Let There Be Light: POSTSCRIPT
#29
(11-24-2021, 01:43 AM)Pedder Wrote: Thought about it:

Maybe two lamps would have been better?


Cheers
Pedder

Yes.

Simon
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#30
Philip, As others have said, the cabinet is gorgeous. It is truly remarkable how much the interior lights bring out the color and grain in the wood.

Somewhat like Derek, the first thing that I noticed was the light shining between the doors. I quickly realized that the only reason that the light was showing in the gap between the doors was that you had framed the picture with great care. That meant that the camera view was exactly aligned with the gap in the door. My expectation is that moving the camera a foot or so (~30cm) to the left while keeping it pointing at the center of the cabinet back would then have the middle and top lights shining directly into the camera. My guess is that the lights are mounted under each shelf at the back of the cabinet.

If dust is really a concern (my guess is that it is not) or the light shining between the doors is now bothersome since someone mentioned it, I would suggest a strip of brown felt in the gap between the doors (secured to one door).

If I am correct about the placement of the lights, then my concern would be that things in the cabinet will be backlit and things near the front of the cabinet will be in the shadows of medium sized object in the middle of the shelf. I believe that this is why cabinets with interior lighting tend to have a small underhang at the front of the shelves with the light(s) mounted behind that underhang so that people can not see the lights directly. The LEDs in a string (like those sold by LV that can be cut to length) or other lights made for under the upper kitchen cabinet might be worth considering.
"the most important safety feature on any tool is the one between your ears." - Ken Vick

A wish for you all:  May you keep buying green bananas.
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#31
Phillip, 
    Tell us about the wood. It looks like cherry to me.  I made a similar shaped cabinet with a solid cherry front two doors rather than glass. The cherry was from someone here in Maine with his own sawmill. That worked out well because the cherry was easier to plane than kiln dried wood. I also loved the smell when working with it.
    It takes a brave person to post their work.  Sharing is what keeps the interest going here.  Thanks, I really enjoyed it.
Paul
Paul from the beautiful mid-coast of Maine (USA)
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#32
I too like the cabinet.

Has anyone considered shielding or aiming the light itself differently?
Lumber Logs, domestic hardwoods at wholesale prices: http://www.woodfinder.com/listings/012869.php

Lumber Logs' blog: Follow the adventure
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#33
Well, I have had some time now to live with the abomination that is my lighted display cabinet: universally criticized around the world (well, at least the US, Germany, and Australia) for having a severe case of light-leak between the doors. Although you might think that I would find this condition abhorrent, but for some inexplicable reason, I do not. I have tried my best to convince myself that this design is a complete an utter failure, but I have been unable to accomplish that. Then it hit me: what I am missing is empirical data. Yes, we must apply the scientific method of inquiry here, and with the utmost haste. I decided to run some experiments, collect and analyze all associated data and render a decision on just how miserable this lighting design really is.

At first, I used some blue masking tape to cover the gap between the doors. This very effectively eliminated the pesky light leak, but at what cost? I now had a blue racing stripe down the front of my cabinet. I guess this could appeal to some, but being stickler for details, I knew this was definitely not regulation shaker. Besides, when I  had the thought of naming my solution (I was thinking the “Blue Tape Trick”), I realized that this moniker has already been taken.

Round two of testing, I chose a very nice yellow masking tape, and this time, I felt that the yellow complimented the cherry exceptionally well, and although the Shakers generally avoided the racing stripe motif, I thought this might be a possible solution. I like to call this the  “Yellow Tape Trick” (patent/copyright/trademark pending).

Finally, I came to my senses and realized that what was really bothering me (and I might add was bothering me before I even made my original post on this subject) was the overall amount of light being thrown off by these LEDs. In order to get the desired beam spread, I ended up with 3 watt fixtures. Even though I included a dimmer in this design, I found that it was just too bright, even at the lowest dimmer setting. Then I discovered the solution: a light filter. It is similar to the gels/filters used in stage lighting. I covered each of the light fixtures with a piece of this special light filtering film and voila! Success!

Moral of the story: sometimes the brightest ideas are the dullest.

   
   
   
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#34

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Cool
"the most important safety feature on any tool is the one between your ears." - Ken Vick

A wish for you all:  May you keep buying green bananas.
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#35
Great Conclusion, Philip!

LED lighting can be very intense.  My office has so much LED that the "gray" in my hair now way outnumbers the black....

Regarding Stripes and Shaker...   yeah, don't go there; it went out by the mid-70s... Shaker hoods that is...

   
Chris
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#36
(12-06-2021, 07:19 AM)C. in Indy Wrote: Great Conclusion, Philip!

LED lighting can be very intense.  My office has so much LED that the "gray" in my hair now way outnumbers the black....

Regarding Stripes and Shaker...   yeah, don't go there; it went out by the mid-70s... Shaker hoods that is...

Old Detroit iron: Outstanding!
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