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Here is the latest Luthier Tips du Jour video. In this video I talk about and show how to convert traditional fluorescent shop lights to LED. This video as well as all my other videos are available via my website, https://lutherieacademy.com/videos , or on YouTube. Don't forget to subscribe to the O'Brien Guitars YouTube channel if you want to get the latest Luthier Tips du Jour videos when they are released. CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

Yes.. the shop I worked in for a decade converted well over ten years ago, then a further upgrade to direct wire 2100 lumen bulbs to get lumen levels sufficient for fine work without supplemental task lighting. There is an ongoing upgrade to direct wire polycarbonate 4000 lumen 25 watt-per-tube T-8 format to roughly double lumen levels without adding more fixtures and power-out safety lighting from a battery bank..

Some additional considerations:

- Lighting branch circuits in utility spaces are are often just 15 amp (versus the 20 amp circuits often found in basement and garage for outlets), so when adding lighting, it is useful to calculate the new load using the rated wattage

- Rather than extend an existing 15 amp circuit, addition of a second lighting circuit avoids the hazards associated with loss of all lighting when a fault on one of them kicks the circuit breaker

- Most conversion LED bulbs which retain ballasts are glass, so need safety cages. Most direct wire T-8 format bulbs are plastic or - preferred - polycarbonate. Dispensing with safety cages for these shatterproof bulbs yields more lumens on work surfaces and avoids yet another dust trapper in the shop.