shop lighting

[dan moran]

i just wanted to post a thanks/testimonial to some of the advice i found here concerning lighting in the shop..

i recently started setting up "shop" in my 20'x20' garage- "shop" used to be mainly onsite/in the yard for me and its nice to have a hard surface with a roof in order to get things done.

one of the tips i used from here was to use full spectrum flourescents - i remember a lot of ppl suggesting it (but had forgotten the cited reasoning behind it) and installed like 7 fixtures out there.

i was building a pair of built in bookcases for a job and got to the point of priming them, and the lights made every little flaw in the primer stand out like it was the end of the world- so i recoated and sanded until i got to the point that i was telling myself "if they dont like it they can sue me" which took a while but i finally stopped.

installed em yesterday and wouldnt you know, the living room theyre now in has much softer lighting and the stuff i thought was glaringly defective isnt even visible..

hmm i think i remember the reasoning behind good lighting now..

some pics of the job:

before:




after(almost- as im heading back tonight to add a few mouldings/topcoat) :

[Jim Becker]

Those shelves are a great addition to that room. Nice!

And yes, great lighting in your shop will help to insure that your projects look good no matter where they get installed.

[Merle Clor]

Dan,
Can you tell me specifically which fixtures and lamps you purchased? Also, did you get them at the borg or a local place?
Thanks,
Merle

[dan moran]

Dan,
Can you tell me specifically which fixtures and lamps you purchased? Also, did you get them at the borg or a local place?
Thanks,
Merle

picked a couple of em up at the Menardsborg @~12-13 apiece -i got the cheaper (T12 i think?) two bulb ones which have a bit of flex in the bodies-but that dont matter too much since theyre screwed to scrap plywood which is in turn screwed to the rafters in the garshop..

also have a few fixtrues that came out of a public housing rehab where my electrician brother is working..

as for bulbs- i got some sylvania 40w full spectrum from menards but one of em burnt up and the replacements are phillips, which are a lot better in my opinion..

my brother tells me theyre throwing away/replacing all the gas furnaces in the project hes on and that as soon as he gets a chance hes gonna throw one on the truck for me..