Electronic, Fancy, and Not so fancy machines for the Hobby.
This has been fermenting for a while.
Yup! Another long Diatribe from Me. Nah! No Diatribe, Just a long thought out observation. I was looking at my recently received Micro-Mark Catalogue. Omigosh! How did we ever survive without all these fancy machines?
I mean C'mon now! 3-D Printers, Vac-U-Forms not made by Mattel. Paint Booths, Drying Booths, Photo Etching kits and the list goes on. Where in the book, Oh, that's right, I haven't written it yet! Where in that book does it say you have to spend all this money to enjoy the Hobby?
Let's see, do I really need all these tools in miniature? Sanders, Drills, Saws of all kinds. And the list goes on. No wonders so many folks feel they cannot afford the Hobby. Just setting up your work area can set you back at least a Thousand Bucks or more. And that doesn't include the work area built from scratch or purchased from IKEA
Why? What's wrong with two T.V. tables with a good piece of scrap Corian or plywood as a tabletop? Sure you need good light. What? Never heard of Garage Sales? I got all six of my Ott lights from such venues. I cannot see paying what they cost new, and the bulbs are still available. The glass I work on is again a salvage item. The Belt and Disc Sander is new. Yes, it is! Why? Well, I do a lot, of about 1/32 scale old fashioned Speed Boats( Ski and Tour) on the sander making the belt ends form the hulls and a good set of drill bits for cleaning out the interiors. Just for kicks and gifts.
One tool. Plus I use it on household projects too. Drill Press, Would be nice to have, But I have the old attachment for my Dremel. ( Single Speed controlled by a foot unit from an old sewing machine.) Now I do have a NEW Paint Booth. Yes, New ! It was a gift from the Train Museum on Christmas.( Plain and Simple, no one wanted to be bothered with set-up and breakdown) . Besides you cannot paint a 40 inch long ship in it. So an old metal table outside with a revolving top. Paint dryer? large salvaged cake box inside my closet on the shelf.
Now back to the work area itself. Funny that! It only measures out to 14" x 26". Gee? where did all my tabletop go? Oh, it's under all the paint jars and handtools! So the end result. Spend all the money you want on a shop area. Your work area will always wind up smaller than the model you are working on if you build big models that is!