Nice! Do you know what "Water hammer" is? How about OSB vs plywood?
Nice! Keep wading though Restore and you might find some F90T17 lamps...
As for the 8' preheater: First try new (but tested in a working fixture previously, then again to make sure a bad ballast didn't blow them) lamps. (Like 34 watt Altos LOL). Next, try new starters. If that doesn't work, try new sockets. If STILL nothing, disconnect the ballast from the line wires and see if you get voltage there. If yes, the ballast is likely bad, although I suppose you could try new wirenuts or something. If not, the ballast is likely good, so either take the light down or, if you have no space, convert it to T8 in the meantime.
I would save both F40 strips...those vintage 2XF40 strips are cool! The single-lamp one is a great opportunity for a little preheat conversion project!
I just had another thought: If that Westy blackender didn't work, I wonder if maybe somebody stuck in a series rapid start ballast in there at some point over the years/decades? If so the other lamp might not have worked. If so the original ballast is likely dead and/or long gone.
What did the single-lamp strip have originally? And doesn't the dual-lamp one have a Sylvania Gro-lux from the 70s?
Another update on the woodshop lights: The first two replacement fixtures have arrived and the CFL reflector lamps will hopefully show up tomorrow. I likely won't be there to remove the vintage shoplights they're replacing, but I imagine I'll get the one with the broken socket (Which I broke changing a lamp; I have a socket to fix it but he said just don't worry, they're coming down anyway) along with it's identical companion. (Both are Sears fixtures like mine). There's another vintage-looking shoplight I'd like someday but it's nice and bright and flicker-free with I assume a full-power, PCB-laden, 40-watt-only ballast. I've warned him to not use 34 watt lamps in that light. It currently has a GE kitchen/bath and Sylvania Design 50. He likes that fixture as much as I do! He even knows our favorite: 70s Universal Therm-O-Matics, from personal experience! (Albeit changing out dead ones). He also knows Advance Kool-Koils, as he had two but they died and he gave them to me...too bad...they were full power but post PCB. Ironically there's photos in that room of the previous shop, with those fixtures lit! You can't see the Sears shoplight I already have though. Granted, that was 20 years ago in a different house. I'm getting really excited! I'm not sure if they'll come with their lamps but I'm fine either way since I have plently of (era appropriate) lamps for them. (GE Mainlighters).
We also talk about construction, plumbing, etc. under those very lights! He's also into all things vintage!