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My new workbench (Dream project)


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Over the summer, I bought a house with my girlfriend, and I took over a corner of the basement for my model shop.  I looked at some store-bought desks and tables, but nothing was just right.  Then I was able to acquire a couple cabinets with a huge, yet simple desk. It's just 3/4" plywood, cut down to size. I screwed a 2x4 into the foundation wall to hold up that end of the desk. The joint at the corner is doweled and screwed together. (It came that way! Saved a ton of work.) I bought a couple LED shop lights from Ocean State Job Lot, and they light the whole "room" right up. The pegboard is also mounted into the concrete. The vertical "backsplash" is made from the scrap plywood. 

Then, at one of my many trips to Home Depot, I discovered something called Polywall, which is designed as a wall covering, but it's basically a 4'x8' sheet of white plastic, which stands up to chemicals (Including model glue. I tried gluing 2 scraps together with Tamiya Extra Thin, and nothing happened) 
It's a good material, but DO NOT USE PENCIL ON IT!! Somehow, pencil marks are permanent. Even Sharpie wipes off with some rubbing alcohol, but pencil is forever. 
I also built a spray booth right into the desk, and permanently ducted it out the basement window. It's got a squirrel cage fan, and I bought a cheap-o medicine cabinet for the main structure, and to have a plenum between the blower and the filter. It was cheaper than buying a sheet of plywood to build it, and I got a free mirror!
I knew I didn't want a huge closed box on my desk all the time, so I hinged the top of the spray booth. It hooks onto the ceiling to keep it up. The scrap trim along the "bottom" hinge actually mates closed when the booth is down, to help support the top. There's a metal channel for the vertical side to key into, to keep me from bumping and collapsing it 
If you want to see the fan setup. I still have to seal up a few air leaks around the fixture that fits the square exhaust to a round duct. 
I tried to set up the primary "construction" area so that I could easily get at everything I use daily, with the rest of my stuff in drawers, with the most-used stuff closest to me, and the more esoteric stuff a little further away. 
Around the back side are a couple bookcases to hold my model magazines, reference books, decal binder, etc. 
Edited by RedHeadKevin
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2 hours ago, dnl42 said:

I see what looks to be a cut-down floor protector mat in your primary construction area. What is the green material? 

Wow, good eye! That is indeed a cut-down floor protector (just cut it in half.) The green material is a self-healing cutting mat. I found one without stuff printed on it.

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