Good hobby lamp?
I want a very bright light to put on the floor next to my current large jigsaw puzzle that I can easily change the angle of so that I get good illumination but not glare where I'm working. I've recently been using flashlights for this, but I want a lamp that plugs into an outlet so I don't keep draining batteries and also because it's kind of annoying to hold a flashlight the whole time.
I'm thinking some kind of hobby lamp is what I want, but I'm working on the floor not on a table. It should be not super heavy because I'll probably sometimes have to pick it up and carry it to the other side of the puzzle.
I think anything bright enough to give me sufficient light while puzzling would be too bright to wall-mount because I might look up into it accidentally so I definitely want an angled lamp.
idk what other information might be useful here, but I don't need or want a magnifying glass, just a bright light.
thanks!!
The IKEA TERTIAL has been the go-to "work lamp" for model-making/minifig painting and general hobbying for decades, and for good reason. It's cheap, reasonably well-built and sturdy, easy to mount to just about anything, and supports standard E26 thread bulbs, so you can get whichever shape, brightness, and color temp E26 compatible bulbs you want. Since it is so popular, there are also even 3rd party accessories you can buy or have 3d printed for it. For your particular use case, since you're working on the floor and want to move it around a lot, you could mount it onto a rolling cart/table, 3d printed tripod, or even a block/cross of wood... but if you don't want to do something like that, you could just buy an ARÖD or RANARP, which are basically the free-standing versions of the TERTIAL.
If you want to go a bit nuts and have cash to burn, a higher-end, integrated LED lamp I have also seen recommended a lot by hobby youtubers and on hobbyist blogs/forums is the Neatfi Wide XL. It's a desk-clamp mounted lamp though, so the default setup for it might not work so well for you on the floor. However, you can get a rolling stand or flat base for it, for an additional cost.
I have one very similar to the Ikea one you posted and this is what I would recommend as well. I have one (different brand) that's like 20 years old. The thing I don't like about many of the other suggestions is the integrated LEDs. Too many of those lights suffer from failures (usually on power regulating components) that can't be repaired. But being able to supply your own bulb allows you to replace just. Plus, the head should be large enough for either a standard A19 bulb or a BR30 flood light bulb if that isn't bright enough.
I have a desk clamp lamp with an LED ring light + magnifier. It does a terrific job for my aging eyes, but the individual LEDs will die over time and as you said cannot be replaced. This is my second one (bought because the first one got a flicker) and I just won't buy another because it's too wasteful to throw out everything.
I have one of these as well, but I got a fluorescent one that the bulb can be changed on. I don't remember how long I've had it (probably 10+ years), and I haven't had to change the bulb yet, but it's nice knowing that they can still be purchased.
I've had enough LED lights (like those webcam ring lights) die that I just don't buy them anymore.
I think the term for what you're looking for is task lighting. Lights marketed as sewing lights probably fulfill similar requirements. OttLite is a brand I have not personally owned, but would see in the sewing section of Joann's. If there is a Joann's near you, it might be worth a stop by since their stock is all heavily discounted due to bankruptcy / private equity hell.
If you have access to one, IKEA is another place with wide variety of lighting options that you see in use on the floor before buying.
Of course, there are many other options available online, such as this desk lamp.
ooh thanks for that term! Yeah I wasn't really sure what to search for so I sort of guessed. I don't think there's a Joann's THAT close to me but this might be a good excuse to drive out to one and also pick up some findings.
I am more and more leaning towards headlamp after @BashCrandiboot's suggestion though, do you have any recommendation there? Priorities would be first comfort, second battery life, third not confusing to change settings, fourth having customization options for light temperature
I wouldn't make an extraordinary effort for Joann's. I think the customer base is very much a "stock up when there's a good deal" group of folks, so all the "good stuff" was pretty much already gone.
On the headlamp front, I think all my headlamps have been cheap models from the hardware store and have not been particularly nice or long lasting. I don't find the headband very comfortable to wear, either.
Other form factors you might consider are these neck lights, bought one for my daughter to use in the car. They work fine, adjustable color temp, USB-C recharge, durable enough. I'm not sure how easy they would be to aim for the puzzle use case, but I think they would be more comfortable.
My other thought for comfort was glasses with lights built in. It seems like they all have a reader adjustment, but you could probably pop the lenses out if you don't need the correction or use something like these clip on lights with your regular glasses if you do.
Extremely helpful, thank you! I am going to try the neck light and see how it goes, that does seem pretty comfortable compared to a headlamp and none of the options I've seen so far for actual lamps seems portable enough for me, because I'm really working on some very large jigsaw puzzles and need to move my light source. I'll report back in a couple days how this works (although I'm still open to headlamp recs from anyone else)!
Okay, update: I bought the neck lights and used them for a couple nights. At first I thought they are unconditionally great but then last night my hair was down AND I was wearing a hoodie and I realized they have some serious limitations lol. Also, the low overall amount of light in the room means that sometimes I get very intense shadow when I'm reaching for a piece that's far away and it's a bit distracting.
so I'm considering maybe to pair this with something else - my current wall lamp needs to have a strong shade on it because I sometimes sit on a chair right below it and I don't want to blind myself, but I'm gonna see about maybe installing a bright lamp that points upwards on the wall on the opposite of the room. If I have to compromise that sometimes my light isn't as good if I'm cold I don't think this is the absolute end of the world, I have years of being accustomed to doing what I'm now realizing is extremely low-light puzzling.
I have to say, I'm very glad you're finding a solution. As an engineer, I really enjoy optimising things like that. When I was off work, I installed my own under-cabinet LED lighting so I could get the task lighting in the kitchen just so.
I've never heard of a hobby lamp until now, but if you're looking for a budget option you could get some of those super cheap clamp worklights from the hardware store. Then you can get bulbs with the brightness/color temp that you want, and they plug into the wall and can clamp to anything so they're super easy to move around if you need to.
If you're looking for localized light to replace your flashlight, you could always get a headlamp. Battery powered, but most of them use replaceable batteries which last longer and you don't want to wait for it to charge when it does eventually run out.
I'm sitting in the middle of my living room floor working on large (3000+ piece) jigsaw puzzles, so I really don't want a clamp stand, it should be freestanding
headlamp is intriguing and I wouldn't have thought of that! do you have any headlamp recommendation? I'm thinking I would probably prefer a freestanding lamp but, if I can't find one I like in a couple days, I think I'll try this!
I can't say I have a specific brand or product I'd recommend, but I would recommend looking at sporting goods/camping stores vs. a hardware store. A camping one will be more lightweight and comfortable. Just make sure you get one that has an articulating hinge so you can adjust the light to the angle you prefer.
Edit: dang is, I was so excited to share this lamp I forgot to read the full request. This one attaches to a table or counter.
This one
Multiple brightness and temperature settings. Three bars that can be turned on and off independently and pointed different directions with hinges. I use it for crafting and the side lights really help keep light on the entire project. It has a decent CRI rating as well.
The only downside is there's no strobe light setting for rave mode... /s
This might be overkill but it seems like the ideal form factor for your use case. Free-standing and sturdy, adjustable height and angle of lights, plugs in, and even has a handle on top for easy relocation. However, I imagine it's incredibly bright and would probably cause a lot of glare. If you could find something like this that still uses incandescent bulbs though...?
lol im not sure I have the space for that but something with that form factor but smaller might work! there's a home depot near me too, I can check some out in person this week
(what is with that cord length pricing??)
Maybe I don't understand what you're asking, but wouldn't any adjustable lamp that aims downward work?
I have a lamp similar to this one. The lower part is adjustable, so you can rotate it and change the angle as necessary. It's just on/off, so the brightness is determined almost entirely by whatever bulb you buy for it.
If that specific model is too tall for what you're looking for, there are plenty of similar lamps that can be adjusted to be lower to the floor. Or even just a desk lamp - which is similar but much shorter - placed on the floor.
Any desk-height directed lamp with an adjustable stand should work, yeah. But I'm hoping someone has a specific recommendation, because so many things can go wrong, most notably that it's not balanced well and just tips over constantly. And doing a bit of research myself, I found some that have options to adjust color temperature, which sounds pretty useful for doing any task where you need to be able to see really well; depending on the color of the section I'm working on, I might adjust differently between blue and yellow light.
I'm guessing if I just buy something it'll take me 2-3 tries to get one I really like so I'm hoping for a recommendation of a lamp someone here is currently using and loves
You can also try a cheap tripod and you can jury-rig a holder for your flashlight, or get something like a bike light to use with the tripod.
Maybe one of those streamer ring lights, I think they are compatible with standard tripods? Might be worth checking out what makers and crafter streamers are using (most will have a gear section on their about page), something suitable for someone working at a desk should work for you as well, as long as it's tripod compatible and the light-to-work-surface distance is similar