I need to set myself up a model building area. Do you guys have shops inside or in your garage. As much as I would love to set it up in the house, small kids, space and a frowning wife are going to limit that idea. I have plenty of room in the garage and since I'm in the Dallas area it really doesn't get that cold for winter building but it still will be chilly in the garage. Our winters are usually pretty dry for the most part. How much will the garage conditions affect the wood in the kit?

Regarding a bench, I was going to buy a piece of 4x8 3/4" thick particle board and make a bench about 3'x6'. What do you guys use to allow use of push pins during construction. Someone mentioned in another thread about using a ceiling tile. Any better ideas? I have most of the big tools (drill press, table saw, miter saw, belt sander, grinder, vice) but am lacking the more delicate tools as well. Anyone know of a good model building tool kit that someone as put together?

Thanks!

As far as the smaller tools go, check out Harbor Freights if you have one in your area. They have the best prices, & they will stand behind them if something goes wrong with them. I don't think their tools would hold up for extended commercial use, but they sure work fine for our hobby.

As far as something to pin into, I have used scrap pieces of drywall. I lay across my table saw, so I know that it is staying flat. It takes a little pushing to get the pins in, but they stay put.

For workshop ideas, try this thread,

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_13...tm.htm#1350936

Some of them, we can only wish for, others show how little space we really need. However you set up, keep a little messy, that way the wife never knows what new.

Enjoy

Here's a shots of my garage workshop. I made a free standing island buildboard. The base is two metal shelving units, and the buildboard is a torsion box made of MDF and pine. It's topped with 16 guage cold rolled steel, which is tough on the pins, so I use magnets instead. Two walls of cabinets are made from MDF, birch ply and poplar. Total cost for the cabinets was about $600. I put those foam floor tiles down, makes for comfortable standing. I've added lots of tools since this photo. Also included is a small air conditioner, a space heater and an automatic ceiling vent. I'll have to clean up a bit and take newer photos.

Scott

I use a interior door ($20) or less and foam insulation
board cut to size ($10 for 4'x8'). I have a shed/Hangar
and no garage. Add a stereo and HDTV and enjoy.
Beer frig optional.

Bob

Probably the best piece of advice so far. That and the interior door. That would be a lot lighter than a piece of 3/4" particle board.

Scott,

Can you us some details on the buildboard? I have thought about doing something that would free up the table saw. Occaisionally, I need to use for cutting wood.

Thanks,

Chuck

I used tube steel 14 & 16 Ga. 3/4" top and ceiling tiles for pinning. I would like to have a larger piece of glass which i'm looking for. The tube steel stays flat to all four corners. Little over a hundred for the whole mess.

Homesote work very well for the building surface as far as pins go.
As far as the bench I would go with the hollow core door, rather than the particle board, it will not sag as much.
I use a balsa building board on my bench for building on. But in the past have used homesote or the tile idea.
The garage makes a nice work space as long as you can keep the stupid cars out of the way...
Be careful about opening the garage door when it is windy out though...
Don't ask why I mention that one...
I was picking up balsa and plans for a day and a half.

If your garage space is limited, you could build your table against the wall with a hinge that will allow it to fold down when not in use

This is what I have planned for my build area. It has plenty of storage and is basically a big torsion box of sorts. It may be a bit overboard, but hey, what else is new.
[link=http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Build/rollingWorktable.html]Lowes rolling work table[/link]

I plan on using a magnetic building board, but you could fit a piece of sheetrock in there just as easily

I used two Gorilla brand shelving units that I already had as the base. For the top, it's constructed with a sheet of 3/4" mdf on the bottom, a 3/4" sheet of MDF on the top, and pine 2" x 2" in a 2 foot grid on the inside. The whole unit is banded with 1 x 4 pine which is set just a 1/16" taller than the top sheet of MDF. This makes a perfect recess for the steel top. I also had to cut some 2' x 4' x 1/2" mdf spacers for the top of the shelving units as the posts extend above the shelf by about 3/8". I got the steel from a local metal supplier. It came in a 4' x 10' sheet, and they cut it to size for an extra couple of bucks. I also scribed a 1" grid on the steel top. It does require some maintenance as cold rolled steel will rust. Luckily, humidity is pretty low in Los Angeles, so I only have to wax about once a year. Basically, I buff out any rust and wax between builds.

Scott

As you can see there are a number of options available. When I set up my shop last year, I spent a good bit of time going over the "workshop" thread here on RCU.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_13..._1/key_/tm.htm

A couple ideas off the beaten path I would recomend would be take some small scraps of wood, and wood dowels..and glue different grits of sand paper on them. I really like using the pop out pieces of light ply that come with four star kits..GREAT sanding boards




The other thing I would suggest is put some sand in bags, seal them up, then put them into socks and have your wife sew them up. It works good glueing things together..holding things steady, wheel chocks, and if you make bigger ones they are good to lay wings and fuselages on while working or sanding on them.

I just built one myself out of a 20$ laminated 36"X80" door. I made legs and a support frame out of 2X4's. For pinning purposes I cut a 6$ piece of drywall to size and laid it on top. Cheap and easy!

Here is my work bench! Capt,n

I went down to Staples and bought five of those 30" X 60" brown folding tables with the steel framework. Added/inserted Oak dowels to the legs to bring three of them up to the height I desired and placed the tables in a U-shape in my basement. Went to Menards and purchased two 1 1/2" X 30" X 60" laminated wood tops and placed those on two of the tables. These two tables also get a Great Planes balsa building board placed on top for actual building/pinning of parts. The other table in the "U" has my Dremel saw, fan, etc. for easy reach. The two remaining tables are placed in an L'shape pattern and one is used for laying out build items and the other is always used for cleaning my models and model pre-flight/checking. Each table has a 4' light and electrical service. Set up the whole area in about 4 hours and it's the best setup I've used. If I ever leave the "Land of Snow" it's a simple matter of folding/packing everything up and I can then take it with me.

Try one table/wood laminate board/balsa building board for starters and see if it works for you; add on as you desire.

Soft landings.

I used solid core doors to build my bench. It is suppored by legs on the outside edge and tied to a 2x4 bolted to the basement wall.

My building area is in the basement. (Waaaayyyy too cold in Western, NY!)

As you can tell, I'm into surface area Actually, what gets the most use is my purpose built building table. It is eight feet long and just over two feet deep. It's on wheels so I can wheel it anywhere I want like against the wall when not in use. When building, (see my builds on the Sopwith Pup, DR1, and Giant Aeromaster) it is pulled out from the wall so I get 360° access all around the plane. I build 60-size and 1/4 scale stuff so it is nice to be able to have the plane on the table and the wings not hitting the walls. If you can't afford that much room in garage for a free standing table, Minnflier's suggestion of hinging it against the wall is a good one.

Another feature of the table is the top. It is not connected to the table frame. It is inset in a border. The top has two surfaces. One side of the top is Homasote. (Check www.homasote.com for availability.) It is the greatest surface for building. It is firm enough to hold the heaviest pins but not so dense that you practically need a hammer to get them in (or out). The other side is 3/4in MDF. The front portion of the table border unlatches and folds down so the top can be slid out and flipped over. Once the pinning and gluing is over on the Homasote side, I flip it over and use the MDF for the rest of the build. When the frame was built, it was done so the top was adjusted flat. It's certainly flat enough for almost all of the building I have done with no shimming. There's a vice and outlets for when I need the dremel, covering gun, soldering iron, etc.

It may sound involved but it was an easy table to construct and has served me well over the five years I've had it.

Salute!

Gladiator benches and cabinets

[img][/img]

Took mirrors out of closet doors and replaced with peg Board.

Peg board and lighting fixture from Home Depot.

Tables move easily for working around models.