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I'm in the process of finalizing the layout and setup of my new workshop that's in my basement. What tips and/or suggestions do you have as far as what type of lighting, how much lighting, recommended mounting distance from work etc...

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Brad

Hi Brad,

My suggestion is lots of double 4' T8 florescent units (high-frequency electronic ballast, instant ON, no flicker, no hum, work well in the cold) with 6500degK daylight tubes placed in long rows with a separate switch on each row or two. Placing them directly above the work surfaces seemed to work best for me. Since I have benches/work surfaces almost the whole way around the walls of my workshop, I put a row of six 2-tube units about 3' from the two long walls, then another two rows evenly spaced between those in the middle of the workshop, plus a bank of four 2-tube units across the back wall to light the roll-up door end of the workshop nicely. FWIW, my workshop area is about 23'6" x 34' (800 sq/ft.) with a 13' ceiling - I hung the lights at a height of 9'9". With 56 x 40W 4' T8 tubes in all, I am very pleased with the result. YMMV.

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

I just love angle poise lamps ,so much so that i started making really dodgy lampshades
because im really stingy (partly on the lamp cost but more about consumption
ergo im going the light on light off route loadsa them
Its bloody dark enough oer here

Anyway their made out of really light aluminum fascia board (not steel) that blew down from a block a flats
i hammered flat and their allready white painted on one side sweeeeeet and only 7 screws
the 3rd bracket screw is going through 3 pieces bulb bracket and shade overlap
Now all to do is find suitable springs ANY SOURCES ?
I tried substituting the springs with various bungee cords no dice
the only cords with any springness costs the same as a new angle poise
Thought ya might get the larf anyway at my cool shades

Seriously though I hear these LEDs are quite efficient and looks seemingly angle poise friendly ?
Would love to hear someone spread some light on this situation
tomas

I just put 6 of the 2-bulb 4' T8 fixtures in the garage and they are great. I can't wait to upgrade the shop lighting to T8's, I'm running 6 4-bulb 4' T12's at the moment. I also have 7 or 8 task lights spread around using the high color temp fluorescent bulbs. At first I didn't like the look of the high temp bulbs but have gotten to where now I prefer them; regular incandescent bulbs look dim and dingy now.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I recently went through this. I used the following article as a guide. I was skeptical at first. But the results proved to be correct.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/content.php ... ck-Lindsey

Mike

(in other words, the estimate seemed high from the formula, but in practice it was very good. My cieling is finished, so I ran the lights out of the existing recepticles, and connected others with gray conduit. The wallet is a practical limiter to a project like this, but see if you can stretch a bit past that and follow Jack's guidlines)

(I also agree with everything here said about flexible lighting in the work area. So true. The solution I am offering is only for the overhead lighting aspect)

(one more thing... In the areas where the lighting was dense, I attached pull string switches to the fixtures so I could turn them on and off if needed)

I personally am of the opinion that you can never have enough light. The more the better. And I also like having some portable lamps so if you get in a spot that you need to see better you can just move some light on over.

A few t8's on the ceiling and a flexible fixture at every place I work and power tool. Most poise lamps you see have a 30" reach but some have 48" which is real nice. I just drill holes for them everywhere, even in the middle of my workbench. You can just move them around if you don't have enough. All with 5k+ bulbs. Although it is nice to have a few warmer colors for variety.

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Pat

+1 on the can't have too much light, you can always turn some off in the areas you are not using.
Also some portables are great. When you wire the ceiling for the light add a few extra outlets for future additions or portable lights. Also can't have enough electrical outputs either.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

+ 2 on enough light. Lots and lots...............................It seems that light ain't what it use to be.............especially as one gets older!!!

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Yep, if you're under 40, a few 60 watt bulbs are fine. Then put stronger lights everywhere. Then put stronger glasses everywhere and you're good.

I have been happy with the color and output of Triten 50 bulbs.

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

What Fred said

Thanks guys. Who makes/sells good "task" lighting fixtures, and where is a good place to get the T8 fixtures?

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Brad

What others have said is spot on in my experience. I have T8 fixtures in my new basement shop, as well as a few old incandescent fixtures. I found that I had to add task lamps in the form of cheap clip ons from Lowe's over my benches. I also have one clipped on the sander table. I got my T8's at Lowe's, as I do most of this kind of stuff. Here are a couple of quick cell phone pics.

Chris-

One of the biggest factors re lighting IMO (maybe already mentioned) is direction, needed to get the proper "bounce" for assessing flatness, surface prep., finishing progress etc etc.. So for me, a couple of overhead fixtures for general lighting, but several movable arm "task lights" are invaluable. (You can pay a little or a lot... many sell them). Also, a window if possible, for natural colour, oblique "bounce" in direct sunlight etc. (.....you think you've got all the bumps out of a carved archtop, 'till you hold it up in the sun & see more dings than the fender of an old Buick!)

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Dave
Milton, ON

+1