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Ever Need more light to work..

5K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Kevin45 
#1 ·
A friend of my told me to post this idea the I did on my shop to get more light where I needed it. When ever I do body work I always find there is always a dark spot that I need a little more light to see.

So my idea was simple, tool some 10foot 1x4 attached two fluorescent light to them using the chains that cam with them. Mounted pulley's and those screw in loops and a bunch of tuna line to run up the wall, though the pulleys and down to the lights.
I also took extra chain and attached it to the side flange of each light, then put a screw in the wood so I can tilt the lights if needed.

I know is a little hard to explain so I took some pictures..

Now I just lower the lights and turn them when I need to see like the side of the car etc, and with power prices going up I only plug in the ones I need. Very cool...
 

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#3 ·
Rob Keller said:
thats a great I dea .
I can't get enuf walls to block out the light!

LOL

{no shop}

R :thumbup:
But you got the biggest workbench around.

I like the light idea. I always seem to hang mine too low and then have to hoist them up when I have to drive the forklift to the back of the shop. Then I don't put them down afterwards. Makes mikeys shop a dark and dismal place.
Or sometimes I leave them down and drive the forklift into them. If I used your idea and put them on strings I could see my work and not be cleaning upo broken lightbulbs. good one :thumbup:
mikey
 
#5 ·
siding instead of drywall

I used metal building siding in my shop instead of drywall for the walls and ceiling. I used white and it really works neat. You just screw it up in long lengths and your done. I don't like to tape and paint drywall and the cost is rally close. The wall outlets can be cut with a plasma cutter and not discolor the prepainted metal. Just something to give you another option to finish your shop.
 
#6 ·
The other day I painted my walls semi-gloss white and added 4- 4' fluorescent lights mounted about 4' up from the floor on one wall. Then I added 16' of fluorescent lights on the ceiling about 8 feet from the opposite wall. So much brighter over the 12-75w incadescents and the 4- 500w halogens in all 4 corners. Now plans are to add 4 more 4 footers on the opposite wall and 3 more sets of 16' fluorescents on the ceiling equally spaced. It is just remarkable the fluorescents make over incadescents.The chain idea is good, especially depending on where you are working and what application :thumbup: I might just have to file that in the back of my mind for future use.

Garyrouschkolb....
How about some pics of the inside with the metal walls. I am seriously considering that for mine. I am curious as to how you did the outlets.

Thanks,
Kevin
 
#7 ·
No....

I'm not going to need more lights than what I will be getting after I finish the wiring and OSB installation in my 20 by 22' garage. I've got 36 (!!!) lights planned for in there right now, and my dad offered me 3 4-bulb 4 footers and another 20 2 bulb units over the weekend. Feel free to send the cash to pay my light bill should I turn them all on at once.... :eek: I could probably light a runway, or maybe even dim the neighborhood lights just by lighting half of them. No matter what, though, I'll almost go broke buyng the plug-in ends for them. All of those lights had been hard wired into some old school outbuildings that my dad tore down.



In a while, Chet.
 
#8 ·
schnitz said:
I'm not going to need more lights than what I will be getting after I finish the wiring and OSB installation in my 20 by 22' garage. I've got 36 (!!!) lights planned for in there right now, and my dad offered me 3 4-bulb 4 footers and another 20 2 bulb units over the weekend.
In a while, Chet.
hahahaha
Are you sure you are working on cars in that room??? J/K
It sounds like you are building a dope growing room. J/K again
Out in california the feds look at electric bills and send out spies to investigate. not kidding there.
if you turn all those lights on at once you will need to put your welding helmet on to work. :cool:
later, mikey
 
#9 ·
powerrodsmike said:
hahahaha
Are you sure you are working on cars in that room??? J/K
It sounds like you are building a dope growing room. J/K again
Out in california the feds look at electric bills and send out spies to investigate. not kidding there.
if you turn all those lights on at once you will need to put your welding helmet on to work. :cool:
later, mikey
In Florida the use infared on helicopters
for the xtra hot heat signatures.
I go outside with the video camera when the copters are flying around & take pics of them!

HA HA HA :nono:


R :thumbup:
 
#10 ·
powerrodsmike said:
hahahaha
Are you sure you are working on cars in that room??? J/K
It sounds like you are building a dope growing room. J/K again
Out in california the feds look at electric bills and send out spies to investigate. not kidding there.
if you turn all those lights on at once you will need to put your welding helmet on to work. :cool:
later, mikey

I used to farm, remember? One year, I had decided to try raising chickens. For one solid month, we had military aircraft flying overhead 3-4 times daily. Prior to that, it had been 1 or 2 per month. Something tripped the radar, alright. No raids or anything, but I had really hoped for one. Can you imagine 50 federal agents swarming a barn to find..... 200 Cornish Rock chickens?? And I would have sued big time. Maybe I would've turned a profit that year...


In a while, Chet.
 
#12 ·
Rob Keller said:
You should have borrowed the "myth busters " "chicken gun " & give um a run for the money honey!!


R :thumbup:


not


Umm... I'm a bit confused now. I don't have cable. Have heard of myth busters, but "chicken gun", well I'm lost.


In a while, Chet.
 
#14 ·
However, even with testing tools such as the chicken gun, birdstrikes have been occurring more often. In 1995, 24 people aboard an E-3B Sentry AWACS were killed when 35 Canadian geese were ingested by the aircraft's engine during takeoff at Elmendorf Air Force Base, AL. The following year 34 fatalities were recorded when a Belgian C-130 Hercules collided with a flock of about 500-600 starlings. The U.S. Bird Strike Committee reported that increasing fowl populations, such as Canadian geese, pelicans, starlings, and blackbirds, will increase the number of birstrikes, causing an estimated $149 million in damage between 1999 and 2008.

A proposed Memorandum of Understanding on Aircraft-Wildlife Collisions developed by the Federal Aviation Administration, USAF, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services Division, seeks to alleviate this problem.

Frank Bokulich


Just more proof that the world is going to the birds......



Thanks for the link. Pretty cool to learn about something that you really don't even give a second thought about.


In a while, Chet.
 
#15 ·
light and metal siding for interior

Here are some photos of my shop, It's amazing how cluttered it appears in pictures,but seems of when your working. Maybe I ought to straighten it up.
I used metal siding for the walls and ceiling attached by screws. The wall electrical outlets need to be spaced to fit in the "valleys" of the siding but you can do this by not attaching the box until you measure. Easier to move than try to put on a "ridge". I have a ten foot ceiling but made shelves down three foot and covered the front with beet banners. Free and easier than doors.My floor is white epoxy and is fairly easy to clean but shows weld burn spots. My air line fitting are copper pipe and run under the shelves. I have extra lights placed under the shelves for more light on my large mill for instance.
The shop is comfortable and the extra insulation makes it very quiet. The walls are easy to clean and fireproof. The only drawback is the inside layer screens my cell phone signal to the point that you have to open the door or step outside. OK in the summer but a pain in the winter.
 

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#16 ·
Metal interior

Looked very closely at Gary's metal walls and they look terrific. Doesn't look like you have room for any more equipment. But you have just about everything you could ask for. I am in the process of building a three car garage with inside dimensions of 30w x 24d and a 13 foot ceiling to allow for a 12foot lift. All of this must be insulated and covered. I expect to use rolls of glass insulation and drywall. You mentioned fireproofing and now I wonder if the drywall must be skimmed with plaster. At least the wall common to the new room between the garage and the house needs special attention. Must install about 900 sq ft of drywall adjusting for doors and windows. I wanted to work on cars this summer but I will be spending most of my time working on the garage. Forgot to mention that to save cash I will be doing the wood shingling and the painting. The ques I have is the fluorescent lighting. I planned on three rows of three 4footers. All rows from left to right, the first along the back wall which is work area about three feet from the wall. another row along the hoods of the cars and another row along the rear windows of the cars. Opinions please on using the new 32w t8 lights which are supposed to be energy efficient but give the same light as 40watt bulbs. Also the floor is 4000lb concrete and two weeks old. I think another week is needed for curing before bringing in the cars??? There is a 1986 Monte Carlo under a blue tarp on my front lawn and I wonder how much longer the neighbors will put up with it. :sweat: .........thx ed
 
#17 ·
First off...two weeks cure is adequate for concrete. It would have held the car after a week. As far as the lighting...I would put at least 4 per row and switch them so they can be shut off differently. There is no thing as too much light in a garage. My garage is 28 long and I am planning on switching over to 4 rows of two 8's each. I already took out one bank of incadescents and put in two 8 footers with 4 4 footers down the wall. Huge difference but still not enough light. And the older you get the more you need. Just my $.02 worth though. Looking forward to pics of the garage.


Garyrouschkolb....check out your local lumber / electrical company. They make adapters for boxes to space them out in a couple of different thicknesses.

Kevin
 
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