you guys use thanks
 
I use a twin 4 ft over the lathes. I think it is only the 32 w bulbs as well. Not much heat and the daylight bulbs seem to be good.
We don't have any incandescent lights in the house. All house light bulbs are those mini fluro's disguised as bulbs.
Neil
 
My actual main working area is not a large as some peoples are, actually It's really small but I just have 4 foot fixtures. The ceiling is lower (drywall) so they are just flush mounted to It over the machines that I use the most. The bulbs I have in there now are just standard Phillips 40w cool whites, and they work well for me. I only have a flexible neck light, and a magnifier lamp at My pantograph station though. I could probably a 4 ft fixture over that one too.
 
My actual main working area is not a large as some peoples are, actually It's really small but I just have 4 foot fixtures. The ceiling is lower (drywall) so they are just flush mounted to It over the machines that I use the most. The bulbs I have in there now are just standard Phillips 40w cool whites, and they work well for me. I only have a flexible neck light, and a magnifier lamp at My pantograph station though. I could probably a 4 ft fixture over that one too.
I seem to have to have a light everywhere these days,age,i have good ceiling light its up close im lacking,i have magnifier,flex lights,still get shadows,seems for tips and ferrules i could almost use some light fr behind also,it seems when i trim tips with blade i block the light fr top with my hands.I have a 4 ft window in front of that lathe soin the dayligh i dont have a problem.In my old shop i had skylights and they were the cats a$$,maybe ill have to spring for some more.
 
I'm a very cheap man .... many simple plastic bulb bases with CFLs. I have 4 mounted on a board above the lathe. I also use many clamp-on spun-aluminium-shaded lights (with CFLs) and just clip them into place as needed, often a pair on either side of the mill, shaper, workbench etc. I need lots of light / reading glasses / bifocal safety glasses ... getting old sucks.

Dave
 
Lights

I have an 8' florescent over the lathe for general lighting, but there's something about florescent that just doesn't do it for me. I don't know if it's the the inherent flicker of florescent or just that they don't put out enough light. Anyway, I also have a 500 watt halogen clip lamp that I adjust above whatever I'm working on at the moment. It's very bright and I can see a lot better under that intense light.
 
I'm a very cheap man .... many simple plastic bulb bases with CFLs. I have 4 mounted on a board above the lathe. I also use many clamp-on spun-aluminium-shaded lights (with CFLs) and just clip them into place as needed, often a pair on either side of the mill, shaper, workbench etc. I need lots of light / reading glasses / bifocal safety glasses ... getting old sucks.

Dave
Im like you Dave,are cfls twisted florescent bulbs
 
I have an 8' florescent over the lathe for general lighting, but there's something about florescent that just doesn't do it for me. I don't know if it's the the inherent flicker of florescent or just that they don't put out enough light. Anyway, I also have a 500 watt halogen clip lamp that I adjust above whatever I'm working on at the moment. It's very bright and I can see a lot better under that intense light.
Ive been thinking about using some halogens but i think they get pretty hot.Seems to me Illia fr Tiger has some mounted at each end of the lathe he does the stack wraps with,guess ill see on the 6th of may in Vegas,ill also check the other repair booths,everyone comes up with different good ideas
 
What works well is 90 degree shelf brackets. They come in large sizes and have a mounting hole at the end. Mount these on a wall behind the lathe instead of above your head. Use some S hooks and chain to make it adjustable. I find sometimes that mounted above casts shadows and on the wall improves it quite a bit.
 
That's the ones. They last a long time and are quite efficient.

Dave



I have one in the middle of the room, but It doesn't put out all that much light. I think that is because It's lower wattage version though. We've been switching out to CFL's in our house, and found some higher wattage cfl's that put out much more light. Maybe I need to mount some fixtures like you and try them in the shop over My panto. I have cabinets over It, and something like that may be a perfect fit for mounting under those.
 
I have one in the middle of the room, but It doesn't put out all that much light.

One ?!?!?!? I use 4 x 23W above my (24") lathe and one in a clamp-on shining on the work. I use a pair, one from each side, 8" away from the table on my mill. Heck, I have 4 in the ceiling of my 20' x 20' garage just so I can see my way to turn on all the others :thumbup:

Mounting flexibility is one of the benefits of using several box-plasticscrewbase-CFL lights, ya put 'em where needed (or other convenient surface :o ). I've often thought of modifiing the light above the lathe from a line to a "T" with a pair offset over the headstock .... it would be another 2x4 plus $10 hardware/light.

Dave
 
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One ?!?!?!? I use 4 x 23W above my (24") lathe and one in a clamp-on shining on the work. I use a pair, one from each side, 8" away from the table on my mill. Heck, I have 4 in the ceiling of my 20' x 20' garage just so I can see my way to turn on all the others :thumbup:

Mounting flexibility is one of the benefits of using several box-plasticscrewbase-CFL lights, ya put 'em where needed (or other convenient surface :o ). I've often thought of modifiing the light above the lathe from a line to a "T" with a pair offset over the headstock .... it would be another 2x4 plus $10 hardware/light.

Dave




:D Yeah It's only one, that I stuck in the original ceiling fixture so I guess It's not getting a fair chance, The rest of the lights I have in there are the 4 foot florescent fixtures. It is the bulb that's dim though, so sure if It's the wattage or the type of light It puts out, cause the newer ones We switched out in the house are much brighter then It. Those are the ones I would use If I add some like You mentioned.

I had some of those flexible neck halogens to clamp on the equipment itself one time, but they kept burning out on me. Same thing with the incandescent type, but then I had a bad habit of putting 75 and 100 w bulbs in them, and leaving them on too long and it over heated the fixtures, so that even new bulbs don't work anymore. Instead of Buying new ones I may try to change out the sockets in a couple of them.
 
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