Building a workstation for modeling

Adding a lining to the back and extensions to the sides.

I found this at a thrift store for a few bucks and though it might be nice to fill some of the empty space at the top with drawers.  Does anyone have any advice on the best way to secure it?  It's a little heavy...

That is a nice idea. When I first got back into modelling I was working from a tray table, so I feel you on the no place to hide the mess.

First the negative, you may run into an issue of no leg room. I know it would drive me crazy not being able to tuck my feet under the "desk". Otherwise it seems like a good idea.

For lighting I'm a really big fan of assemble yourself track lighting where you buy the channel and light fixtures seperately. This allows you to tailor the lighting to your needs, with floods, spots or regular bulbs and as many as you can fit. Many can be set up to use a regular plug in cord so the electrical work is super simple. I love having lots of light where I'm working and LEDs are awesome these days. They are fairly cheap, long lived, bright and available in all kinds of useful shapes and sizes.

Since the work area is rather tall, you might consider adding a shelf near the top. That could be used for your smaller storage bin and other misc storage. You could mount the lights on the underside of the shelf.    

When I first thought this out I figured the no leg room to be a fair compromise, but I have a solution I think will work.  Save that for when I get to it.  I want to go with LED lighting, but track lighting sounds like a good idea too.  As for the shelves, I showed that above. :)

Thanks!

I agree that is a nice idea. The concept of being able to hide the work area and also having everything organized in one area makes sense.

What I have always found to be most important in worktops is depth. I believe my current benchtop is 24" deep and 8' wide. It isn't deep enough. (and with the messes I constantly make, isn't wide enough either. I could probabably model on the salt flats and run out of room.

Having said that, I am trying to figure out how to manage model-making in a small space at the moment too. Seems to be a recurring there here lately. So understand I am applauding your idea here, just suggesting it is going to be tight.

Mounted the upper shelves and added a light bar and power strip.  I haven't drilled the hole yet, but the power strip will be for immediate needs and it with the light bar will run through the back where another power strip will be mounted for permanent things like the lights and the air compressor and probably a ventilation fan. I did have to remove the hardware that assists the door in closing, but they still close okay. I thought that all 4 slots were equal size so that I could mount the frame upside down and the drawers could still be on bottoom.  Alas, that's what I get for assuming...

I'm starting to develop a bit of a backlog...

Great idea. I will have to keep this in mind when I relocate my workspace to what is soon to be an unused spare room.

Got a bit more done.  The light is hooked up, as is the power strip.  I added a magnet bar to hold some of my more frequently used tools and I had bought some small shelves for my vintage camera collection but I thought they might be put to better use here.

kdryan

 I bought the smaller compressor at Harbor Freight and while I understand some people have issues with these, I am on a tight budget. That pancake compressor is what I was using and the smaller one seems like an improvement.

I worked out of a roll top desk back before I had room for a hobby area. Your entertainment center looks to be a much better idea.

Ive been using one of the HF red pancake compressors for about 5 years now. about a year after i got it somone gave me a normal airbrush compressor but I ended up going back to the pancake compressor with the tank as it didn't have to run all the time when I was working.

I made something like this long ago and here is how I solved the legroom problem. I made a false bottom for the main compartment and mounted it a little over 3/4" above the original bottom. I then made a shelf and inserted it into that gap. I was able to pull my shelf out a foot or so giving me a more typical 'desk'. When finished with a work session I put everything that was on the pullout shelf back inside the cabinet, I then slid my shelf back in and closed the doors. 

My plan is to remove the center divider below the main shelf, find a piece of shelving that fits with the door closed , then use the rails from an old under desk keyboard tray to slide it in and out.  The divider is really there to support the weight of what used to be a heavy TV and the shelf is thick enough to support any needs I might have.  This way I have the slide out work area and the original shelf for workspace.

As I mentioned, I want to put a slide out drawer to work on and I had this I had purchased for the old work desk.  The tray is unsuitable, but the slides are just what the doctor ordered here. Now I could use some advice on how to mount this thing without taking the cabiinet apart again. :)  There is no way I am going to be able to get a drill or a screwdriver up in there.  Last shot shows how much work area it will give.  I was going to just paint the shelf black but I am thinking of using some rubberized undercoating that you use for cars to give it a more textured surface that might stand up to a little cutting.

I decided just to put the screws through the top.  I had been thinking about covering the desktop with Vyco (for covering drafting tables) anyway, but it's kind of expensive.  Or I may just use some shelf paper I have laying around.

Making a template for the screw holes

Theoretically the holes should be the same upside down as they would be when hanging on the bottom.  Theoretically...

Holes are marked.

And it worked!

Tomorrow I will work on painting the board, but I am really happy so far with the way this project is going.

So I just went with shelf paper for now.  I used some scrap to make a little ledge on the back so things don't get pushed off and used an old yardstick for the front, figuring that would come in handy.

All done with the shelf!

I'm going to replace the yardstick with a metal one first chance I get.

In the home stretch.  I wanted a ventilation fan so I could paint on the upper shelf with the paint booth I will either make or buy venting into this fan.  It could also remove any other fumes from glue and such.  The cabinet is directly in front of a windo so all I need to do is open the window for it to vent outside.

Fan is a 2 1/2" computer fan.

Oredered both the fan and this cord with switch from Ebay.  I will have to modify the switch a bit so the cord comes out of the back instead of top and bottom.

Since I am left-handed I put the fan to the right, figuring any paint or anything would blow that way and the switch to the left.

Fan hole is a little rough but I will file it out a bit and a filter will cover it.

And there we have it.

Added a few clips to hold istructions and maybe a few pics or whatever and I am ready to call this project complete!  I'll post a pic or two after I get completely moved in, but this project is done!

kdryan

I'm starting to develop a bit of a backlog...

 

 

Not a backlog, the beginning of the stash.

Nice job!

Looks great man.

The upper shelf is around 35"x17"  Thanks for the offer!  I sent you a friend request...

Next project is a small spray booth custom fit for the cabinet. :)