[cboy]

I have been using some halogen light stands in my shop for painting and paint prep but was intrigued by the fluorescent lights Bee4Me had rigged up for painting in his shop - as shown in entry 33 of this thread.

For the stand base I used some speaker stands I got with a home theater system. I wall mounted the speakers so had never used the stands. I added a 24" extension at the top to make them a bit taller.



I cut a 12" length of angle iron and mounted it to the back of two typical 4 foot fluorescent ceiling fixtures ($9 each at Menards). I also bolted a conduit hanger to the center of the the angle iron which slides over the top of the speaker stand pole. Make sure when you drill and mount the fixtures that the ballast is at the bottom. This stabilizes the unit and keeps it from getting to top heavy.



And here's the first of two stands I made set up and ready to do some painting. Each stand ended up costing about $20, including new bulbs.



I tried out the lights today while doing some sanding on the primer and they seemed to work very well. They are not nearly as hot as the halogen lights and use much less electricity. Also, the lights seem to show the low spots, flaws and sanding scratches quite well.

I may also make up a "sand bag" to lay over the top of each base just to make sure they won't tip over in the event I bump them while painting. They are pretty stable but I wouldn't want one going over during a painting session. I want to keep the the lights a mobile as possible so I can quickly and easily move them from spot to spot, but I also don't want them to pose any hazard.

There are a few more pictures in my journal if interested.

[NEW INTERIORS]

The base could be a little bigger for the height.But Another great idea Cboy.Way to go...

[Kevin45]

Scout the trash piles, or even the traveling tool truck for some cheap halogen work lights with the adjustable bases. Trash the lights and use the tripod base to mount your flourescents. Sometimes the travelling tool show that goes through town will have the double halogens for $9.99.

[poncho62]

Look at garage sales for an old movie screen stand.....fold up tripod legs.

[burnt olds]

standard flywheels or big brake drums work for stand bottoms .
them lights are great , but the lower cost ones don't like the cold temps and seem to burn out the ballast in them .
a plus on going green , we all need to kick them flood lights to the dump , but they will heat your panels for adding filler .

[grouch]

Nice work.

Originally Posted by cboy

I may also make up a "sand bag" to lay over the top of each base just to make sure they won't tip over in the event I bump them while painting. They are pretty stable but I wouldn't want one going over during a painting session. I want to keep the the lights a mobile as possible so I can quickly and easily move them from spot to spot, but I also don't want them to pose any hazard.

I needed a movable stand for my vise so I welded a couple of pieces of rebar about 10 inches up on some 2x2 square tubing, cut a disc of sheet metal and tacked it to the bottom, stuck the thing in an old 13" tire, bent the rebar to spread the tire bead, and filled the tire with concrete. It's stable. The rubber keeps it from gouging the floor when I barrel-roll it to where I need it or when I'm pounding on something in the vise.

Maybe a trailer tire filled with concrete would do for your light stands. As long as the amount of concrete outweighs everything above it, it will try to right itself when you bump it -- weeble factor.