Popular Woodworking 2006-08 № 156, страница 49
fixtures into the cabinet or, in some cases designing the cabinet to build in the lighting. There are some battery-powered options, but I don't strongly recommend them. There are likely too many batteries to replace in your house already, and the light is harder to control. Most cabinet lighting fixtures are considered ambiance lighting and provide just enough illumination to accent the pieces stored in the cabinetry. Some of the lighting styles are so unobtrusive that until they're turned on, it's not obvious they're there. As mentioned, some of the fixtures require a little pre-planning for the best results. Can lights (that shine down on the interior) are usually cut into the top of the cabinet with the majority of the light mechanism stored outside the cabinet. Other lighting fixtures with a similar effect are often called puck lights (they look a lot like a hockey puck) and are designed to mount to the inside surface of the cabinet. While can lights are less visible from the inside, they require something to mask the components on the outside of the case - such as crown moulding around the cabinet top. Rope lighting throws a very pleasant light on its subject and can be adjusted for length to perfectly fit the needs of custom cabinetry, but it isn't very attractive to look at. In most cases it's a good idea to plan on building channels into the cabinet for the rope lights. The channels will allow the light to shine on the preferred objects, but hide the lights themselves from view. Rope lighting also gets used in cabinetry to provide accent lighting in SOURCES Of the dozens of items discussed in this chapter, these are but a fraction of the specialty items available to customize your cabinetry. We've listed five sources below that carry most of the storage and lighting items discussed in this article (and they provided the pictures), as well as hundreds of other items that may work for your cabinetry needs. ■ Lee Valley 800-871 -8158 or leevalley.com ■ Rockler Hardware 800-279-4441 or rockler.com ■ Woodcraft 800-225-1153 or woodcraft.com ■ Woodworker's Hardware 800-383-0130 or wwhardware.com ■ Woodworker's Supply 800-645-9292 or woodworker.com The image above shows the difference between an inset-lighting fixture and a surface-mount fixture. Both require a hole through the cabinet, but surface-mount lights don't protrude through the cabinet as some inset-lighting fixtures do. Above is a great example of the effect a little lighting can have on a cabinet. The lights shown in this case are inset mount incandescent lights. Above is a section of rope light. It's a lot like holiday decoration lights encased in a plastic tube. These lights provide soft, even illumination of their subjects. popularwoodworking.com I 49 |
