better light

[bubbaman]

i dwefinitely need a better light - but don`t know what they are caled guess i can go to LOWE`S and look in electrical  -  the one i`m using is garbage

[Ace-Garageguy]

You're going to get a lot of different suggestions, but I kinda like cheap when it works well.

I got the lamps themselves at the Goodwill for $5 each, and the bulbs are 100-watt-equivalent compact-fluorescent jobs. They only draw 25 watts each....and they're BRIGHT.

NOTE: DO NOT use 100-watt incandescent bulbs in these lamps. You'll melt the switch !!

[Harry P.]

Get an LED desklamp. It gives off natural colored "daylight" light, not the yellow light of incandescent bulbs or the "cold" light of fluorescent bulbs. Also, NO heat... and it'll last forever. A few more bucks up front, but you will not regret it.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=LED+magnifier+lamp&tbm=shop

[StevenGuthmiller]

I just have a cheap fluorescent shop light hanging over my bench & a cheap lighted magnifier on it.

Cheap works just fine for me too!

 

Steve

[Dave Ambrose]

I'll second the LED lamp with a magnifier. (I think I have the same one as Harry.) It's helped me a lot, and it doesn't get hot under the lights.

[berr13]

Harry's right.  Last time this topic came up I bought one he recommended and I've been VERY happy with it.  With the combination of better light and a magnifier I've been able to see better and the quality of my models has improved quite a bit.

[Harry Joy]

I use cheap old desklamps for building. I stopped using "daylight" type bulbs a while back. I used to use bulbs from my small stash of old incandescents, but lately I've been using yellowish, low watt modern bulbs. Daylight bulbs have a bluish light that is similar to real unfiltered light, but unless you display your models under similar light, the colors will look off. Paints do not look the same under different color lamps.
 

Edited January 16, 2016 by Harry Joy

[Casey]

 Last time this topic came up

 

I have 48" LED Commercial Electric lights hanging from the ceiling and honestly do not needs a task light, but if you only want to go with a smaller light, definitely go with an LED light, one which puts out as many lumens as possible.

[gtx6970]

I have a 4 ft cheap fluorescent dual bulb  light over head of the bench to give some overall lighting of the whole work area. And  then  2 moveable spot lamps I move around to light up particular areas and a 6" circular lighted magifier for detail / closeup work.

[peteski]

Strong lighting is vital for miniature model work. I often work on 1:43 or even 1:160 scale models.  On my workbench I use 2 sunnex gooseneck 20W halogen lights and 2 magnifier  lamps with  3000K "Kitchens and Bathrooms" GE fluorescent bulbs which have CRI of 85 (pretty decent CRI for fluorescent lamps).  The halogen lights also have an excellent CRI value. The halogen lamps have very small heads so I can position them very close to my face and to the work area to focus the intense light exactly where I need it.

The Sunnex lamps aren't cheap, but they are well worth their price.  I bought mine about 150 years ago. I just checked their website and nowadays they offer a whole range of LED-based lamps. Still, I like the halogen ones for their high CRI.

 

[JohnU]

Sam's Club in my area carries a 4 ft LED shop light that out shines fluorescent tubes at $35 a unit! I'm replacing the lighting in my whole workshop!

[drsnapper55]

My cheap vote is for the hanging fluorescent shop lights w/ t12 bulbs for around $12 each at Home Depot (w/o bulb) - link here.  I replaced one and added one just last week for two different work areas and very satisfied - couldn't swing the LED cost for what I needed.  I tossed all my incandescent spotters - always bumping (and burning) my head (I had the exact setup as you Bill w/ melted switches!).  Buying bulbs is not as simple as it once was (a whole other government discussion here), so I will be buying some more daylight t12 bulbs soon too ($6.97 2 pk) - they will eventually be discontinued?  With this in mind, it might be more cost efficient in the long run to go with LED if you can.

If if you have an area that's not practical for ceiling hanging and have a table surface, you can build a pvc frame to hang just about any a shop light from - basically two 'T' connections on each end at the base and a runner across the top - exactly like this and can be even simpler for fewer lights - http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/building-a-pvc-light-frame-kit/  If you turn the lights on frequently and have the room, you could even throw you some herbs under it too!

I would to still like to get a focused led light/magnifier though, something like the 150 year old sunnex above - thanks to all those that have shared already.