Help, please: Work room design

Roger B · Nov 1, 2016

I'm hoping to set up a new workroom from scratch and am looking for hints that you may have found useful in your work space. As a starter I have a couple - shelving and cupboards to be raised on plinths so that small items cannot roll to the back, separate benches for engraving and jewellery and have small lights under the workbenches to make finding those dropped stones and settings easier.

Now over to you.

Thanks,
Roger

Ed Westerly · Nov 1, 2016

Sam started the "workbench" thread some time ago, you should look through it for what others have done.

JJ Roberts · Nov 1, 2016

Roger,Do your have Harbor Freight in Australia? if so they sell a nice work bench I have four in my shop one on each wall the bench's are 60"long 20"wide 33" high has four draw's and a shelf. J.J.

Brian Marshall · Nov 1, 2016

Hey Roger,

Nice hearing from you - even if Skype dropped us a coupla times...

Gotta have a "stone magnet" on the end of a straightened coat hanger wire hanging right next to a penlight on the side of the bench. (the stone magnet consists of that sticky poster putty)

Also one of those headlamps and a pair of knee pads for the longer expeditions into places under the benches where your lights don't reach...

Ideally, you'd have one of those hospital operating room floors where the linoleum rolls up the wall 6" or so and someone to keep it free of dust bunnies besides yourself, but that ain't gonna happen.

If it went that far you could be sending that person on your stone finding expeditions while you watched another youtube video or had another beer.

Brian

Dave London · Nov 1, 2016

The Ganoksin site has what they call the bench exchange, tons of photos . Good luck

Roger B · Nov 1, 2016

Thanks fellas for your thoughts -

Ed - have looked at that thread from time to time, have to go have another look
JJ - no Harbor Feight but similar stores - I was thinking about making the wall units myself to make sure they are sturdy enough
Brian - it was good to talk to you and thanks for your help - I guess what you are talking about is an apprentice. That is not going to happen in the near future
Dave - it has been a while since I checked Ganoksin out - I had forgotten about the bench exchange so will go and look at it again

Thanks all

Brian Marshall · Nov 1, 2016

I think there is actually a book out on just setting up jewelers benches... Best I've ever seen.

Has a hundred or so examples. May have been one of Charles Lewton Brain's?

I'll look for it in the morning and let you know.

B.

Brian Marshall · Nov 1, 2016

Found it. Pricier than I remember it being? But the best collection of bench ideas I have ever seen!

Buy it. Read it. Use the ideas, and I'll bet you can recover 75% of the cost should you decide to part with it.

https://www.amazon.com/Jewelers-Ben...78054102&sr=1-2&keywords=Charles+Lewton+Brain

B.

I made about a dozen changes to my own bench setups from ideas I got from this book - and at that point my original Otto Frei bench had seen 25+ years of hard use...

Roger B · Nov 2, 2016

Thanks for that Brian - got it already. Some interesting ideas. I'm still using the bench I made as an apprentice 35 years ago - the main change was to increase its height to account for the microscope.

Roger

monk · Nov 2, 2016

whatever idea/s you fly with, make shelves, drawers,etc-- twice as large as you think you need. they will soon be filled to capacity. so plan large.

Brian Marshall · Nov 2, 2016

I am now looking at all the wasted space above me... thinking about hangin' stuff from the ceiling - from hooks, ropes, chains, whatever...

Never enough room.

B.

Chujybear · Nov 2, 2016

one of the slicker benches i've seen had the power assist hook ups on a sliding drawer down low...
on my jewellery bench (one of them) i have a mason jar ring welded to the base of my tin catchment tray.. so i can just screw in a jar and sweep my cuttings towards a hole into the jar.
i haven't come up with the perfect system to preserve my engraved precios metal waste yet tho

monk · Nov 3, 2016

Brian Marshall said:
I am now looking at all the wasted space above me... thinking about hangin' stuff from the ceiling - from hooks, ropes, chains, whatever...

Never enough room.

B.

before i learned what to take on, and what work to avoid-- i did that very thing. i'd get front stuffers with all the metal attached. i would suspend them from the ceiling and have a go at it.after quite a few, i would only work on the metal. if the gent refused to remove the parts, i just passed on the job. btw: i'd advise newbs not to try this at home. it's like tryin to engrave during a point 3 on the richter.

Help, please: Work room design

Roger B

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