Workbench lighting

What lighting do you guys use on your workbench? In the dungeon where I`m allowed to make my bike kits the ambient light is really poor. I have a table lamp with two adjustable arms at the back of the bench,(the only place it will fit) which lights the side of the bike I`m not working on beautifully but I`m getting sick of modelling with a torch clamped between my teeth :o) Any recomendations for a good shadowless light source?

donut wrote:
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Three 18" 5000K (natural daylight) fluorescent fixtures.

During the warmer months, I move my workbench into the garage and work by the open garage door in natural sunlight. Colder months, natural sunlight flourescent tubes in the crypt with a NS flourscent "bulb" in the swing-arm.

On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:25:53 +0000, donut wrote:
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What colour are the walls and furniture in your 'dungeon'? You'll never create a shadowless light source without having every object in the room produce light, which is not feasable, but getting every object, including the walls, to reflect loads of diffuse light is a passable second best. Paint the whole room white, or something close to that, and then have enought Watts bouncing around the room.
Rob

donut wrote:
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I use a flourescent ring magnifier lamp. The lamp bulb is circular, surrounding a large magnifying lens. It has a parallel link adjustable arm/elbow with adjustable tightening knobs. I LOVE it. It was expensive when I got it as a gift about thirty years ago, but the prices seem to have dropped (if you include inflation) in the intervening years.
Also, the cross section of the parallel links is square, and I find the arm a good place to hang my closepins and small plastic clamps :-)

Having a fluorescent tube going from port to starboard is very common but not good. You want light sources on both shoulders. Was in someone's basement recently, he had tubes going front to back on both sides and an adjustable light in front for spotlighting. In both rooms I model in I've got three lights positioned so I get plenty of light and few shadows. If you don't have the money for new fixtures, just use whatever you have at hand, even incandescent. Just don't try to color match... hth The Keeper

The Keeper wrote:
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Good point. In addition to the moveable fluorescent fixture ON the bench, I have a long fluorescent fixture on the ceiling BEHIND the bench. So the ceiling fixture gives me good lighting from behind, while I can position the bench light to wherever I need it.
Personally, I think proper lighting is one of the most important "tools" in model building. Don't scrimp on lighting.

Am 16 Nov 2005 06:04:28 -0800 schrieb "The Keeper":
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My shop is lighted with four fluorescent tubes, that are angled diagonal 45 degrees to the walls in a V form. Look at the sketch (seen from above):
+---------------------+ Outlines are walls |TTTT\\TTTTTT//TT PC | TTT = work table area |TTTTT\\TTTT//TTT W D = door D \\ // W W = window (view to north) D | PC = speaks for itself |SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS| S = Shelves +---------------------+
With this setup I get nearly shadow free light all over the work place, the tube pairs consist of a warm tone and an extra cold tube each. The use of two different light tones gives a spectrum that is suitable even for photographic purposes. All four tubes can be switched on and off independently. Anf *If* there is needed extra light when working with a 10x magnifying glass or semi microphotographic work (around once a year), I use an old Dia projector (200 watts halogen) fitted with a goose neck light conductor instead of projection lens - even the use of color filters is possible by use of dia frames with filters. And: such a projector is useful for some model photographic purposes, too, because it can give HARD shadowed light if necessary...
cu, ZiLi aka HKZL (Heinrich Zinndorf-Linker)