LED lighting...for toolbox

[thaghost87]

Anyone ever add their own led lighting to their yool box/ hutch? Snap-on wants $300... Their crazy! I found some on Amazon that i might try, wanted to see if you guys had any ideas.

Amazon set

 

[Reality Sucks]

I used the standard tube lights in mine. I bought the slim version at lowes for 30 bucks works very well. You dont need much light in there if your shops well lit.

 

[balane]

Same here, I used some rope lights in my gun safe and they were easy to install and worked fine. Not especially bright or focussed light but the gun safe was pitch black before and after I could see what was what.

They were dim with several burnt out after about three years though. On the positive side, they were dirt cheap.

 

[bimmerZ5]

yes, i used the $10 under cabinet LED light from HFT. They work great except that the tape/velcro they provide ***** and will eventually fall off. I just used 3M automotive trim double sided tape and that fixed the problem. you can also screw mount, but i didn't want to drill holes in my tool box. they are battery powered, so you need to change the battery once in a while.

 

[lennoxlennox]

I use one of these as a dual purpose hutch light under the hood lighting:

http://www.devildogtools.com/baslre120led.html (check both pics)

what I like about the Bayco, is that it is rechargeable, so no cords under the hood, plus when you seperate the light from the holder, the ends swivel and have magnets on it, so it doubles as my hutch light until I need it under the car hood.


pic of the light in my hutch... sorry didn't have the light on when i took the pic

 

[ash95608]

IKEA has one that works very well, its made for closets and it turns on when the door is opened. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40163844/

 

[87Pomona]

I use one of these as a dual purpose hutch light under the hood lighting:

http://www.devildogtools.com/baslre120led.html (check both pics)

what I like about the Bayco, is that it is rechargeable, so no cords under the hood, plus when you seperate the light from the holder, the ends swivel and have magnets on it, so it doubles as my hutch light until I need it under the car hood.


pic of the light in my hutch... sorry didn't have the light on when i took the pic

That light looks badass! I can see it on my workbench, and from time to time removing it to work on my car in the night.

 

[Pantsfall_McFixit]

They make different kinds of LED lighting, LED pucks, LED strips, etc. I'd get one that's ac powered unless you want to roll around a lot. Get more LED than you need because one strip isn't that much light, play around and return the rest. Some strips you can plug into each other.

 

[nine4gmc]

You can get any style led you want HERE, they have small power supplies and all for DIY applications.

 

[thaghost87]

IKEA has one that works very well, its made for closets and it turns on when the door is opened. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40163844/

I'm liking this idea.

 

[Maexle]

Anyone ever add their own led lighting to their yool box/ hutch? Snap-on wants $300... Their crazy! I found some on Amazon that i might try, wanted to see if you guys had any ideas.

Amazon set

the one from amazon (under cabinet led strips) work great, i can read the wrench / socket sizes even in pitch black night at the lowest drawer....

i even added some to my small wooden swing out tool box (for small tools...):

 

[87Pomona]

^^^^Where did tou get the Spray Can racks from?

 

[Maexle]

^^^^Where did tou get the Spray Can racks from?

Amazon, they're great....

 

[hifi_hokie]

Wow, nice pics!

Is that small wooden box handmade?

 

[Maexle]

Wow, nice pics!

Is that small wooden box handmade?

well, don't know about that, that's actually a copy of the gerstner wooden machinist tool boxes from harbor freight.

 

[thaghost87]

Found lighting. Got an led light strip from amazon. Not sure if you can tell the difference in the pictures

 

[bdamico]

This would be perfect

http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...-fixtures/622/

These are only $24 a pop and the power supply was only another $20.

 

[Outlander]

Why do I read these darn threads!!!! Now I realise my toolbox is grossly under illuminated!

 

[Burtonrider10022]

Has anyone ever cut up a rope light? Those have hundreds of LED's in them and can be found for pennies on the dollar over "strip" LED lighting... I'm just wondering if they can be adapted for other uses.

 

[bdamico]

Has anyone ever cut up a rope light? Those have hundreds of LED's in them and can be found for pennies on the dollar over "strip" LED lighting... I'm just wondering if they can be adapted for other uses.

Are they really cheaper than flexible cutable led strips?

 

[sr71]

Maexle.....is that by any chance a blueprint storage cabinet you repurposed ? It looks great ....and I just happen to have such a cabinet gathering dust.

 

[Maexle]

Maexle.....is that by any chance a blueprint storage cabinet you repurposed ? It looks great ....and I just happen to have such a cabinet gathering dust.

Yes it is, if you do a search, i have explained how i made it. It is so sturdy and lots of space. I have welded a frame and attached it to the bottom and mounted heavy duty castors, and a frame at the back. Cut the bottom of the second drawer from the bottom out and combined the two bottom drawer for a deep drawer for power tools etc....


here are some more pictures:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2673927&postcount=8265

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2679840&postcount=8281

If you have a nice quality blueprint cabinet, you won't regret the conversion, when we picked up my blueprint cabinet, it was HEAVY as hell....

 

[jay72chevy]

Where do you buy, or who makes that air tool holder pictured in lennox post?

 

[machine_punk]

GREAT! another thing I didn't know I needed until Garage Journal. Now, how can I possibly live without lighting in the drawers of my tool boxes.

Thanks for the great pics, MAEXL, that looks like a good system.

For those who want to use rope lights, HD always seems to have the short rope lights for a decent price (I think Hampton Bay is the brand...very decent prices for the one- and two-foot lengths).

 

[lennoxlennox]

Where do you buy, or who makes that air tool holder pictured in lennox post?

I have 4 Blue Point air tool racks that were designed for the side of a tool cart.

go to this webpage (below) half way down, part no: ATR19S-SO

http://www.vimtools.com/store/page7.html

These are approx 19-20 inches long. I had to cut 1" off each end. I then had to remove the "slots & dots" back plate off of my hutch to bolt through it.

But it's great, save my air tools from being thrashed in a drawer and piled on, frees up a drawer and allows easy access, plus I can actually get full use out of my hutch.


I had previously posted some more pics here, scroll to post #7798

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=466&page=390

 

[5kwkdw3]

The local tractor shop is running a deal on those multi lumen magnetic lights that I plan on getting a couple to mount inside the top lid/work area of my tool chest, but I also have a power strip and AC in that space so I was wondering if there was any corded lights that might be a consideration? No recharging that way and my chest moves, but only within my shop and not to a site or elsewhere. I'd love to find a corded magnetic strip light that put out a bunch of lumens. My aging eyesight is often left me in the dark so to speak. Everything seems to me to be dim or dark and I'm always asking for more and more light. I have a setup that uses those 18650 batteries as a headset, but that gets really old after awhile when working on a project. Smithy.

 

[Boost Creep]

i need to remember to get a good pic of the leds strips on my toolboxes. the extra illumination shining on the drawers is nice

 

[jn50308401]

Amazon has tons of LED strip lights for cheap. I'm gojng to do my garage shelves with them.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[maxpower_hd]

In my truck box I used simple stick on, flat, 12v strip lights with a switch. I think I was in for like $30 total and they work excellent. You could get a 12v transformer from Radio Shack and do the same thing. My box is off the truck at the moment so I can't take a good pic but they are the ones you see on the shelf at Advance Auto.

 

[JasonJ]

I bought some rope lights in hopes it was bright enough to put under my cabinets to use as task lighting, they were to dim for that so I put them under the counter to light up the tool box drawers when they were extended. They work pretty well for that and I can turn my garage into a disco!