Shop Lighting

Upgrade your shop lighting to help you see what you are working on and to make your shop more inviting.

- Logan Wittmer

Did you know that at age 60, you need approximately 3x the amount of light to see as you did at age 20? Lighting is, I think, something that most of use take for granted. Just jump on Amazon and order some or run to Home Depot and grab the highest lumen 5000K lights that they have in stock, right? Well, I thought so too—at least until I started planning the lights that we’d need in our new Popular Woodworking shop. When I started researching lighting, I came across the company American Green Lights, and upon browsing their website, I realized that there’s so much more that goes into properly lighting a woodworking space than just hanging up lights. So, I reached out to Jim Uno, the president of American Green Lights to pick his brain on shop lighting, and to order lights for our shop. (And no, this is not sponsored by American Green Lights in any way—I just like their products, services, and support).

Importance of Lighting

I think that the importance of good shop lighting cannot be overstated. Being able to see what you're working on is crucial to being able to make accurate parts. In some instances, proper lighting may reveal some things that your wish it hadn’t— a dent here, or those milling marks that you thought you had gotten out. Plus, with the proper lighting, your shop will feel much brighter and will lead to less eye strain.