andrew wisc.

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hello all, i would like your thoughts,ideas on workspaces aircraft storage and building and assembling arfs in an apartment setting. unfortunately i lost my house due to divorce and economy. the place im renting is more like a town house. it has a one car garage that it quite deep. with my truck in it i have appr. 4.5 feet in front. i can probly hang planes on garage wall ok havent tried yet.what do you guys think the minimum length of worbench would be for building 40 and 60 size aircraft and aaembling arfs.also glues and ways to protect carpeting
during the winter time in the apartment as i live in wisconsin.any thoughts, pics ideas or suggestions greatly appriciated. thanks in advance
andrewwisc.

Jetdesign

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I have a small apartment too. I build off a hollow core door and have planes hanging above and to the side. It's plenty big for a 40 and 60 size plane. I'm up to 1.20 size planes and starting to run out of room.

MinnFlyer

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I have found that the ideal depth of a wall-mounted workbench is just less than your reach. I found this out the hard way once when I had a large space and built a deep workbench and then discovered it was very difficult to reach things on the pegboard behind it! (Yea, I felt stupid)

For winter, you could lay plastic down on the carpet and leave it there for the duration of the build (That's one advantage to not having a wife! )

Or, you could buy a space heater and work in the garage.

I have 3 workshops: My "Studio" where I build planes for RCU Magazine reviews, my "Dirty Room" where the scroll saw, belt sander and drill press are, and in the summer, I park on the driveway and the garage becomes the "Ready Room". I have a table that fits UNDER the workbench, so it stays there all winter when I park in the garage, but once spring arrives, the banch comes out into the middle of the garage and the car stays outside.

andrew wisc.

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thanks for quick responses minn and ga. it gives me hope.if i have too i will sleep with my planes lol. actually it is a good size apartment about 1100 suare ft. the master bedroom is 15 x13 and i already have set aside a corner of the room for the building and assembling.do any of you guys know about the bob smith oderless ca and how well they work.kind of concerned about the smells as i have two girls who will be here part time.epoxieing will hane to be done in garage.will post some pics once i can get a hold of daughters camera. keep the thoughts and ideas coming. very helpful. andrewwisc.

ro347

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Iwould say keep as much as possible in the garage...and be sure to keep organized; or it"ll drive you nuts!

ChuckW

We lived in an apartment for a while after I sold my previous house, waiting to get in the new one. I actually built three kits there. I used a glass dining table. It was nice because any dropped glue could be easily scraped off with a razor blade. I used one of the GP building boards and when I was done for the night, I put it up on top of a cabinet and out of the way. All sanding was done outside on the tiny patio. I also vacuumed the area when I was finished working each time. Aside form the plastic tool box sitting in the corner, you'd never know I was building there. It worked out well.

I stored my planes and flight gear down in the tiny garage. It all got hung on the wall or on a set of cheap plastic shelves that I picked up.

The funny thing is, I'm now in a nice house with a garage full of benches and tools all to myself and I seem to do less. Go figure.

red head

  You shouldn't have any trouble.  Just think about what space you have and go for it.

       I traveled in a 5th wheel for 12 years and built in and out of it.  The most important thing was to be orginized and clean up after yourself as soon as you finished for the day.

      I built 3   1/4 scale planes and I don't remember how many others while in my 399 sq ft.  It just takes a little thought.     ENJOY   !!!   RED