Lathe Lamp question

[Brian Kent]

I would like to get a magnetic base gooseneck LED lamp for my lathe. I have no reference point for the number of lumens needed for close-up work or for the quality of magnetic bases. I have good overhead lighting. Amount of light makes a big difference in detail work for me.

I see several offerings by KJR:
Supernova: 870 lumens - $159
Aurora: 500 lumens - $130
Beacon: 300 lumens - $72

Highland woodworking has one that states almost 800 lumens for $60.

I would appreciate recommendations based on experience. Until now I used a clamp on double-arm lamp with a big fluorescent bulb. Cheap, bright, but would not hold itself up.

Thanks for your wisdom.

[Roger Chandler]

Brian, I have the KJR Aurora lamp and love it. If you have decent lighting in your garage shop then I feel that 800 lumens is overkill. The 500 lumens Aurora is fairly compact with LED lights good for over 100,000 hours, and that is about 36 years turning 8 hours a day. The 500 lumens allows me to see fine scratches, and is great for sanding and seeing inside forms as you turn. The flex neck and powerful magnetic base makes the light stay where you want it and is stable....I only wish I had gotten it sooner than I did. It is a joy to use as it performs so well.

[John Grace]

There's no way that I would call this the greatest...but for only $20 it works 'good enough' for my needs.

https://www.amazon.com/FAJ-12-Inches-Gooseneck-Multipurpose-Worklight/dp/B01ACIFPYA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1489877481&sr=8-7&keywords=magnetic+led+light

[John K Jordan]

I would like to get a magnetic base gooseneck LED lamp for my lathe. I have no reference point for the number of lumens needed for close-up work or for the quality of magnetic bases. I have good overhead lighting. Amount of light makes a big difference in detail work for me.


Hey Brian,

If you can swing it, you might get several lamps and try them.

You can't always go by the stated lumen numbers. Some sellers lie. Some lamps spread the light out far more. To measure lumens the manufacturer has to use an extremely expensive integrating spehere and calibrated equipment - we had one in our optics lab but it is not something the average company is going to have. I think most don't but at most take a light meter reading and estimate the lumen output. There is a lot of confusion on the web but this explanation of lumens vs lux, etc, looks pretty good: https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-measure-the-lumens-of-a-light

I have experience with several of Ken Rizza's lamps, the little Galaxy, the Beacon, and the Supernova. I am extremely picky about lighting.

The little Galaxy lights are cheap and add some light in small places. I use several of these, a couple on top of some of my grinders, one on my metal lathe.

I liked the first Supernova I bought so much I bought five more. I like the length of the gooseneck, the very powerful magnet, the color of the light, the low temperature, and the fairly tight beam spread. I use one at each lathe, one at the sharpening table, one at the bandsaw, and one at my milling machine.

Note that I almost never use just one light at a workstation. At my bandsaw I have two lamps with wide beam spread on either side of the blade. The Supernova is more or less over my left shoulder and aimed right at the front of the blade. This gives me an amazing amount of light with the brightest light at my point of focus. However, if you want just one lamp the beam spread from the Supernova may not be wide enough to suit you.

At my primary lathe I use (I think) six adjustable light fixtures. This gives far better light than the diffuse light from long ceiling fixtures and makes it easier to see scratches and evaluate surface curvature. The Supernova there is aimed at the work near the headstock and gives exactly the light I want. With the long gooseneck arm I can quickly move it if needed.

The color temperature on the Supernova is very close to daylight so I was using it for a while for highlights in my photo booth along with some other daylight photo bulbs. The problem I had was it was too bright! I replaced it with one of the Beacon lamps and it is perfect.

This older picture at the lathe shows some of the lights I was using.

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BTW, if I want to stick one of the magnetic based lights on the wall, I cut a piece of steel plate, drill a few countersunk holes, and screw it to the wall.

JKJ

[Thomas Canfield]

Check out the lamps at Woodturners Wonders. I received the little lamp as a freebe and it really works well on bandsaw and also on my little Nova Comet II when I took it to a class. Give them a call and check them out on the larger lamps.

[Eugene Dixon]

I've got two Moffats on a simple 2X4 light stand for the lathe. I believe they have the longest flex shafts of the Moffat lamps (30"?). Added GE LED bulbs from the big blue. Added another to the bandsaw today with a shorter flex. I'm using natural light rated LEDs. Plenty bright to see. These lamps go for $60-$70 dollars each and work well. I have extra mounts for all three and can add those to other equipment or just move the two on the construction level lamp stand to where I might need them.

Maybe I'll put wheels under the 2X4 stand.

[Bob Bergstrom]

I have a Moffit with a 800 lumin LED spotlight in it. Nice thick glass and the spot puts a lot of light were you want it with no heat.

[Jeff Walters]

I just picked up a lamp from Ron Browns Best. It was about 40 bucks and provides a lot of light for turning the inside on bowls.
Jeff

[Barry McFadden]

I am going to get one of these http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=71189&cat=1,43349&ap=1 for my bandsaw... might be worth looking at for you..

[Brian Kent]

Thank you everyone. I just ordered the Super Nova.

[Steve Arnold]

Thank you everyone. I just ordered the Super Nova.
Congrats on your choice!

I've had my Super Nova for about 6 months now. The only thing that I'm less than enthusiastic about (and it's a very minor quibble) is that it's a tad too directional for my taste, meaning that I have to move it often to get the light exactly where I want it. Other than that, I love that it gives me lots of bright white light.

[Reed Gray]

I don't think it is just the lumens that are important, but the spectrum as well. I get the 'therapy' type bulbs which are closer to natural sun light. Blue Max is the floor lamp I use, but there are a number of bulbs in the big box stores that seem to compare. I really don't know about the spectrum in the LED lights though. There are some that do have multiple tints.

robo hippy

[Bob Bouis]

With LEDs, one number to pay attention to is CRI or color rendering index. A low CRI bulb will not show colors well, no matter what the temperature (color) of the light the bulb puts out. FWIW 80 is considered the bare minimum for an LED to meet the energy star certifications. Some makers advertise the ones that're 90+ CRI prominently. Generic or utilitarian LEDs often have very low CRIs, in the 60s or 70s, like old fluorescents. Newer fluorescents are often 85 or 90+ CRI. Incandescents are 100.

Not sure about the KJR lamps, but generally you should steer clear of LEDs that don't advertise the CRI.

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[Brian Kent]

Bob, I do not know what the CRI is on the Super Nova. I have been going by the Color Temperature of 6500°. The order has been placed but I will do more research to see what it will do.


With LEDs, one number to pay attention to is CRI or color rendering index. A low CRI bulb will not show colors well, no matter what the temperature (color) of the light the bulb puts out. FWIW 80 is considered the bare minimum for an LED to meet the energy star certifications. Some makers advertise the ones that're 90+ CRI prominently. Generic or utilitarian LEDs often have very low CRIs, in the 60s or 70s, like old fluorescents. Newer fluorescents are often 85 or 90+ CRI. Incandescents are 100.

Not sure about the KJR lamps, but generally you should steer clear of LEDs that don't advertise the CRI.

356539

[Mike Goetzke]

Brian I googled this: LED (for imaging) 3000-6000K
LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. A semi-conductor based light source, that is energy efficient, with a long life. CRI is normally 70 - 90+, but subject to controversy.

I've had the Super Nova for some time now and really like it. You will enjoy it. Since I'm a somewhat new turner it has helped me see the smoothness (ha, or roughness) of the cut.

Mike

[Brian Deakin]

If you have an infinate budget for your tools this is as good as it gets

https://www.seriousreaders.com/



lathe light?

https://www.seriousreaders.com/products/high-definition/high-definition-clip-on

bulb https://www.seriousreaders.com/products/spare-bulbs/spare-bulb-high-definition-halogen#details-tab






if you then look at

https://www.seriousreaders.com/categories/spare-bulbs

then click on the word more this shows the CRI of each bulb

regards

(Another) Brian

[Steve Mathews]

I don't have a lot of experience on the subject but FWIW the best task light I've come across is the Moffatt. There are plenty of bulbs both incandescent and LED that can be used with it. The selection of LED bulbs with a screw type socket have increased dramatically and are probably on par or rapidly approaching what's available with dedicated LED lights. I think the flexibility of the Moffatt is a huge advantage. I recently purchased a Super Nova to try out and frankly was disappointed. It looked cheaply made IMHO.

[Bert Delisle]

I had a few flex lamps over the years and found anything attached to the lathe vibrated, I didn't even notice it until I used a remote mounted lamp. Wow what an eye opener. Never going back to lathe mounted lighting.
i used the post and wooden boom technique that also holds my dust collector hose holder to hold my LED light fixture. Surplus fixture with two screw in LED lamps. Rock solid and aimable, oh by the way cheap too, boom arms utilize "tee nuts" and all-thread, and scrap off cuts. It works for me and is portable for bandsaw work, or any where else light and dust collection are required. No machine induced vibration in the lighting made a difference for me.

[Thom Sturgill]

Brian, I do not think you will regret the SuperNova. I would not worry about the color issue for turning. That is more related to finish work and I like to use direct sunlight if I am thinking about colorizing (which I have done very little of).

[John K Jordan]

Brian, I do not think you will regret the SuperNova. I would not worry about the color issue for turning. That is more related to finish work and I like to use direct sunlight if I am thinking about colorizing (which I have done very little of).

I mentioned earlier that I compared the SuperNova lamp with the photo lamps I use in my photo booth. I could detect no difference. The SuperNova did not need any white balance correction. There was no detectable color cast. (And I'm pretty picky!)

The reason I quit using it for photos was not because of the color but because it was just too bright. Several layers of diffusing paper were not enough.

JKJ