I’ve often found a low raking light really helps my woodworking. Its a handy little project that will pay dividends for years to come.
Finessing a joint, sanding, paring or removing machine marks is always easier. The older I get the more I value my raking light 🙂
Daylight and overhead lighting is always a good thing, but it can tend to wash out the surface details. Details you can barely feel become easily visible with a raking light placed just right.
I tend to use mine at waist height at the 11 o’clock position but I am a left-hander so the
In my relatively small workshop, I needed something simple and portable. I used a LED flood light because it’s bright (100W) and in it stays cool, unlike older style Halogen lights.
It’s a very simple project you can finish in half a day using offcuts. The light was sourced online eBay in my case but they can be found at most hardware stores.
The base was simply some scrap peices of MDF glued together. Anything heavy enough to keep the light from toppling will work. The vertical post is 20x25mm pine. The height of this upright can be anything really, you could even make a floor standing light if for your workshop.
Vertical tilt is 3D printed and held in place with wingnuts. The base support bracket were again 3D printed and screwed in place. STL files for these parts can be found below.
Its compact size makes it portable and easy to store when not in use. It also still happily functions as a floodlight when needed. I find myself sitting on a nearby bench most often. If you choose to make one for yourself Im confident you’ll find yourself using it all the time 🙂
