Glenn Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 How much light is needed in a smithy or a work shop? Is there a preference between incandescent and fluorescent and metal halogen? How much light is needed to work? Anyone out there that can suggest light measurements in lumens or foot candles or whatever, or some way to know there is enough light? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I think its more what you get used to.... you want the amount to be low enuf to see metal colors ( no direct sunlight) and fairly consistent throught the day ...the main consideration is being able to see the heat of your metal and judge its plasticity .you might make the layout and bench areas lighter and the forge area darker (if you have the room)other than that i would guess whatever you feel comfortable with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 well as just a beginner I found I needed more light when I was tempering, so I have a 3 regular 4' florescent each on its own switch, for general lighting, and I switch in the halogen when I need more light. Mine is in a shed with a barn/sliding door. I leave it open for the sunlight, but it is dark enough around the forge area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Depends a lot on what you are forging, bronze and silver work well when it's dark enough you can see if they are glowing slightly. High carbon steel works better if you can tell when they stop glowing. True mild steel is a glutton for punishment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 the main concern if you use florescent lighting is to have shop shades so most of the light is directed down instead of up on the walls and ceiling, and type of bulbs makes a lot of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayco Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I'm kind of anxious to learn something from this thread since I've noticed a definite lighting problem in my little shop this winter. But first, I must say that 'how well you see' probably has much to do with light requirements in your shop. I use reading glasses.....slightly far sighted.....my arms aren't long enough to read the newspaper without them. I 'boxed up' my 8ft. x8ft. forging area for winter. No windows.....so....very little natural light. Even though I have 4 100 watt light bulbs and a 48in. flourescent light in there, I still don't see well at times. I can read the newspaper in natural light,(without the reading glasses), but artificial light doesn't work so well for me. More than once this winter, I've finished a piece inside the shop and thought I had done a decent job, but when I take the finished piece outside I realize that there were little blems and hammermarks I hadn't seen! I have a new shop planned for spring,( with IMPROVED lighting), so I'm interested in this thread. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlarkin Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 An electrician buddy of mine just gave me 2 24" Cooper Metal Halide lowboys for my shop. 400 watts each. They are brand new, with lamps. All I have to do is repair 2 nail guns for him. I know what I am doing this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Depends on what I'm doing. If it's layout, general fab, machine shop stuff, etc. the more light the better up to direct sunlight levels. If I'm smithing I like it dimmer but not dark. Over the years I've gotten pretty good at judging heats in whatever light I had. As I get older I need more light to see so I'm forging in bright and brighter light. If judging temps is critical I either turn the lights down or use a shadow box. My shop'll have a combination of flourescents for general lighting and halogen worklights. Something else you can't have too many of in a shop are outlets, 110v and 220v or whatever your nation uses. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Covington Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I find the older I get the more light I need. I have floresent light and they need help on a dark day. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skunkriv Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Anymore I like all of the light I can get. Can always shade things under the forge if needed. Small shop 14X24. 6 evenly spaced incandescent lights with 300's at the 4 corners and 100's in the middle. Just a little off center is a 4 tube fluorescent fixture with "Daylight" bulbs in them. These are about $6 each at True Value. Worth every penny. The fluo fixture lights up my cast iron table, the anvil, and is over my shoulder on the trip hammers. Have a quartz light I can drag around to light up the dark spots as needed. If I ever get my big shop built (with a little more headroom) I will start with metal halide lights and fill in with other sources where needed. On the "cold" lean-to side of the shop there is one 100W bulb at one end to light my way (access the main shop through here) and two 1500W hanging quartz lights. These work good in the cold, provide a lot of light and were cheap. They are only on if I am drilling or grinding or looking for stock then shut right back off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Czar Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 dont have a lumen measure, but the shop is bright, 40' ceilings, 200'x50' or so floorspace, maybe eight full length fluorescents, and an equal number of sodium lamps, the fluorescents are suspended lower than the sodiums at around 30', there are also incandescents under the mezzanine, generally everything is on and often the garage door which is 20x40' with a southern exposure is also open. The anvils and powerhammers arent in a particularly well illuminated area, given how far the lights are above the power hammers, but all the layout tables are very bright, need to see that weld splatter, and surface finish. The main illumination issues I face are in the sandblast cabinets which are relatively dim, in the sandblast booth in the morning when there is too much contrast to see the shadow side well (through the face shield) and for instance when I had to grind the welds on a 2.5 story tall spiral staircase, since you cant easily rotate such a beast, youd end up with certain directions with either too little light on the surface or to much backlight to see well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Light....we all need to see the light.....but there are so many different shop setups/layouts that it has to be determined on an individual basis especially considering the various declining eyesight abilities as we age. I think there should be a brighter lit area for assembly and layout and a dimmer area for forging. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Crabtree Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 in my opinion the more light the better. yes, you cant see the dull red colors with good lighting but when you are forging you dont want the steel to be dull red. I have pretty good lighting in my shop and it helps alot. Also you must take saftey into consideration. the less light you have the more dangerous it is to work in the shop. In my opinion dont belive in the dimmly lit shops of the last centrury because I can almost garentee you if they could have had bright florecent lights they would have. The only light that I have noticed to effect forging is direct sunlight which will make a welding heat look like a normal yellow forging heat. I say the more light the better and the safer. (edit) In hind sight the only time I can remeber turning the lights off in the shop was to harden a large sword that I could not tell if it was all cherry red with the lights on, but as I metioned before this was not totally safe and I defintly stumbled over a few things while I did this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Pook Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I like a lot of light in my shop. The main forging and fabrication area is 24' x40' 12' ceilings, I have 6- 8' HO florescent lights 3 in parallel spread evenly above my layout/welding table, one directly in front of the power hammers, and the other two by the bandsaw and the metal rack. I have another adjustable work lamp by the drill press. I also installed 3- 2'x4' skylights when I built the shop, all on the south facing sunny side of my roof. This is opposite of the forging area so I don't get direct sunlight on the anvil or hammers. I just noticed today though that winter has taken its toll on my lights, and I have one set thats flickering. Its time for some new Lamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry W. Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I'm with Jayco. My eyes aren't what they used to be. I have four sets of 8' fluorescent lights in my workshop. They seem to work well at the forge and anvil. Where I have trouble is at the bandsaw. I have set up a desk type lamp for illumination so that I can stay on the line that I need to cut. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretch Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Just enough:p:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat pete Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 2 rooms, 15x12 clean room well lighted and on the bench is a magnifyer desk lamp with 2 florescent bulbs and another desk lamp with a 100w incandescent, then a nice 100 watter overhead, also the drill press has a florescent lamp right on the work area. then in the forge i have a clamp on with a 100 watter shinning up the wall....so the forge is kinda dim ....during the day there is some natural light available and i have a 2 roll ups that when the weather is nice they r open so there is tons of light... I find I am more creative and concentration is higher at night with the 100 w clamp on shinning up the wall in the forge. The bench room is always well lit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 In a perfect world, the lighting around the forge itself should be just low enough to see the colours as they change in the fire and at the anvil. I have a natural light (a north-facing window) on one side of the forge so tempering is easier, and the main work area of the shop is well lit. I find if the floor gets dirty (dark from dust, etc.), a simple clean-up job brightens the area immensely. Remember, if you are young, having good lighting is not really necessarry... until you get older. This is an area where taking care in planning your shop and work area will take care of you later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frostfly Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I usually work in an open garage door, and use natural light. I have to say I base the ammount of light more on my mood then on what I'm trying to do. When it gets to dim I get depressed. Ok i'm just a big softy :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J W Bennett Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I like being able to see, I am probably wasting electricity but in the main shop area (32x48 with 10ft ceiings and a 10x24 bite out of one side) I have 5 rows of incandescent bulbs with a socket every 4'. In the forge area I use 150w spot lights. in the rest I use 100 w bulbs. each row is on a seperate switch. In the 10x24 warm room I have 2 flouresent fixtures and 4 incandescent lights. I also have several broder lights that I keep handy if I need them. When I used to have a portable welding truck I kept 4 300w halogens, 2 on adjustable stands and 2 mounted to the headache rack. Halogens throw of alot of heat so I don't use them in the shop. Like the 150w spots don't throw of heat:rolleyes: John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chainsaw Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 For my power hammer, treadle and fly press I have recently added some low wattage spot lights next to each one, wow what a difference that makes in accuracy. Otherwise my lighting is fairly dim.. No measurement as to brightness, but sure would like to know a cheap method to measure.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 23, 2008 Author Share Posted February 23, 2008 Light meters used by photographers will measure the amount of light. Some are calibrated for f/stops, others for lumens, foot candles, etc. Even an old stype camera will give you some indication by looking at the f/stop and shutter speed from one area to another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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