Lighting .... again

[rsser]

It's a critical matter for turners, esp. faceplate workers with swivel head lathes.

Turn the head and fixed lighting becomes less useful. My fixed lighting is 2 fluoro tubes overhead and a 500w paraflood over the tailstock pointing to the headstock. Good for spindle turning vision. The paraflood is good for warming the right ear in winter. Not so welcome in summer.

The ideal is flexible lighting on the headstock; providing the mount copes with the vibes and the arm is long and flexible enough.

On the DVR XP I made up a couple of saddles for the headstock just to sit a Planet lamp on and that worked OK.

With the next machine, a VL175, I tried a Carbatec flexible neck Halogen lamp with magnetic base. Pic below. This has a relatively narrow beam, good for semi-enclosed forms and good flexibility in the arm.

There isn't enough base on the headstock top to keep it steady (more work is needed to stabilise the whole lathe) and the rocking chipped out some paint. Won't do!

So I transferred the light to the offside overhead air scrubber and the positioning was ideal. But the grip wasn't. The light base has a whopping annular ferrite magnet but with a thin cover strip over it, and the scrubber box doesn't have a lot of mass. So the thing's been knocked off twice. Globe trashed once.

So I got the clamp base from Ctec and have mounted the light on the o/h rail alongside the paraflood. It won't come off but flexibility in aiming is not so hot.

So what's next?

Not keen on another set of saddles on the headstock.

Thinking maybe a return to the Planet lamp but fixing somehow a socket on the headstock to take the neck post (leaving the steel base out of it).

Your thoughts would be welcome.
.

[Allan at Wallan]

Looks like too much trouble and expense Ern.

Stop turning at night and just go in the shed during
sunlight hours ... easier on the eyes too.:2tsup:

Allan

[rsser]

heh heh, trouble and strife you reckon Allan. But no wife.

'Fraid this is for daytime turning and I need every margin I can get these days.

Just been out there wrestling with an out of balance lump; too much rockin' 'n rolling so stabilising the lathe is looking like priority #1. Will try battens on the floor; seem to recall this was DJ's advice to Jefferson way back and it worked. Have got dense rubber under offside mount points at the moment and it's not doing it. The floor is irregular concrete.

An alternative might be to pull the rubber squares out, loosen everything off, and then retighten from the bottom up. I don't think the factory sheet steel stand has it in it to twist the lathe bed but you never know.

[RETIRED]

Maybe this Ern?

[vk4]

Ern ,

You need weight down low to stabilize the lathe , mine is screwed to the floor and still rocks & rolls as it is too light,.

If the stand has a shelf , clean it off and add a couple of 20Kg bags of sand,If no SHELF, then add 1 . this should dampen the gyrations .

Jeff

[wheelinround]

Ern the lights are good but the magnet strength can and does cause problems for bearings and shaft wear and possibly slow rpm/rotation down and if near Digital read outs or electronics etc.

One of our turners (http://woolnwood.blogspot.com/2011/11/tools-and-machines.html) this last weekend fitted one of these (https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/T950) to his OS gouge and it worked very well just taped it along the shaft.

[smiife]

hi ern,
have you ever thought about a couple of those
angle poise lights [i think thats what they are called]
i have two ,one at each end of the lathe and they just screw
to a conveinant location[ ie shelf or bench top], they are very adjustable
and fairly cheap [$20 i think at bunnings] seem to work ok for me:2tsup:
cheers smiife:2tsup:

[Pat]

Ern, I was mucking around with an enclosed bowl and was having difficulty with getting the right amount of light in the right spot. I grabbed my Led Lenser headlamp (http://www.ledlenser.com/product/h7) and low and behold, light were I am looking, without it getting in the way of the tool or toolrest.

[dai sensei]

I bought a halogen lamp similar to this one (http://www.carbatec.com.au/quartz-halogen-lamp-w-articulated-arm_c5330) except mine has a longer articulated arm (1.2m?) from a local metal machining specialty shop. I made a 200x200x5 steel plate with 6 very strong RE magnets for the base, works a treat, and the base holds even when the light is fully extended.

[HSS]

How about mounting a light to the wall behind the lathe (if there's one there). No dramas with it vibrating loose or chipping paint then.

[dr4g0nfly]

I definatley go with 2 lamps.

I've one anglepoise mounted on a shelf just behind my lathe and a second with a big clip and flexi-neck I can place as needed (when needed).

I also go with daylight when I can get it, my workshop is on our North side with the doors etc facing West, so summer evenings are good - but!

[rsser]

Thanks for the tips folks.

The Planet lamp is what you'd call an anglepoise light, and if mounted OK on the headstock will follow the work as the headstock is swivelled. I may be able to fix a bracket to the pulley cover. Or glue a socket to the headstock top but that'd look poxy.

The toolrest mounted LED light is a nifty idea thanks; but I use curved rod rests for most of the bowl turning.

To reduce the vibes on the lathe I'll loosen the stand assembly bolts, remove the rubber squares from the offside, retighten and add some more wood to the shelf. It's always been bolted to the floor but best guess is that there's flex at the stand base; it's 3mm sheet steel, sort of monocoque construction.

[brendan stemp]

Ern, I reckon a free standing lamp is the way to go. Perhaps not as refined an option as you are hoping for but it is very versatile. The other option I have been considering is a gantry mounted light. One day I want to install a gantry above my lathe that holds a variety of things used while turning; eg light, fan, dust extraction duct and perhaps some tools that I regularly use. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done this sort of thing.

[rsser]

A gantry would certainly be useful not least for mounting big lumps.

The pic shows the current setup.

Paraflood fixed to the o/h rail; halogen light clamped to the rail. Double fluoros overhead. Clear polycarb sheet above that but in summer it lets in too much heat so it gets a 'safari' roof over it out of old fibreglass corro. sheet.

The rail was installed initially as I had a run of ducting overhead to a kitchen exhuast fan on the wall, with a drop of flexduct positioned on the lathe far side to suck up sanding dust.

What I need out of a focussed light is a mid width beam coming down at about 45 degrees for bowl hollowing. Cp with diffuse lighting or a straight-on beam this shows up best tear-out or sanding scratches.

You may be right Brendan about something free-standing, as a last resort.

[hughie]

JANSJÖ Work lamp - IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658/)

Ern, I have an old triple tube flouro 4' long hung above the lathe and I picked up this light from Ikea, single LED with a whacking great big lense on it, very bright.

[Ozkaban]

I have a light for my pushbike (http://www.cellbikes.com.au/900-Lumen-LED-Bike-Light?sc=34&category=45756) which is supposedly 900 lumens (I think the factory making the lumens is the same one that makes chinese horsepower :rolleyes: ), but it is still ridiculously bright. It used a CREE T6 LED and a rechargeable battery pack. It comes with a head attachment (you put the battery pack in your pocket).

If you were using a respirator, one of those mounted to it (or even just the supplied head strap) would solve most of your issues - lots of light going exactly where you're looking :2tsup:

Haven't tried it, but may do so now I've thought of it.

Cheers,
Dave

[vk4]

I have been op shopping today and found 1 of those articulated lamps that are used on drawing tables , for all of $7.00 checked it out and it works perfectly , but is missing the base clamp, but then I have 1 of those .

I am going to set this up at the right rear of the lathe and it will give me the light for hollowing, and will be able to be relocated in the little shed as required, .

Jeff
vk4

[dr4g0nfly]

I note that your JANSJÖ lamp is Au$9:99, here in the UK it's £9:99 which equals Au$15:74.

JANSJÖ (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00169659/)

And that's after they've shipped it from Scandinavia (or more likely China).

[Paul39]

JANSJÖ Work lamp - IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658/)

Ern, I have an old triple tube flouro 4' long hung above the lathe and I picked up this light from Ikea, single LED with a whacking great big lense on it, very bright.

Several folks on the Practical Machinist site have bought them for metal lathes and mills and are quite pleased with them.

It is a 4 hour round trip for me to the nearest IKEA store, so I haven't gotten mine yet. I have family east of there, so one day I might get one or two.

[Sturdee]

JANSJÖ Work lamp - IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658/)



Interesting pricing on those lamps. US$ 9.99 but from their store here A$ 29.99. :((


Peter.

[NeilS]

I removed the bracket from the base plate of my Planet lamp and attached that directly to the headstock. Just drilled and tapped the holes into the casting and screwed it into place.


188210


188211


The Planet doesn't have a long enough reach to see into deep hollow forms. For those I added a small lamp that was on special at IKEA (for $2) to the end of a flexible arm (like on the Planet).


188212


The problem with that when working on deep hollow forms is it gets into the line of sight or in the way of the tool, so I've been experimenting with small LED lights attached to the tool itself inside the form. But, I am yet to find the ideal solution.

[hughie]

The problem with that when working on deep hollow forms is it gets into the line of sight or in the way of the tool, so I've been experimenting with small LED lights attached to the tool itself inside the form. But, I am yet to find the ideal solution



Yeah I came to the conclusion I need a see through head. :U

[wheelinround]

Yeah I came to the conclusion I need a see through head. :U


Hughie I thought the additional reflection would have given more light or was it just light burn.:p

[Paul39]

I have been seeing in discount stores any number of inexpensive various sized LED flashlights, from the size of ones little finger up to the size of the old 6 volt lanterns.

3-1/2" Nine LED Flashlights, 2 Pack (http://www.harborfreight.com/3-1-2-half-inch-nine-led-flashlights-2-pack-97036.html)

LED Finger Light (http://www.harborfreight.com/led-finger-light-65997.html?utm_medium=cse&utm_source=googlebase&hft_adv=40010&mr:trackingCode=D66D0F9E-782A-E011-B31E-001B2163195C&mr:referralID=NA)

The smaller ones could be taped to the top of the gouge and the larger ones mounted on a magnet and flex to stick where you would want.

Those who make bowls with large swing lathes that do not swivel could turn a wood Morse taper on a chunk of 2 X 2 to fit the tailstock and fix a light to that on a flex mount.

Leave a couple inches square on the end for mounting and a surface to whack it with a mallet to seat.

Battery life is good, but one could buy a used DC power supply at a junk store or yard sale and wire up the flash light. I pay 50 cents to $2.00 for ones I find. I see many 4.5 volt flashlights (3 AA or AAA cells) and some 6 volt (4 cells).