My Workbench

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Will L
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My Workbench

Postby Will L » Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:41 am

When we discuss ways and means of producing our models, it often strikes me that there is a significant divide between those who luxuriate in well-equipped workshops, and those who make do with rather less palatial modelling environment. My prejudices may be showing. For the sake of amusement and to give us all a sense of how the other half lives, I thought it might be interesting to share images of each other’s workspaces.

This is mine this morning, unusually tidy as I have finished one job and I'm about to start another. My stock of materials occupies about half the space under the table, leaving about enough space for my knees. My unbuilt kit pile lives elsewhere. Much like a jeweller I wear an apron which tucks into the draw and prevents too many offerings to the GCG
20210422_102129.jpg

The Dremel, actually hangs from a hook under the left side of the table when not in use, but I thought I ought to admit to its existence.

Edited to get my supplications to the deity correct.
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Tim V
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Tim V » Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:07 am

Very tidy Will!

Here's a couple of pictures.

I keep the soldering station completely separate from the main work area, I found tools were getting rusty. And following some tips from David Brandreth, I've tidied up my fluxing activities.
IMG_0804[1].JPG

A couple of low energy lamps, need to be replaced with LEDs. Powermaster for testing/running in motors.
IMG_0805[1].JPG

The Unimat as a lathe on the left, with a turned pole for the precision vertical drill on the right.
IMG_0806[1].JPG

Down in the garage I have a Myford ML7, plus a Chinese vertical drill and band saw for heavier jobs (out of sight).
2014 -2 Progress (3).JPG
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Tim V
(Not all railways in Somerset went to Dorset)

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Hardwicke
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Hardwicke » Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:21 am

Must tidy mine up before pictures....
Ordsall Road (BR(E)), Forge Mill Sidings (BR(M)), Kirkcliffe Coking Plant (BR(E)), Swanage (BR (S)) and Heaby (LMS/MR). Acquired Thorneywood (GNR). Still trying to "Keep the Balance".

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Serjt-Dave » Thu Apr 22, 2021 2:23 pm

Here are my two workbenches. Not a lot going on either of them at the mo. Having to go back to work {ish} and lay a patio. On leave next week so hope to spend a bit more time here.

All Best

Dave

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Enigma
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Enigma » Thu Apr 22, 2021 3:46 pm

That looks quite neat and tidy. As an alternative, how about this? Mine in its usual state of confusion, part way through a project (Dean Goods) and in need (like my wavy locks :) ) of a good tidy up. Solder station and RSU on right, jars, bottles and potions on shelf above, assorted 'stuff' at the lower back. I know where everything is - I think................. :?

Workbench April 2021.1.A.jpg


And swinging around to see the Cowells lathe and my photo/test track -

Workbench April 2021.2.A.jpg


Once I've decided the Dean Goods is 'finished' I will probably have a tidy up.

Honest!

BTW, you will also notice I have several pairs of specs of varying magnifications (and a loupe). Tempus Fugit etc. etc.................
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Philip Hall
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Philip Hall » Thu Apr 22, 2021 3:59 pm

We had a discussion about workbenches in the West Riding Lounge at Scalefour North, so I have a few pictures I can show. And, of course, I've been prompted by Will's enterprise in starting this thread. My workshop when we moved into this house was in the loft room, which was also going to house the railway. At 16 ft x 10 ft at about 30 ins off the floor it was a tight space for even a secondary main line, so no sweeping curves and an increasing likelihood of an aching back as the years passed. So when I was offered the chance of a room at the bottom of the garden I sort of jumped at the chance. The room is 21 ft x 20ft which means I do have room for 4ft 6ins radius curves, and the railway is 3ft 9ins off the floor to allow for storage beneath. Household stuff as well, that was part of the deal...

So here goes, firstly with a (slightly distorted) panoramic shot of my railway room, taken from the doorway.

Panoramic 2020.jpg smaller.jpg


On the left, under the windows, are my two main benches, and the railway goes around the room (or it will do when track is laid). In the middle of the room are three old desks screwed together and mounted on plinths to provide a 'stand up' bench which houses the lathe (Unimat SL), Proxxon drill press and some other tools I've yet to set up. I also use this area as storage for projects I am working on. On the extreme right is another 'stand up' bench area, in reality a base for a viaduct section of the railway which will run along the back edge, giving me working space in front. Here, at the moment, is a Record No 1 vice mounted on a board so I can move it around, and a small table saw. There's also a Record No 4 which is a thumping great thing I can hardly lift, and I am reviewing whether I actually need it. I'd love a better lathe but can't really justify the expense and where it would go is another problem.

So here are the two main workbenches, the one on the left I use for metal working and soldering, whilst the one on the right I use for everything else and is correspondingly not so mucky.

IMG_9915.jpg smaller.jpg


The left hand one I built many years ago before I was married and was made in the style of a bureau so it could be folded up when not in use and keep the small living room I had to myself tidy. In practice it stayed open all the time and I have adapted it to its new permanent situation. The other bench is actually an old writing desk, adapted again with a wider work surface. Both these two are linked and extended with shelves to house brushes and tools.

I'm the first to admit that I could easily build a railway without all this but I would need a similar space to house the railway anyway. And I am unbelievably lucky to have an understanding and generous wife who used part of a legacy to get me out of the house and down the garden with the hedgehog and the fairies. You'll see there is also a sofabed and no, I've never slept down there. I wanted a room that would be comfortable, just like being in the house, otherwise I felt I wouldn't want to be going down there. And I would also work the way I do even if I didn't model for other people. For medical reasons and personal preferences I keep the two benches and their purpose apart and have done so for a long time. In some respects this accounts for the duplicated tools, although I am a sucker for them. However, the drawback to all this is the antisocial aspect. When it's cold outside there is little incentive to venture down the garden and leave my wife in front of the TV alone. So I am thinking of putting in a small work area in an old bureau in our living room, so I can make the odd wagon or building whilst being social.

I must say that I do like everyone's laser cut drawer units. It looks very tidy compared to my piecemeal approach of using up old furniture!

Philip
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Will L
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Will L » Thu Apr 22, 2021 9:12 pm

Philip Hall wrote:...I must say that I do like everyone's laser cut drawer units. It looks very tidy compared to my piecemeal approach of using up old furniture!

For me it was old shoe boxes until I found the draw units. They improved things a lot.
They come from EBMA Hobby & Craft, at https://www.ebmahobby.co.uk
Which is Andy G(oodman) of this parish.

No connection etc.

Philip Hall
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Philip Hall » Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:08 pm

I still use shoeboxes and there are a lot of them strewn around the place. I also have a fair amount of old shirt boxes in which I keep half done projects. The are getting tatty now so maybe a chance for some posh alternatives...

Philip

Jeremy Suter
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Jeremy Suter » Fri Apr 23, 2021 2:43 pm

Here is my work room Like to keep it tidy.
As I am in it nearly every day I try to keep every thing clean although the shelves get cluttered.

Working on the Railmotor Roof test etch at the moment.

IMG_6198[1].JPG

IMG_6199[1].JPG

IMG_6200[1].JPG


I do have the machine tools for the jobs I want to do including.
4 lathes
A Pantograph Milling Machine
A Machine Vertical milling Machine
large and small pillar drills.

Just finished this the other week. Its an MOK 7mm GWR Armstrong I would like to do a 4mm version

IMG_6139[1].JPG
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Philip Hall
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Philip Hall » Fri Apr 23, 2021 7:15 pm

I like the layout with lots of daylight coming in. And I am very envious of all the lathes, even if I probably wouldn't know what to do with them if I had them. I do quite fancy one of the watchmakers' lathes though, simply for the extreme accuracy for delicate jobs. Mine is nowhere near as tidy, you're much better than I am...

The axle ends on the Armstrong - are they turned plugs to cover axle nuts? They're beautifully done.

Philip

Jeremy Suter
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Jeremy Suter » Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:14 am

Philip Hall wrote:I like the layout with lots of daylight coming in. And I am very envious of all the lathes, even if I probably wouldn't know what to do with them if I had them. I do quite fancy one of the watchmakers' lathes though, simply for the extreme accuracy for delicate jobs. Mine is nowhere near as tidy, you're much better than I am...

The axle ends on the Armstrong - are they turned plugs to cover axle nuts? They're beautifully done.

Philip


Hi Philip

Well I don't like working in a mess especially lathe swarf so I try to tidy up most days and give the work room a good clean up after each job.
The cover plates come with the kit and are a perfect pop in fit. The kit is really well designed with working inside valve gear here's the one I made earlier painted by Warren Haywood. Got another two to do.
IMG_20210417_171137.jpg
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Terry Bendall
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Terry Bendall » Sat Apr 24, 2021 9:43 am

Going back to Will's post, we all live with what we have and as we have seen, Will is able to produce very fine models with the facilities that he has proving that you don't need an extensive amount of kit or lots of machines

Picture 1.jpg


This is a picture of my main working area. I shall probably publish some more pictures of the workspace in a future Starting from Scratch article. Having moved house five times in the last 48 years, and had a workshop in the garden in all of them, the present layout is the second that I have had like this. The L shaped layout works for me and my lathe and drill are out of sight to the right.

The bench is made from a piece of 18mm think MDF. I bought a whole sheet and cut it down the length with the main part being 26 inches wide and the other return of the L 22inches wide I made a 3 inch wide overhang at the front to allow for the clamp-on vice. i find it very useful to move this around depending on what I am doing or even put it to one side if I want a flat space.

Philip Hall wrote:I must say that I do like everyone's laser cut drawer units. It looks very tidy compared to my piecemeal approach of using up old furniture!


The drawer units are very nice but they do of course take up space on the work surface so you need a fairly wide work top. I have used old furniture in other parts of the workshop and whilst it would be nice to have some fitted units - some of the modern garage bench units that are available are very smart, but with a price to match, I get by. Posh facilities won't make you a better model maker. :)

Terry Bendall
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Rod Cameron
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Rod Cameron » Sat Apr 24, 2021 6:33 pm

Some very neat and tidy workspaces in there, you'd almost think some had been tidied for the purpose ... ;)

Mine haven't, mainly because I haven't done any proper modelling since last July, and only woodwork since January, so the desktops have become repositories for 'stuff'. My modelling room is a garden office, which was also my work office until I retired. The desk here is an old home office desk, now where I do soldering and other intricate stuff. Shelving above, one of which has two P4 tracks and one 00 for testing, currently occupied by a Roco SNCF autorail remorque (trailer) and a brass 12-wheel Pullman for a Newhaven boat train under construction.

IMG_4738.JPG


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This is my former 'work' desk, all evidence of its former life now gone. I got this for free as a result of an office move. More shelving above, Silhouette cutter on top, and stock boxes underneath.

IMG_4739.JPG


Lewes baseboards in storage in the foreground. The curved board at the end is one of the Balcombe drop-in fiddle yard boards. Oh look, there's some empty shelf space there, I wonder what I can do with that.

IMG_4741.JPG


I recently had my garage roof refelted and the up-and-over door replaced with a conventional door, so I took the opportunity to insulate the walls and ceiling on the inside, and generally reorganised things to make another more comfortable space where I can do woodworking stuff, work on individual layout boards on the bench, and even put layouts up - these are the scenic boards for a French H0 layout, with one of the FY boards (Kingspan insulation faced with 4mm ply) leaning up against the lawnmower.

IMG_4744.JPG


I would also use a room in the house but I'd spend all my time trying to stop the cats jumping all over everything.
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Rod

Philip Hall
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Philip Hall » Sat Apr 24, 2021 10:18 pm

Hi Jeremy,

I’m glad I am not the only one who is a bit crazy and cleans up the lathe swarf after use - I run the vacuum cleaner over it (and also the benches from time to time). I also have to run the cleaner over the entire room once in a blue moon, and that blue moon has recently risen, after about four years of working there. I suppose that’s not too bad...

Philip

petermeyer
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Re: My Workbench

Postby petermeyer » Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:16 am

This is my comparatively modest workbench this morning. I usually work in such a mess and last night I was doing battle with tenders. I hate doing the brakes on tenders and these LNWR ones are particularly fiddly, so I put it off and end up doing them in batches.

IMG_0546.jpg


I have built everything on the same piece of wood off-cut since my bedsit days. Here is a Polaroid from the early 80's of a GWR 517 on my P4 test track piece. You can't see much of the rest of the bench but it was there.

post_250421.jpg


Since that time marriage, career and family took over and I have only relatively recently had the time to return to the hobby. But I kept all my bits.
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Terry Bendall
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Terry Bendall » Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:33 am

Rod Cameron wrote:Some very neat and tidy workspaces in there, you'd almost think some had been tidied for the purpose ...


That was certainly the case with mine since it was included in part 1 of the Starting from Scratch series. :) It is certainly more cluttered at the moment but I try to tidy up fairly frequently which can save things getting lost.

Two weeks ago I spent a couple of hours making up part of a new coupling rod for a very old scratch built model which then vanished. Last night when doing something else it came to light! :( I have a collection of small plastic trays, and when making small bits, I normally put them in one of these so they don't wander off.

Terry Bendall

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Will L
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Will L » Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:14 am

Rod Cameron wrote:Some very neat and tidy workspaces in there, you'd almost think some had been tidied for the purpose ... ;)

While my workspace did look nice and tidy one day last week, it is traditionally much more like Peter's and I reject Rod assertions, it just happened to be like that when I decided it would be a good idea(?) to start the thread.

I will say It is a much tidier place since I invested in the EBMA draws. The best bit is my own invocation however. The solder draw. I have all sorts in there but the three I use all the time are now easily accessible.
solder draw.jpg
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Philip Hall
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Philip Hall » Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:07 pm

Will, that’s a brilliant idea. A question, though - I use 145 and I guess 188 is ordinary resin cored electrical solder, but I’ve not come across 212 before. What is your source please? I have 240 (I think it’s about that) but it’s in stick form and always awkward to melt even if I turn the iron up. To have something higher in wire form would be very useful.

Philip

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Will L
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Will L » Sun Apr 25, 2021 1:42 pm

Philip Hall wrote:Will, that’s a brilliant idea. A question, though - I use 145 and I guess 188 is ordinary resin cored electrical solder, but I’ve not come across 212 before. What is your source please? I have 240 (I think it’s about that) but it’s in stick form and always awkward to melt even if I turn the iron up. To have something higher in wire form would be very useful.

Philip


The strait answer is the one I use is a Carr's product which seems to be available from Phoenix Paints. Its a lead free, tin/sliver solder which I find flows very nicely. I notice a couple of things from the page I linked above
1. If been fooling myself as to its melting point it is 221 not 212
2. Carr's do several others in the a bit above 200 degree range.
3. They also do a high zinc solder but are very cagey about what temperature it actual melts at. Very strange
4. For the likes of me they do small 2 meter packs but they also supplies solder on bigger reals but not the 221 one apparently.

The 188 one is not resign cored as that seems a waist when I'm going to apply my own flux anyway. It came from Eileens who also supplied some resign cored 188 which I use for doing electrical work.

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David B
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Re: My Workbench

Postby David B » Sun Apr 25, 2021 3:06 pm

Phoenix Precision do a reel of tin/copper solder with a melting point of 227C for £60.

There is also tin/silver with a melting point of 221C, another at 224C and a tin/antimony at 243C. These are in packets of approx 2m lengths for £7.20.

Philip Hall
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Philip Hall » Sun Apr 25, 2021 5:12 pm

Thanks Will and David, for the information. I’ll have a look for them soon.

Philip

David Thorpe

Re: My Workbench

Postby David Thorpe » Sun Apr 25, 2021 5:50 pm


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Tim V
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Tim V » Sun Apr 25, 2021 5:51 pm

Terry Bendall wrote:Having moved house five times in the last 48 years, and had a workshop in the garden in all of them, the present layout is the second that I have had like this. The L shaped layout works for me and my lathe and drill are out of sight to the right.

Terry Bendall

Only five times Terry, I've been in 12 addresses in the same period! Once I tried to work out how many places I've lived in my life, I lost count ...

Here is my worktable in 1988 in a pretty grotty flat. Working on stock for Whitchurch, for its appearance at Scaleforum that year. Baby Belling on the right ...
Workbench 1988.jpg

Graduated to a proper workbench in 1990
Edward St 15 May 1990 OM1 278-003.jpg

And here in 1992
Gordon Rd May 1992 Yashica T3 -2 288-001.jpg

The basic L shape can be seen, and the desk is the same as today, but the lathe is nowadays mounted on the end.

Note how many 13A sockets there are - you can never have too many of those. I still have the red soldering iron, an Antex X25, nearly 50 years old. Spotted that the Ikea lamp holders are over 30 years old!

Oh, and none of these workspaces were tidied up for the photos!
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Tim V
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Albert Hall
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Albert Hall » Sun Apr 25, 2021 6:47 pm

Tim V wrote: Note how many 13A sockets there are - you can never have too many of those. I still have the red soldering iron, an Antex X25, nearly 50 years old. Spotted that the Ikea lamp holders are over 30 years old!


I hope all that old electrical stuff gets PAT tested at least once in a blue moon! ;)

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Julian Roberts
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Re: My Workbench

Postby Julian Roberts » Sun Apr 25, 2021 7:32 pm

My only reason for feeling I have anything to contribute to this interesting thread is to show the two angle poise lamps standing sentry over the chaos below. They were my Dad's and date from I don't know when, well before I was born, from a time (so it seems to me) when things were made properly!!! The only contemporary angle poises I have seen on sale are useless in comparison, at least in terms of being able to be put in almost any position.
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