Ah yes, this is what happens when project drift sets in, what started out as a simple comparison of a few fluorescent ends up becoming a full blown manufacturing project.
It all began here https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1150222 with my discovery that a few big box stores where selling fluorescent lamps with decent CRI’s of 90+.
I bought a couple of the tubes and a ballast to try them out with planning on converting an old burnt out fixture I had stored somewhere in the shop, however as it turned out that fixture had been tossed in the trash years ago leaving me with two choices, buy a new el-cheepo twelve dollar magnetic fixture and retrofit it, or spend considerably more and build my own.
Well being adventuresome, I decided to try building one of my own and build it out of aluminum nor less, this presented me with a few problems, I have never worked with nor less welded aluminum and while I have a MIG (GMAW) and a stick welder (SMAW), one was not set up for aluminum and the other was not suitable for aluminum, and last but not least I have a couple of suppliers for steel but none for aluminum.
No to be deterred I plodded forward and discovered the MIG could be upgraded, all I needed to do way add a aluminum wire feed and a tank of pure Argon, needless to say I was a happy camper, I then asked how much will this all cost, after hearing the price I decided at dinner that night I would point out at my wife just how nice the kitchen remodel we just completed came out before mentioning my welder up-grade purchase.
Anyhow moving on, what I decided to build was a light enclosure, aka. lamp, one that I could place within four, forty-eight inch T-12 bulbs, the frame of the lamp was fabricated out of one inch by three inch by one-eighth inch thick 6063-T5 rectangular aluminum tubing, I wanted the box to be deep enough to prevent excessive side spill of the light, and to be able to use the barn doors to provide a cover to make a protective cabinet for the tubes while the lamp was in transport.
The rear/reflector of the lamp and the barn doors where sheared out of a sheet of .090 6061-T6 aluminum, the rear of the lamp was given a rough 220 finish and the front was polished bright, the barn doors will be given a 220 finish then primed and painted flat black.
The left and right sides where drilled and a five-sixteenths blind nut was installed, this will allow the lamp to be adjusted within the yoke which will be built out of lighter, one by two inch rectangular aluminum tubing.
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Yea the welding is limp...
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Frame being wet sanded.
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Make note, less silicone sealant next time....
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Wayne
Do what you love and you will love what you do, that applies to both work and life.
