I thought I’d share my plans for my new workbench.
This room hasn’t been decorated in 20+ years and as soon as I’m out of here it’s going to be gutted and renovated, so this means I have to plan for a semi-permanent workbench – one that can be taken apart with relative ease.
This isn’t as bad as it sounds – I’ll only need to drill into the walls for the paint storage, otherwise everything can go on the desk itself.
I have a large set of cupboards in a cubby between two wardrobes. These cupboards have seen better days and after a ruthless clear-out I have been able to empty them so I can dismantle them for recycling.
The width of the cubby is 114cm, which means a 110cm wide desk will fit nicely, with just enough room for attaching an arm mount to the side of the desk for my iPad, and one for a light.
In fact, I’ve found an L shaped desk which is 50cm deep (80cm deep on the “L”), which is the perfect size and the extra 30cm x 27cm protrusion allows for more to go onto the desk without it becoming too crowded.
Just like any Amazon product listing, this one is photoshopped, so the scaling of the computer etc. in the image is off, but this doesn’t matter because I know the dimensions of the desk itself.
I’m currently looking at using Hobby Zone’s products for storage and their online tool allows me to input the 110cm x 50cm tabletop and then add components from their modular storage range so I can meticulously plan the setup for the desk.
The modules are 15cm deep, which means the empty working space is 35cm x 95cm (not including the “L”) – this leaves enough room for up to two 12″ x 18″ (30cm x 45.72cm) cutting mats. I have the T-34-85 one from the Tank Museum, which is currently not available on their website, but the Tiger 131 and Matilda 2 / Churchill Crocodile ones are.
I can afford to lose the extra space on the right-hand side because of the shape of the desk, and because the corner module has empty space behind, an iPad arm and light can attach to the desk behind the corner piece. I might need to find a different style of light though, as this one would be better suited being attached to the rear centre of the desk.
Attaching them behind the corner module prevents having to shift everything towards the centre of the desk to allow room for them to attach to the rear, though there should be room to do this if I need to.
Working mostly left-to-right, (preparation → painting → weathering), I can justify each module:
- Small draws for fine tools such as filing/sanding, tweezers, scribing
- Larger draws for some of the bulkier tools such as screwdrivers, hand-drill
- Empty space for palettes and brush water cup
- Paint brush storage and a hangar for pliers/snippers
- Large draw for paint prep items such as cork, toothpicks, paint handle
- Marker/pencil storage
- Open area for larger items such as rattle cans, primers
- Further storage
- Corner storage for glues
- Corner storage for glues/putty
- Magnetic instruction holders
The modules are secured with small magnets, so if I want to swap around some of them around, I can.
And finally, some paint shelving which will attach to the wall above the desk. I’ll probably go for two of the “S4B” modules (with 7 shelves), and an “S4S” module (with 5 shelves). Two paint storage, and one weathering storage for larger bottles.
The great thing about these shelves is that if I find I need more, I can move these up on the wall and add more below to form a seamless double-heighted shelf.
They also come with a base to allow them to sit on top of the other modules, but they don’t quite fit on the current configuration (I’d have to change the “OM06U” corner storage to one with a solid top) and I fear the desk will become too crowded. Having them on the wall puts them within reach, but out of the way, and I can always add the bases later.
All in all, this will be an investment of a few hundred quid, but I still have time to think on it and to tweak things if I need to.