Light of my life
“You can never have enough clamps” may be a cliché, but it’s true. You can say the same thing about light.
“You can never have enough clamps” may be a cliché, but it’s true. You can say the same thing about light.
Coming home from the Big Box store yesterday my wife greeted me with, “What, buying more clamps isn’t enough?” She indicated the three long boxes I carried, each containing a new LED fixture. She’s teased me before about buying more shop lights, but I didn’t tell her how important the lights were. (Being a wise man, I also didn’t tell her it was like her buying more shoes… except, I actually need lights.)
But the truth is you really can’t have enough, which is especially true in a shop setting. These three full fixtures, however, are probably the last I’ll buy – they’re destined for my lathe/sanding area – and with their installation I’ll consider my lighting complete.
This doesn’t mean I won’t get more, however. Ceiling-mounted light is essential, but task lighting is important, too. I want a directed spot over my miter saw station, one behind my lathe and, maybe, an angled spot or two in my finishing area. Maybe then I’ll consider my shopping done, but probably not.
After all, you can never have enough light. Or clamps.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.