I'm never entirely sure in which "other LED light" sub-forum these posts should go in, but this one'll do for now.
Anyway, for ages I've been struggling to get enough light on my work when I'm in the garage, especially in the winter when cold temps make the CFL light completely useless. I built an LED desklamp (https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/19290) which helped when I was working on my little corner, but didn't reach far enough for my lathe.
So I used the rest of that bar of aluminium (dumpster find!) to build a 4x Nichia 119 light bar. Before I chopped off a bit for the desklamp
added a clothes hanger sourced light hanger :) and drilled'n'tapped for the LEDs
and driver cover and strain relief (btw, I have no idea what the other holes are for)
and with it's little cover made out of an old Macbook pro battery cover :) Should provide a bit of cooling for the driver, should it need it.
amazingly, it worked!
now hanging from my garage sub-ceiling
optics are 2x 60deg and 1x 45deg XM-L optics from LEDDNA (http://www.leddna.com/60-degree-21mm-reflector-collimator-led-lens-for-cree-xml-xm-l-led/ use BLF15 for another 15% off!), which are quite a bit narrower than that with the Nichia 119. There was a 25deg optic on there, but the overall beam was too narrow, so I pulled it off (just attached with silicone sealant) and now it's just right.
with everything on
now we're getting somewhere! Still one more light to make, a dual fibre optic XM-L EZW light for the lathe and other close in work. I'll be using another one of these drivers as it works a treat - 440mA at the emitter with 12.7V, so it should run that 12V XM-L EZW without problems.
thanks! Thing is, I know where everything is on that bench and whenever I tidy it up I’m completely lost until I’ve found where I’ve put everything again
eggsackerly Besides, what’s the point of putting stuff away when you have to get it out again the next day? I occasionally have to root around for a cutter under the cruft, but it doesn’t take that long. What I’d love though is to have a giant ring of neodymium magnets around the edge of that corner where I work, so that any screws/nuts/etc that I drop stick to it before hitting the floor and getting sucked under the lawnmower/ tool chest/ quantum singularity. Hmm, another project….
I do all my work on the back porch breakfast table or the folding table (laundry table) in the utility room. Have to get done what I’m doing and put everything away immediately or get griped at. My reflowing is done on the stove, with a 6” disc of SS on a glass cook top.
Wish I had a little lathe like that as well. Looks like a little slice o heaven to me!
I knew I had to clean my bench when I started to do my work on the washing machine. Ever notice that when a flat surface has a lid, it tends to be kept clear?
I’m kinda like that - all my electronics stuff gets done on the kitchen table, mostly because I’m prone to dropping things (XP-E bare LED on the kitchen floor is findable, not so much on the garage floor) but also because of all the metal shavings around.
I was over the moon when my friend gave me that lathe and he’s super happy someone is using it as it was intended. I’ve spent a lot of time rebuilding it and adding extra functions, like an on-off switch Just finished fitting a 4 jaw, nearly done with my “digital readouts” (ie repurposed digital tire depth gauges!) and next up is a drill chuck adapter for the tail stock. That and making new slide nuts to cure the ridiculous amount of backlash it has. Lots and lots of stuff to keep me busy!
thanks, that’s quite the compliment. It’s like me, ugly but supremely functional
that made me laugh Doesn’t apply to the laundry hamper lid though, I’m always having to lift the kids crap off the top to put my clothes in it…
thanks! There’s no such thing as crap, just stuff you haven’t found a use for yet! For around $10 all in, I’m super happy with it and it’s made working on my lathe much easier. Still need to sort out my spot lighting for it, that’ll be another fun project.
my bench is slowly accumulating a similar patina lol
nice job, I’m planning on adding lots of led work light builds to my list of next years project and I do need to clear the garage so I can get my own lathe in.
I was also bemused to notice what looks like a uv dye charging kit hanging above the bench. it looks identical to mine
ooh, you’re getting a lathe? Any idea what sort/ model etc? The more work I do, the more light I need and I hate working in my own shadow, so this was a big boon. It helped a lot when I was facing down the headstock spindle to take the 4 jaw as I could easily see the tip of the cutter so I could judge depth of cut.
Yup, UV dye kit that I bought to try and find a major coolant leak in my car AC. Turns out I didn’t need it in the end as the leak was so large I could hear it through the cabin vents! Oh, what a fun job that was, taking out the whole dash to replace the evaporator. Works a treat now though and the mental scars have almost healed
A very very functional light that is :-) I am burdened with the urge to always do extra work trying to make things look nice as well, with every build you show, I'm jealous of your "it works, I'm done" attitude
thanks! I often wished I shared your urge, but it’s just who I am. I’m very much function over form, classicist, empirical scientist etc, although I can appreciate the form in others (my wife for example :laughing:. Then again, if everyone was like me, we’d be surrounded by ugly but functional things, which would be simply horrible
The best thing about making functional lights is that if you make them bright enough no one can see how ugly they are.
The aluminum bar was used by a machine shop and functioned as one half of a set of “soft jaws.” The two counterbore’d holes are spaced such that the bar can bolt to a vise (such as a kurt 6” vise) and function as a long, machinable jaw. The machinist milled some “steps” into the jaws, which essentially act as parallels and support the part to be machined. You can see where the part was drilled thru, as the drill created partial holes into the soft jaws. Holes that are positioned real close to the outside profile of a part sometimes do not allow the use of standard 1/8” wide parallels, as the parallels might be struck during the machining process. Soft jaws can be convenient in this circumstance. Also, the part may have been considerably wider than the 6” width of the Vise, and so the long jaws provide some support out at the extremities. Naturally, there is not much “clamping” occurring out at the ends of the jaws, so C-clamps or Kant-Twist clamps should be used on either end to provide actual clamping force if necessary.
I made a similar light bar from an 8’ length of aluminum, 16 matching computer heat sinks and 8 x XM-L’s. Driven at 3A (to each emitter) from a 24V power supply, it puts out some very useful even bright lighting. But it does have its consequences. Because it has no optics (bare emitters), even glancing in the direction of the light through my preferential vision causes blue spots to appear on my retinas. I have to be very careful not to look anywhere in its direction when its powered up. I might put some wide angle TIR’s on it at a later date, but I doubt it would make much difference.
damn, that must be one hell of a lot of light fp! I’ve used workshop lights (including this one) with and without optics, and optics make a huge difference in how pleasant they are to use, mostly through reducing glare. You do lose a little of the side illumination (the reason why I pulled one optic off mine), but that might not be a huge issue depending on use. The optics on this bar aren’t quite ideal - they’re meant for XM-Ls so the effective beam angle is narrower with the Nichia 119.
I just need to make another one for the other side of the work bench now
It puts out a ton of flood lighting onto the bench. The emitters are spaced far enough apart to overlay their beams and prevent shadows, even with my hands loitering over the work. Fun stuff! Everything is blanketed in mega bright white light and easy to see. It really spoils the hell out of me when working underneath it. Screw CRI when you can have unlimited even floodlighting (not that I dont appreciate your awesome setup). IMHO, if you have a bench, go for lux… and a lot of it. I have 12’ ceilings in the garage, so I might move it out there at some point to see how the added height helps in reducing glare. But as long as I keep my head down where its supposed to be, its not a problem. I played around with different currents and blew a few LED’s at around 4.5A. Oh well, Ive got a bunch left over from sinkpad/emitter swaps. I cut the PSU back to 2.5A (from 3A) and hardly notice any reduction in lux. Now it runs far cooler and the heat sinks can easily keep up during the long extended runs. Thanks for your comments on optics. I like the wide spill from the naked emitters so Id like to avoid them if possible. If glare gets to be to much of a nuisance, I’ll have to make some changes. Everyone that walks into my shop wants me to build them bench light… so dont show yours off or you’ll be bothered unrelentingly.
that sounds awesome! Especially the sheer quantity of light - the only downside with making this light is that it makes the rest of the garage seem so dim now I just can’t wait to move into my own house, then I can really go to town and do something similar to what you’ve done, especially now I’m accumulating more tools (bandsaw and bench grinder now need their own lights!). Still, that’s the great thing about LEDs - it’s just so easy to make lights with them, the problem is knowing when to stop
As for optics, I can see where you’re coming from. Bare LEDs are superior for all round lighting, without a doubt, but I’m not very good with glare (don’t like driving in traffic at night for example) so optics suit me better.
Besides, what’s the point of putting stuff away when you have to get it out again the next day? I occasionally have to root around for a cutter under the cruft, but it doesn’t take that long. What I’d love though is to have a giant ring of neodymium magnets around the edge of that corner where I work, so that any screws/nuts/etc that I drop stick to it before hitting the floor and getting sucked under the lawnmower/ tool chest/ quantum singularity. Hmm, another project….
