What is your dream workbench??

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

It would appear we are all getting into deep questions lately mostly from our buddy “Manstien”. I have been a little slow this summer working on models because I decided to to fix up my work bench area. As I am finishing up I put the question “What is your dream workbench” or what do you want to have in your work bench area.

Since we spend so much time on the bench I decided to make mine cofortable. Here is my dream area just about finished.

Bench with desk, toolbox, spray paint booth and computer to get on this forum!

Shelves for the stash!

I’m lucky that I have space to create a room for my bench but those who don’t have the space can get into their portable dream bench . Anyway, I’m looking to share ideas.

2

A big room, TV, Computer, 10ft. long by 4 ft. deep workbench. spinny chair, shelves capable of holding 400 paint jars, spray booth, couch, photo booth, refridgerator, shelves that can hold 50 models unbuilt and another that can hold 100 built ones. And it would have an automated voice “Thats going on the wrong way” to correct me when I’m not reading the instructions right. I’m sure I’ll come up with more later.

Oh ya, and a machine that makes it so that whenever somthing runs out, it replaces it right then and there.

Yours is nice though.

David

3

well every good ww2 tamiya. kit link and length builder.[:)] dragon kits. dragon figs. hmmm all the simpsons episodes and a widescreen tv a bed to sleep in when i get tired[:-^] huge bench gaurds to keep out unwanted people> squishee chair junk food apple pie gummy worms. m1a1 carbine real tanks too. maybe 10 or 11 marders shermans jadgpanthers ww2 uniforms. shooting range blah blaf blah. i wonder what blaf is

a boy can dream cant he[(-D]

4

It’s perfect,except I don’t see a coffee pot anywhere!Gots ta have dat!

5

The room next door has a coffee pot. Its my excuse to come out every now & then. It keeps the wife from saying “you have been in there all day”. Well no, I’ve come out for coffee at least every hour. Then after all that coffee I come out to …

Thanks

6

I think there is no such thing as a perfect workbench for everyone because we all have different spaces and conditions. I have a pretty large room with just a fold up table for my bench, with kits stacked on the opposite wall. But… were I to have my choice, I would have…

A permanent workbench at the correct height (which for models should be higher than normal so I don’t have to bend over, which hurts the back and shoulders).

A nice paint rack directly in front of me on the wall, holding all my paints by color grouping (greys, blues, reds, etc).

A paint booth INSIDE that vents to the OUTSIDE, with the compressor (I have a small, quiet one) hardlined in.

A good (but not expensive) sound system with CD player - I don’t want to watch TV while building, it’s too distractive; but I really enjoy music while I work.

I would like to have one of those little 'fridges there, instead of going all the way to the kitchen. On the other hand, when doing detailed work in a sitting position, it’s always healthy/helpbul to get up now and then and stretch.

I’d have a different floor covering - now it’s medium pile carpet (and you know how easily small parts get lost).

I’d have better room lighting; I’ve got one of the specialty “good” flourescent light fixtures on the desk, but better all-room lighting is always a help.

Finally, I’d have an alarm that I could set when I have other things to do, coz I tend to get so absorbed in a project that I am late for things.

Most of all, I need to see a hypnotist, to pound into my brain that I should spend MORE time at the modeling desk instead of the minuscle amount I do now. lol

Hal Sanguinetti
IPMS Cactus Car Modelers
NHRA Track Announcer’s Guild
“Tiggers Digger” B/FD - CH3NO2 Forever!

7

A big one with all the bells and whistles, in a bank vault so I can enjoy the solitude.

8

I have a close to perfect workspace.

I have a 48"x34" work table that has a shelf with my tools and paint brushes on it, and room for the kits I’m working on under it. That leaves me 2’ of working space. Good lighting, paints on a stepped rack at my right hand side, and all at the proper height.

My spray booth is a few steps away, is vented to the outside and is softlined (vinyl hose) to the garage compressor. Since the compressor is just on the other side of the wall, I’m using a 3’ length of hose, so I’m not worried about any pressure loss.

It’s not quite perfect, I’ve got a brownish-grey berber carpet monster on the floor, and the wall need to have the pale pink painted over (used to be a girl’s bedroom). It’s in the basement so stays pretty cool in the summer, but it’s a bit cold in the winter!

It’s also my computer room, so I’m not too far from the forums or online research. I’ve a decent set of speakers and can play music on my computer. I also have a TV card and it’s hooked up to cable in case I get bored and watch tv instead. All I need is a 24" LCD screen and I’m set!

9

In answer to your floor covering, I had a similar problem. The floor I put in my workbench room I bought from Sams Club. It is garage floor tiles. They are 12"x12" snap togeather tiles which you could put over your carpet (or at least in the bench area). They are rigid polyethylene, come in different colors. I used black which shows a small part except black ones but they sit on the surface and can be found easy. The tiles also clean up easy if you spill or drip paint and are solvent resistant. Best of all they were cheap, about $1.25 per square foot or per tile.

Just a thought! Check it out.

Lighting I put up a cheap track light set from home depot. It gives light to the room but allows me to concentrate the light on my bench and other work areas.

Good luck

10

I just got finished with mine a couple months ago, or at least 95% done as MR says. Here it is when my Dora arrived. It’s pretty busy right now though with several builds going on.

There are two jeweler’s benches, a wood worker’s table, 4 flex-shaft tools, a tank type air compressor and an AirForce compressor, a vent fan to the exterior from the painting area, a paint storage cabinet, and lots of table space. The shelves hold back issues of FSM and other stuff. There’s plenty of light and a 6’ sliding door to the back yard. It’s in the basement with a lock on the door so I can hole-up from the cats and the missus for hours on end. Yeah, right.

My stash is in a separate closet 14’ long x 6’ wide with shelves down both sides. Yes, it’s full floor to ceiling I’m sad to say. I gotta spend more time building . . . . . .

11

[bow] … [BH] … [censored] … [#toast] I’m speachless from your shop! … I’m beyond envious!

12

I want Sauron’s workbench, but get that giant Dora outta there! Unless, of course, I have a two-car garage in which to park it when it’s done…

13

OUTSTANDING!!!

We think somewhat alike, create a place that you can work and are comfortable. Your area seems larger in square footage and looks great and it looks very comfortable. It does not look like you need the last 5% but then again there is always someting more to add on.

Thanks for sharing your view. I am trying with this thread to get some and give some ideas for myself and all who read this thread. Thanks &

OUTSTANDING!!!

14

I see the strategically placed roll of TP in the first photo…

you really don’t like leaving your workspace, do you? [:D]

15

and did you say kitchinette?[tup][tup]and my wife says the perfect companion items might be,a feeding tube and an unlimited supply of depends.

16

Did you ever see those sushi tables where they get a nekkid girl to lay down across it and they put the sushi dishes all down along…[swg]…yeah…somethin’ like that!

17

Yeah, but didn’t notice the table much.

18

redleg12 - I think you just gave me the answer to the missing 5%. My floor is concrete with a grey epoxy paint finish but that garage floor covering sounds like it’s really nice. The shop is about 400 square feet so it won’t be cheap but, hey, it’ll be less than the Dora cost. I’ll check out Sam’s on the way home and see if they have it.

samreichart - the TP is also good for cut fingers, not that that has ever happened to me. [:-^] That bench is where I build paper models and use scalpels for cutting out the parts.

kcmat - thanks. I’ve been building models for 50 years now and I’ve never really had enough room, light, bench space, or storage so I decided to bite the bullet and build a shop. Since I plan to live another 50 years (it’ll take that long to build my current stash) it was worth the investment.

19

I have a pretty good setup now. I’m in a separate betroom that is about 8’ by 14’. I’ve got a very large table in there, with all the paints and tools mounted on stepped shelves above the working surface. The closet in the room is my entire stash. I’ve also got a futon couch and a tv in there. The room also doubles as the computer room, so there’s a separate table with my computer in there. I just wish I had a vented spraybooth, and I’d be all set.

20

Here is a photo of mine. When I retired and moved into a new house, the workshop was a prime priority. I bought a couple of four drawer kitchen cabinet modules from Home Depot and added an 8 foot counter top.

http://www.geocities.com/cewentzel/cew_work_shop.jpg

Clare