On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 00:22:49 GMT, "James B. Millard" wrote:

||I'm having a small shop built and am getting close to having to decide what
||I'm going to do for lighting. the shop is 14'x18' and will house a
||workbench a small lathe and mill and whatever else I accumulate...
||
||I was thinking about flourescent lighting but I don't really have any idea
||how much or exactly what optimum placement is.
||
||Anybody have any ideas?

As others have written, the older you get, the more light you need. A 60 year
old needs about 10 times the light to see as well as a 20 year old.
So, more is better, and wide spectrum is helpful.

My shop currently is 24x40, with a 24x30 work area.
Lighting is:

10-ft tracklight bars on either side, halfway up the celing slope. I use
incandescent floodlights directed as needed for projects. They will reach work
on the bench, work on the floor, pointed at the wall for indirect backlighting
of the bench. And they are cheap.

A big metal-halide light (bright white light, like they use at HD to light the
store) in the center of the shop ceilfing, for "fill", and to add a little white
to the spectrum. These are very energy efficient.

Flourescent tubes over the benches and equipment.

A mixture of halogen, incandescent, and flourescent tasklights, wall mounted
pivots, articulated arms to position over bench work. You can find these
2nd-hand pretty easily.

Corded halogen floods and smaller worklights to get under cars and into engine
compartments with.

Overall this works pretty well. What I'd add is more flourescents, and paint the
walls and ceiling white.
Rex in Fort Worth