Have a look at how I did the lighting in my shop.

[Cheese]

Do this ggat gave fluorescent not use high frequency with rotating tools etc?? Especially lathes and the like?? Some fluorescent can give the effect of a still chuck/blade etc.  At the wrong speed...

I regularly use a small metal lathe (just yesterday) under a pair of 8' fluorescent lights and also have a powerful LED task light pointing at the chuck area where the part I'm turning is mounted. Both are powered on the 60 Hz mains without any strobe issues effecting the lathe. Just lucky??? Dunno...

 

[teocaf]

[member=2205]teocaf[/member]
Sweet...I've missed some of your lengthy, comedic and interesting dissertations...just kind of confused, why did you need to populate the box with those many drivers? Couldn't you have driven that array with 1 gigantic driver or several more powerful drivers?

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]
thanks for the shoutout.  i should make it clear that the video link i posted was not my shop lighting, but rather something i found recently on youtube that addressed this thread and also my concerns as i'm now trying to individually replace some of my dying fluorescent ballasts with the led option.  i don't have an answer as to why the guy is using so many drivers for individual strips, but if anyone here knows or has better solutions, i would also be interested in the info. 

i've only got 2 led lights so far in my own shop:  one that i got on sale from rockler exactly like the one mentioned in this thread, and it replaced one crapped out fl. ballast.  so far it works great and i hope it lasts as long as the hours it's rated for, because as i understand it, you just throw them out after that unless you find a way to retrofit them with fresh led strips.  the other one is a short modular one i got from home depot and it goes over one my workbenches.  it also replaced a fluorescent that i kept having to smack every time until it lit.  the new one is meant to take additional strips in a chainlike fashion.  as expensive as they are, they do have some nice advantages and can be moved around easier as the shop evolves or moves.  perhaps that is one reason that the dude in the video decided to have them all individually driven.  i'll be looking at this and other lighting threads as i'm mulling over my own needs.

as to the lack of sparkling commentary from me on this forum, it's probably a combination of reasons, but no need to derail the lighting thread.  still, i hope to see some of you foggies at festool connect soon.

-

 

[rmwarren]

I received an email ad from Global Industrial offering 2' by 4' drop ceiling type led lights for around $85 each shipped free. 50W - 5000 lumens - 4000K.

Was thinking about using a couple of them in conjunction in a t-bar grid along with the 2' by 4' radiant heat panel to both finish the shop ceiling and provide heat/light.

Price seems good for the amount of light they should provide.

RMW

 

[Coach.carpenter]

Thanks David, that's really helpful. I have absolutely terrible lighting conditions in my workshop and have been collecting light fittings over the last couple of months and all the necessary cabling etc to revamp it. I actually have a couple of lights on stands that i place over my bench or table saw. a crap set up that i will be working on.

I have refined the process of lighting through creating 3 new shops over the past 20 years. I hope you can pick up some tips by watching the video. [smile]

Click here to see!

 

[nclemmons]

I looked at the Big A** lights but settled on these - https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/174170/PQL-55214.html

Equivalent light output for 1/3 the price and better CRI. 

I installed 8 of them in a farm shop - 18' sidewalls with a space of 50'x75'.  Walls and ceiling are insulated with white-backed insulation so I get excellent reflection.

Very pleased so far.  Granted, these are rated at 50,000 hours versus Big  at 150,000, but I felt like 25 years was plenty of useful life!

 

[sancho57]

The best light is daylight, so anyone building their own workshop, have the entire roof (or as much as possible) made of clear polycarbonate. You won't need any windows so you'll get more wall space too.

Hey Ive been to a guys shop like that