I have been looking everywhere for a greath hobby workcenter that i can build, I am pretty good at woodworking, want something nice and fairly large with plenty of storage and workspace. Can anyone help with any ideas on where to find something like this. I have done plenty of searches for workbench blueprints, but all i get are woodshop workbenches, i am looking for something specifically for building models.
Here are some pictures of mine, and some other member’s.
thanks for the post, good ideas for what i want, was kinda looking for possibly a site that might have some blueprints or maybe a company that specializes in hobby workcenters. one of the post on there had a link to some industrial workbenches, but GOD! are they expensive, lol
Anything commercial that you buy is likely to be pricey. Mine was inspired by another workbench that I saw, and adapted to my needs. If I were doing it again, I’d put in more shelves, closer together, and make it about 1 foot wider.
I advise you to design your own. That way, you get what you want, and modifying it afterwards (when you realize that what you wanted was not quite what you built) is much easier.
Also: there is no such thing as too many electical outlets, or tool storage rack/space/whatever, or light. As you get older, you will want more and more lighting.
Whatever you finally decide upon, you can never have too much space, particularly storage space! For me, I never seem to have quite enough storage space, no matter how much I shuffle things around, no matter how many drawers, shelves and so forth I have, no matter how much extra storage space I can create, it’s never enough! Even my work space (as opposed to storage space) seems cramped half the time, and I just recently expanded it by another square foot or two.
Good lighting is essential, too. My apartment tends to be a bit dark, even with all the lights on in the living room. There’s an overhead ceiling fan light (which gives rather poor light, as it won’t safely take more than a 60-watt bulb), a floor lamp I found at a garage sale and the top part of an antique globe street light that a friend converted into a table lamp many years ago. The globe light is right next to the hobby bench and gives off some pretty good light with a 100-watt Reveal bulb. In addition, on the bench itself is a fluorescent desk lamp that I fished out of the trash a while back and it still works perfectly! I put in a daylight-spectrum tube.
So between the globe light and the desk lamp, I’ve got adequate lighting, although sometimes, when I’m working in dark quarters, I also put on a hiker’s headlamp for even more light. I would like to have more lighting; it might help to use one of those compact flourescent bulbs in the ceiling fan fixture, but I don’t know how durable those would be with the vibration and shaking from when I run the fan.
The bottom of mine is an old office desk that I got for free. The top is made from plywood that was a sign. The top is about 7’x4’. The shelves are made from boards that I salvaged from packing crates. The back is heavy cardboard I think from a washing machine box. I painted it with ‘Bugs Bunny’ paint from Walmart. It sprays out in different colors. I painted the top and the shelves with Rustolium (spelling) for wood. I used a quart of white mixed with a pint of black and came up with and odd color blue. I used a couple of 2x3s to make uprights and supports over top to hold my lights and junk. I like having a lot of light that I can turn off and move around. When all my lights are on at once it’s almost blinding. Having a lot of movable lights works out good for taking pictures.
The space that I work on (which always seems to get smaller and closer to the edge as a project progresses) is a laminated popular pannel from Home Depot. I’ve flipped it around and sanded it off several times. Its a lot softer then the plywood and I can stick pins and drill holes in it and not have to worry about messing up the plywood.
My advice is to really think about what you use the most and what space you need. Draw pictures, make a mock up with boxes or something. Being comfortable and not having to keep getting up to get tools and things makes projects go a lot better.
There’s more pictures on my Fotki page: http://public.fotki.com/DaveInTheHat/my_room/
thanks for the great pictures, i think i ahve a pretty good idea on what i want, i have picked up an adjustable drafting table witha large work surface, and an old dresser from a closet up stairs, have a few drawer bins that i have had forever and build a 7 shelf paint rack about 2’X3". Also decided to spend a little money on some modular shelving and finally a swing arm lamp, still want to get one with a magnifier in it and also have to still order a new airbrusha nd compressor, build a spraybooth, and buy a new dremel. I like what you did with the space you had, i am using a spare closet in my basement for my workarea, it is about 2.5 ft deep and 8 feet long. I think this will give me plenty of room for getting back in the hobby.
Thanks for the pics and ideas from everyone, i think i am well on my way.
err…that paint rack is 2 ft by 3 ft, hehe, not inches
And here I thought you were going to store just one bottle of paint.
You know, if it’s useful to anyone, there’s a program out there which is not only wonderful for visualising things like this (spatial relationships) - its a quick, super easy 3D program to use, and its free now. Sketchup. I bought it back when the pro version cost you 500 bucks and then Google got their paws on the company, has their own evil vision for its software, but in the meantime, the program itself they’re treating like flotsam. You want it, just download it.
Its not going to do what Vector or Chief does, which is good because I dont want to learn them. But for drawing a desk, a shelf, figuring out how to arrange a room, man you can seriously accomplish what you want with about a five minute tutorial (also online, and free).
I use it frequently to help clients visualise what they’re asking for in 3D before a project goes to bid.
And if you want to get crazy with it, theres almost no limit to the detail you can put in if you choose to. There are plenty of folks who model vehicles of all sorts . . . just because they think its fun.
Here’s something I discovered a bit too late. Make sure the work surface is a comfortable height for you. We built an addition to our house a few years ago and from the start it was intended to be a library. I wanted a work area for working from home and for the computer, in addition to walls full of built-in bookcases. Well, I didn’t have any idea how to tell the cabinet maker to design the desk so he used a simplistic approach - but the work surface is maybe 3 - 4 inches too high for comfort (it is even with the split in the bookcases where the shelves end and the cabinets underneath begin). The office chair I have just doesn’t elevate high enough for me to work there comfortably without feeling like I’m reaching up, like a kid at a grownup’s desk. Since I have that big mistake haunting me daily, I know for a fact that when I build my modelling work area I will take it into account, and I wanted to mention it here because once you’ve built it, odds are you’re stuck with it.
See, i’m just the exact opposite. My work area is too short and even with the office chair all the way down, i still have to bend down when working the fine details. I think originally the table i got wasn’t intended to sit down at- just kinda a utility table, sorta thing. But when i’m at the bench just hashing it out, I feel like i am entirely too big for the space. I really am a big kid at a little kids desk! It’s too bad too, because living in an apartment, the space factor was the biggest selling point of the way i’m organized