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As I've gotten my newly relocated shop going, I've really noticed deficiencies I have in lighting that I never had (quite accidentally) in the old one. In particular, getting good low-angle light on sanding, spraying, and buffing to really bring out the scratches that are there, but are not necessarily easy to spot. I think that getting good shop lighting for this kind of thing is probably similar to getting good studio lighting for photos. I'm not good at either.

What kind of lighting setups are you using to get good all around lighting for that good low angle, unforgiving view of your work?

Dave

I like LED lighting, but I don't think there is any replacement for well placed incandescent lights for seeing scratches. LED is better than fluorescent, but somehow a good bright incandescent bulb at an angle really makes them pop. At least that's my experience.

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Paint your ceiling white, and the walls a light color.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

The light I use for low angle (or any angle really) lighting of close work is a drafting lamp mounted on my bench that has a fluorescent circline bulb and an LED bulb. The combination of the two different types of light sources works well for bringing out details. When I'm doing close work such as sanding, buffing, inlays, binding, fret work, etc., I move the lamp head around frequently while I'm working to get the best lighting angle I need at the moment. It's easy and fast to adjust. It also brings the light source close to the work so the light on the work is quite bright. It's also nice to not have an incandescent bulb in there because they throw a lot of heat. Not a big problem during winter, but not so great on a hot summer day.

IMO, lighting for studio type photos is quite different. For that you want very bright indirect and/or diffused light sources. It also helps if they are easy to move around relative to the subject to change lighting angles.

I general, I favor being able to easily move the light source rather then the object being lit to change the lighting angle.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

A cheap clip on "hot light" like I used in the photo studio can give you the harsh low angle lighting you need to show up scratches in the finish.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bayco-SL-300 ... r/14003467

In addition to having two adjacent 48”x24” LED troffer lights over my bench, and a window close by for natural light, I really like having a swing arm lamp temporarily mounted in a dog hole on my bench. It lets me direct the light the way J mentioned. You can get a handy steel bushing with a lip that is made just for this. I made one out of wood before I learned that someone made them out of metal. Very handy.

not all leds are the same go to a good lighting store and get an education of light heat
I use 3 lights 4 ft led tubes and coiled lights that are high heat also spot halogens for focus work
I love the new led 4 ft tubes lots of light with a good color spectrum
using different lights allows a wider spectrum. nothing beats sunlight so plan around a window

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Thanks for all the suggestions! I think the biggest issue I have compared to my old shop is lack of natural lighting--my old shop was above ground, the new one is in a basement. But I have some good ideas to try out now.

Dave

Almost as an aside I’ve noticed that small LED lights have got quite cheap. I have one that has a magnet on the back and is good for task lighting such as on the bandsaw.

Dave M