Work bench light and magnifier...recommendations please

[mtenenhaus]

Hi, i need to add some more light to my work bench and thought of perhaps one of the desk lamp types with magnification...anyone use them? are they any good? thanks

['ol shooter]

I find it easier to use my head mounted magnifier. I bought a bright fluorescent floor lamp at Walmart that provides decent close up lighting, they sell a desk version too. I also use a headlamp when the occasion demands. I see they are now offering a head mounted magnifier with a built in LED lamp, looks interesting.

[GlockGuy]

I find it easier to use my head mounted magnifier. I bought a bright fluorescent floor lamp at Walmart that provides decent close up lighting, they sell a desk version too. I also use a headlamp when the occasion demands. I see they are now offering a head mounted magnifier with a built in LED lamp, looks interesting.

[MarkInFolsom]

Carson Optical Pro series, but I doubt you'll find them Walmart

https://www.amazon.com/Carson-MagniVisor-Head-Worn-Magnifier-CP-60/dp/B007CDJKM2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549744558&sr=8-1&keywords=carson+pro

[RustyIron]

In my shop I have "task lights" or "machine lights" attached to various machine tools. You know, the kind with the base that clamps to a bench and articulated arm? They range from the cheap $16 kind, to the $100 kind. The El Cheapo models are somewhat of a headache, with weak springs that don't necessarily hold the light exactly where you want it. In other words, you get what you pay for.

For magnification, I really like the headband style magnifier. OptiVisor is a pretty good one.

[Whiterabbit]

Best lights for a shop are general purpose lights. Lots of them. Multi-source lights make it less likely you will shade your work with your body. My shop is overkill, but has 14+ 4’ flurescent tubes in a 20x20 space. Its hard to cast a shadow in there no matter where you are and what you are doing.

[RustyIron]

^^^Ha! You got me beat, WR. My garage has 7 fixtures for 14 tubes, but the square footage is a little bigger.

But here's a hot tip for you. I put the fixtures in nearly 30 years ago, and recently I've been irked by the maintenance. Fluorescent tubes go out, humming ballasts, and eventually you end up with different colors. I was getting tired of it. So I took a chance and bought some LED's off Amazon. Hyperikon, four footers, 5k, 2400 lumens, and they fit in the existing fixture. At seven bucks a tube, they weren't the cheapest, but they were Prime and had good reviews. Lemme tell you: these things ROCK! It's now like daytime in the garage. If it was a little warmer right now, I'd go out there and work on my tan.

['ol shooter]

For magnification, I really like the headband style magnifier. OptiVisor is a pretty good one.

I have had an Optivisor in my toolkit since about 1982, it's still going strong. I recommend buying the loupe attachment, it comes in real handy at times.

[NeilMo]

If you have cabinets above your workbench, these work great. I put some under the kitchen cabinets and they worked so well that I added some above both my reloading and smithing benches.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-20ft-6M-LED-Closet-Kitchen-Under-Cabinet-Counter-Lights-Lamp-Remote-Power-New/202478474568?epid=2268749839&hash=item2f24a85548:g:B3cAAOSwd~RZRg7x:rk:2:pf:1&frcectupt=true

[wpage]

The 4X magnifing florescent swing arm work nice.

[Scota4570]

I threw away two Luxo Lamps with magnifying lenses. They jiggle. They fog from your breath. Hunching over them makes my neck hurt. The ring light is no good in concept.

A point source of light works. Diffuse light is not good for delicate tasks, like checkering or carving. You need to see the shadows. I now use an optovisor. For task lighting is use clip on mechanics reflector lights with LED bulbs. Make a stand to clip the light to. You can cut off the plastic globe from LEDs to make an excellent spotlight.

[mtenenhaus]

lots of great info, thanks...was all set to purchase a clamp on magnifying ring lamp....glad for the information

[Paseclipse]

I use this magnifying lamp on my reloading bench purchased from Harbor Freight-https://www.harborfreight.com/fluore...amp-60643.html

It isn't bad for Harbor Freight. You can get it even cheaper if you wait for a sale.

[Cheep]

I have a 4 foot led lamp under the shelf above my bench that works great. The magnification is a separate operation.

[mtenenhaus]

thanks everyone