traditional Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 Guys! You are hurting yourselves! I have a history of working in design and implementation of work space. I went on the web looking for a diagram for bench top space and all I could find was for computer stations. So I guess I will need to write an article someday! The short of it is... a standard desk top should be between 28-34 inches from the floor depending on your height and seating position. My bench top is at 30" high. You need to have enough leg room under the surface to comfortably sit with your legs in front of you. The work space should have a minimum of 36" of space (side to side) for your legs. You want to work in a straight position with your model directly in front of you so you keep your spine straight. You also want to place tools you use regularly within a comfortable reach. Desk surfaces can be 24-36" deep. You need a decent adjustable chair. Don't sit in a folding chair or kitchen type chair. Get your self a good office chair. The cheap ones found at Staples aren't that good and won't last too long. Best to find a used one at a garage sale or used office furniture store. The best name brands are Steelcase, Knoll, Herman Miller and Haworth. In short, I'd rather spend $100 on a used professional quality office chair than a Staples $99 special, for the same reason you'd buy a SnapOn tool instead of Chinese no name tools. The chair I use above is a Knoll chair on casters that I got for free when a company was moving from my office building. You want to adjust that chair's height so that your feet are out in front of you and are flat on the floor. It's best to have a chair with adjustable arms, and you want to have those parallel to your work surface to support your elbows. If the chair doesn't have good midback support, add a pillow in the small of your back. Lighting is also important. I have good ceiling lights in my model room, but also have several lights that focus on the bench surface. The photo of my bench above has two lights, now I have three. They are all on a power strip so I just hit one button to turn them all on or off. Take regular breaks. It's recommended to walk away for 10 minutes an hour. That allows your eyes to focus to avoid head aches, and gives your joints a break from being in the same position for too long. Walk around and stretch! In short, if you get head aches or pain anywhere... your neck, back, legs etc. you have placed yourself in a bad position. It will only hurt you over time. When I used to do ergonomic evaluations of office space, the minute I looked at the desk setup and computer position I would tell the person where they hurt. They'd look at me like I was a psychic, but it's all in the science. Tom, that was very insightful and well written......A great ergonomics lesson for all of us. Thank-you
tubbs Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 My work bench is an old hollow core door. It's wrapped in brown paper and sits on top of two old night stands that just happened to be the right height. The door was free and I had the old nightstands. On top of it you will see a yellow board and a piece of glass on top of that. Back at my old house when I was doing renovations and had no work space, I actually built one of my best models on that board, on top of my kitchen table. It was back when I had small kids, so I'd just take the board and put it up on top of the refrigerator every night. It proves you can work almost anywhere! hey Tom, nice setup. love what you wrote up too. good advice. i have one suggestion for you. i have a simular setup. i have desks that have a 30" top and i put 36" wood tops on them. i pulled my desks foward away from the wall so i can get into my drawers without worrying about that overhang. dont worry about the top falling, it will be heavy enough to not tip.
Quick GMC Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) I bought a 6 foot stainless workbench from Sears that I put in the corner of the room. I have a bad back, so sitting at bar height on a stool was killing me. I took the frame off the bench, emptied my closet, and mounted the top in there with a nailer strip at desk height. Now I use an office chair. The closet shelf is used to store my kits. I installed another shelf in between that one and the bench to hold my other stuff. Then I took a crappy 5 foot computer desk I was going to throw out and turned it into an airbrush station. The filing cabinet, which is too small for legal size files, holds my compressor. the other drawer holds my Tamiya spray cans and the tower area on the left holds everything else. I built a booth for the top, cut holes in the wall of my house to vent outside. Now I can flip a switch at midnight and airbrush inside without any smell or noise. Edited February 8, 2015 by Quick GMC
Drake69 Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) I've had my workroom in various places in different houses. The last house I was in though, the landlord was very finicky about paint fumes so I actually put my hobby on hold for awhile until I could improve my position. Before that I had an entire basement to work with that was really awesome. Now I have a florida room that I've repurposed for my hobbying. The desk came from a military surplus store, dirt cheap. Milk crates scrounged from various places, a few Wal-Mart special plastic storage drawers, and an old office In-Out tray... An old videotape cabinet my dad had for storing VHS movies becomes a secure area for spraypaints... A free set of dresser drawers on the left holds most of my unbuilt models, transferred to Ziploc gallon bags to save space (boxes cut up and stored away for reference pics...). Paasche painthood that is sitting on an old couch endtable has dryer hose running to a makeshift vent nozzle that I can cap off during the cold days, and be opened easily when I have to paint. And ammo box at the back wall stores miscellaneous items. And a parting shot of the painthood with magnetic base maglite. And don't call me a "hippy"... Last pic, this of the drawers against the brick wall. Metal shelving sits atop the dresser for more storage area since I can't nail into the brick hearth behind it. No, we don't use the fireplace, it has a problem with the flue and cap inside it. Edited February 8, 2015 by Drake69
Deathgoblin Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 I'm using a folding wood card table right now. I haven't built anything since we moved and I couldn't stand it anymore. My dad's supposed to be bringing my other desk back to use as a workbench soon.
wrecker388 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 My dad and I aren't sure what my bench used to be. He thinks it might have used to haul some kind of missiles during one of the wars. It seems to be made of chromoly square tubing and can support a ton of weight as my dad's big Snap-On top cabinet is on it's twin. He covered the top of it with a piece of Stainless which is my work top. I don't have a pic on hand, if anyone is interested I can post one.
High octane Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 What ever works to do model building is the way to go. I've heard of guys building on a TV tray, and I've spray painted on the top of a bed before as well. Not everyone has a spare room or basement with deep pockets to set it up the way they want. Some of us have to improvise and also settle for less, but that doesn't mean that good models can't be built in whatever environment we have.
kforbus Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I use an old school lunchroom table...the kind before they started mounting the seats to them. Decent height and I can work on my rc boats on it too. I sit in my highback computer chair.decent setup for my man-closet.
Mister 4x4 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) I just got started [again] and set-up one of the 'wings' of my computer desk to work on some small kits. So far, so good. I'm really diggin' the roll-top desk - that's the perfect set-up to keep the cats out of the middle of things. I've been lucky so far, though (as far as I know, anyway). Nice work spaces, guys - let's see some more. Edited February 10, 2015 by Mister 4x4
Brizio Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I usually build my models on a desk. But sometime I start project on 11000ft on top of the Atlantic...
southpier Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I just got started [again] and set-up one of the 'wings' of my computer desk to work on some small kits. So far, so good..... how does that light combination work for you? i have a 100w incandescent & a 24w fluorescent. usually use just the 100w. when i use the fluorescent for any longer than a couple of minutes i feel like it's burning through to my cerebral cortex. it's the same distance (about 24" ) above my work surface, but maybe it's too bright for the area?
GeeBee Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Both my desks are computer desks, my hobby room was, (after it was no longer needed as a bedroom) an office where I ran my online slot racing business from, the computer corner using became my building desk, my spray booth sits on another computer corner unit, the keyboard shelf was removed a toolbox sits where a computer tower should go, This photo was taken many years ago when the model stash was hardly existent and the fax machine was still plugged in, and my eyesight was a lot better, so I didn't need the magnifying lamp I need these days
dublin boy Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 You know what my one looks like Geoff. It's still the same
GeeBee Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 You know what my one looks like Geoff. It's still the same I do Shay, and organised it isn't .....
dublin boy Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Meh, I know where everything is. Organisation just shows a lack of vision Geoff I'd be opening and closing drawers all day in your model room, I'd get nothing done. LOL
GeeBee Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Meh, I know where everything is. Organisation just shows a lack of vision Geoff I'd be opening and closing drawers all day in your model room, I'd get nothing done. LOL If I left you alone for that long in my hobby room you wouldn't be looking in any of my drawers, you'd be hightailing it back to Dublin with your hands full of quite a few kits from the stash ...
Belugawrx Posted February 11, 2015 Posted February 11, 2015 how does that light combination work for you? i have a 100w incandescent & a 24w fluorescent. usually use just the 100w. when i use the fluorescent for any longer than a couple of minutes i feel like it's burning through to my cerebral cortex. it's the same distance (about 24" ) above my work surface, but maybe it's too bright for the area? I hate the fluorescent only..... (Grey light) I need a good Incandescent...maybe a 150W flood?? Will check it out and get back to you
BubbaJoe Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) cleaned off my work space after finishing up my last build. thought i'd share it. paint rack/ tool holder is made from angle bracket bolted together. i am able to add and remove shelves as needed. Edited February 15, 2015 by BubbaJoe
MeatMan Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Got an old folding wood table about 15" x 20" fully opened that I typically use in the dining room (wood floors). Keep my models in a spare bedroom upstairs but can't work there. I do have a room in the basement to myself for painting but its small and not conducive to setting up a workroom. I really need a paint booth. I use a Stanley rolling toolbox for my tools, etc. I like it because it has a section for small parts that I use for paint bottles and a large bottom section for larger tools.
Custom Mike Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) I use an old computer armoire my wife and I found at a consignment shop for $100. I can close it up when I'm done working and everything is safe from the kids and cats until I'm ready to build again! I added a light fixture in the center area, and a small fluorescent light was added over the photobooth area on the left side Some cup hooks were added to the doors for extra space to hang tools, and my small parts bin was also hung on the door... A bit of wall trim was added, along with 3 pieces of foam board to make a removable photo booth... Lots of storage space underneath the work surface for the photobooth, and assorted bins full of nail polish and parts, a Dremel, and the magnifying glasses if I ever need 'em! The keyboard tray serves as a second work surface... Some green foam from Wally World's craft department works for paint brushes and assorted tools... My dremel is hung from the top, with the flex-shaft attached. I don't have to fight with it anymore, it's right there when I need it! The paint rack was made from a couple of pieces of scrap wood and more wall trim scraps. It's a great fit for me, the cost was low, and it can be closed up to hide my mess, These pics were the last time it was this neat, its a train wreck in there right now! Every cubbyhole in it is jammed full of stuff, and parts and tools are laying all over the work surfaces! I also added a bunch more cup hooks to the right side door, and have all kinds of things hanging there! Edited February 15, 2015 by Custom Mike
Mike_G Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 ^ That's a nice setup The only thing I'd want to add would be a magnifier lamp
Custom Mike Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 I've got one, but I can't use it without feeling queasy...thank God I can see up-close fine without it!
bill_rules Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 I'm building to re-live a part of my childhood, and doing it at an old school desk I may have sat at as a child..... Hosted on Fotki
topher5150 Posted February 25, 2015 Author Posted February 25, 2015 I like how you have your dremel setup Custom Mike. What about air compressors/and air brushes
Roadrunner Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 My now abandoned man cave, before I moved. How I miss that space.
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