On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:21:56 -0600, -MIKE- cast forth these pearls of
wisdom...:

I would reccomend mutiple floursecents. They are cool and cheap. The more,
the better.


I agree with the fluorescents. You can put different color temperature
tubes in, (instead of the stock ones that give everything that pukey
green tint) which will give you much better results when staining.

However, I recommend not going with the $8-11 garage fixtures. The
ballasts last about a year and can not be replaced. At minimum, buy a
fixture in which the ballast can be replaced. You should be able to
find $15-18 fixtures with ballast replacement under 10 dollars. The
ballasts will last at least a few years, and the fixture is stronger
than tin foil.

I have often recommended the $8 shop fixture from Home Depot. It has a 0
degree C ballast, and the ballast is easily changed if you were so
inclined. I've had them hanging for a couple of years now and they've
outlived the $35 fixtures I had in my garage. I have a furnace in my
garage so it never gets much colder than around 40 F or so, and my Borg
shop lights fire up immediately in those temps. No flicker, no buzz. I
have 15 of them hanging in my garage, so it's not likely that I just got a
couple of good ones.

I was never able to find any ballasts for under $10, even though people say
they have. Typically considerably more than that. At $8 for the whole
fixture, it's kind of hard to beat the price.
--

-Mike-