The "workbench" for building models is getting much more organized:
I've had the lamp for a year or so, but the toolbox is fairly new from Harbor Freight.
An upcoming "Must Do" project will be to get additional lighting over this bench and the electronics bench on the wall opposite this one. I think the easiest way is to do surface-mount track lighting, which should give me some flexibility in moving lights around, type and color temperature of the illuminator, and the ability to snap another light in the track if I need more illumination.
And for the first time since we moved in here, the floor is (somewhat) unobstructed, giving The Little Guy, the dog, and my Kyosho Mini-Z some maneuvering room:
From the original listing pix:
Still have quite a ways to go to get it "nice", but it's getting there. Dumping stuff on eBay has helped clear out a LOT of space, and I've got more to list on Sunday.
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Sure is lookin' better than before, though.
ReplyDeleteThanks! This room was wall-to-wall boxes the first few months after we moved in.
DeleteMan cave?
ReplyDeleteThis and "my half" of the garage will have to do.
DeleteLooks like you're getting there, and you know you WILL fill all the available space... LOL
ReplyDeleteyuk-yuk! I'm trying to UN-fill a lot of space here. Too much stuff I'm never going to use again, so might as well sell it off.
DeleteWe recently completed changing all the older twin tube florescent lights over to LEDs and it is amazing how quickly you adjust to what seems in the beginning like way too much light.
ReplyDeleteThe impetus to complete the changeover was Harbor Freight's sale on their single tube LED worklight for twenty dollars.
I despair of ever seeing the top of the main workbench.
I think it will be left for future archeologists to unearth.
Our project bench is a hollow core door slab and a pair of sawhorses. It looks remarkably like yours.
A cluttered workbench indicates a busy person!
DeleteI want something nicer than just hanging a "tube" type fixture; those are OK for the garage, but seeing as the rest of the basement is "finished", I want something that looks good.
If I were doing the workbenches again, I'd go with a solid-core door. These cheep $30 hollow-core doors start to bend after a few months, meaning you either have to flip them over, or put a third $10 Harbor Freight saw horse under the middle.
Still, I got two nice sized "workbenches" for about $75 total.....
Surface mount track lighting.
ReplyDeleteWe converted a bedroom into an office/hobby room and put in a flush mount LED track lighting kit.
We used a kit from Home Depot and added an extension track and a couple more lights.
The "L" shape covers where we need light, but I suspect our room is a good bit smaller than yours.
The supplied lights had an integral LED and over time two failed.
Home Depot no longer made the lights, but I was able to remove the electronics from the shells and mount a porcelain base inside the shell to use a 120 VAC LED bulb.
We could have replaced the lights with any standard LED light, but SWMBO insisted that they all looked the same.
Sawhorse and door workbench.
Agree about the sag, perhaps a pair of 2x3s on edge as stiffeners? If needed, notch the 2x3s to fit over the sawhorses.
The "L" shape is the shape of the layout on the overhead.
DeleteThe ceiling in front of the bookcase has recessed "can" lighting that you can move the lights in. It's OK for illuminating the bookcase, but I need light over the "benches".
DeleteI was thinking of a piece of angle on the bottom. I have doubts about adding a flat piece of wood to 'stiffen' it. The left end of the electronics bench is supported by a saw horse and a filing cabinet, so that's where the Heavy Equipment is parked.
And still it sags.....
I'm thinking that the 2x3 or 2x4 would have the 1.5 inch part against the door and that would give them maximum resistance to sag.
DeleteAnd I'm not sure that a solid door slab would be as resistant to sag as we would expect.
I wonder what the sag calculation would reveal for common iron pipe sizes?
I thought of turning it "sideways" like you suggest right after I replied. I suppose I could use some long construction screws to secure it to the wood frame around the edges. I'd drill pilot holes first, of course.
DeleteAs far as using a solid core door, that's what the ARRL Handbook said to use Back In The Day. No idea how much stiffer they are, -OR- how much cheaper they're made this days. Seems like nothing is built to last anymore. It can be really frustrating to spend some $$ on something, and have it fail within six months, or worse, just fall apart due to shoddy materials and/or workmanship.....
I wonder how much more sag resistance there would be in a laminated 2x4.
DeleteA 2x4 would have enough meat to allow a small notch cut so it would be captured by the top of the sawhorse.
Before drilling and screwing, perhaps a trial? If it doesn't pan out you aren't out much time or labor, and a pair of 2x4 will get used for something fairly quickly.
Now you got me looking at replacements!
DeleteSolid wood doors are expen$ive, like well over $200, so that's out.
Looks like a good thing would be to get an 8' countertop for about $80.
I ran a search on 2x4 workbenches.
DeleteFolks have done some interesting things.
I am thinking that some plywood, 2x4s, screws, and glue, would make a very strong box bench, and not cost a fortune.
I'm thinking that the countertop gets its support from the row of cabinets beneath it.
Or the 2x4 frame it gets bolted to.
DeleteYou would not have used a hollow-core door if you knew what they are constructed with. The faces are normally fiberboard, and they have cardboard stringers inside to hold the faces apart. Only the outer frame is wood, and not much of it. Renters often put their fists through these things when they have arguments with family. They have NO security ability, they are just privacy screens.
ReplyDeleteMake sure any internal room you would use as a family "safe room" for home invasion response has a solid core wood door. Consider using a garage fire rated door for this purpose, as they are usually metal clad wood doors. That's a connecting door for home to garage type. Construction fire codes cover this.
Most of the ones I've seen the guts of had like a cardboard honeycomb inside. Yep, ZERO strength against impacts.
DeleteThis started as a quick-cheap-and-dirty "I Need A Table NOW" project when I was cleaning up the basement and didn't have a table to stack things on when I was sorting them. I figured the doors would sag in this use, and they have.
They're OK for now, but will have to be replaced.....someday.....