"Tim Streater" wrote in message
.. .
When my Dad had his lathe delivered in the late 70s (who do you think
taught me the importance of the right tool for the right job ?) I remember
the delivery guy commenting that we should fit something to the power
supply to de-phase it from the lights. (Or maybe something to the lights).
He had the mandatory tale of seeing someone put their face into a spinning
lathe.

My grandpa had various fluorescent tubes (full-length 5-foot ones on the
ceiling and shorter 2-foot ones that plugged into bayonet fittings)
illuminating his garage where he had his lathe, but he also had an
anglepoise lamp with a low-power tungsten bulb to illuminate the work. I
remember him telling me (and showing me) why the tungsten one was necessary,
to avoid strobe-freezing. It also provided useful back-lighting and shadows
which made the swarf a bit easier to see as it was coming off.


Does anyone remember those fancy record decks which had a strobe speed
adjustment ?

Yes, I still have one (haven't used it for about 25 years tho). Has a
strobe built in an you can adjust the speed up/down. And set it for
60Hz if you happen to take it there. It's a Thorens TD135 II.

My dad's B&O turntable had those strobe markings - it had two scales, one
for 50 Hz and one for 60 Hz mains. I was surprised how sharp the markings
were - not much wider when rotating than when stationary, given that
tungsten lights stay alight a lot longer than fluorescents on each mains
cycle.