If you follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter you most likely saw a message a few weeks ago about my projects being on hold until I got a new tool rack. Well I have gotten the new tool rack. Specifically I have built a new back board for my work space, along with a few other new pieces of equipment as well.
This is my newly revamped work space. What? not impressed? Oh confused about some of it. Well that's no problem because I intended to talk about it.
So the first big thing, the work mat. Previously I just had the Hobbico mat sitting on the table top. Which was fine.... right up until I needed to use a speed square or needed a solid edge to align against. 1/8" thickness doesn't give me a lot to work with. So I mounted the cutting mat to a section of 1/2" plywood. This helps keep the cutting mat up off my table top surface, while still preventing the mat from slipping or sliding while I'm working on it. it also provides a hard edge to align the speed square and carpenter square against.
The second thing is I build a back drop to the work space. There's an open shelf behind that wall but it's lays so far back relative to the depth of the work space that it makes using it for storage... dubious at best and I've lost more then a couple pieces of models down the void that is the opening between the back of the table and the front of the shelf set. I also put in a bunch of hooks to act as tool mounts for many of my more commonly used, or more likely to do damage/be damaged if I put them in a drawer, tools.
One of the biggest problems I was running into was not so much storing my tools, as storing them in a meaningful way. As an example, my files. Putting them a 6" deep drawer makes then fairly hard to find later on. And very frequently stuff would basically vanish and I would assume I had lost it, and then buy a replacement only for the original one to show up weeks later. So by making this divided drawer, I have a ready space to put these tools and there simply isn't enough space to pile a lot of stuff on top of them and loose them.
I purchased a new work lamp for my space as my previous one was getting up there in age and down there in terms of usability. The mounting joint for the head wouldn't stay anymore so I had to use the electrical cord to hold the light up which also meant it was stuck in basically one position. The Other joints were loosening as well so the lamp was developing a tendency to slump. Short version, the lamp was wearing out.
The new lamp has new joints with rubber meshing in them so it's sturdier and better able to stay in a given position. It also has a magnifying lens built into the head lamp as well. As an added piece of versatility, I built a new base for the lamp. Made from a section of 2x4 lumber, with a series of 1/2" copper pipping counter set into the wood I have different positions I can place the base of the lamp and still have it stay put on the work space surface.
Finally we have this fun little contraption. What is this? Why it's a ceiling mounted articulated camera boom arm of course!
What? Don't know what a boom arm is? Oh, well let me explain. The short version is a boom is used when you need to hold something like a camera in a position or spot that you don't otherwise have the means to hold it. This could be because of distance, or it could be something as simple as "I don't have someone else to hold it!" In my case it's closer to the latter. See this boom arms is mounted over top of my work space and because of the articulated nature of the arm, I can position the camera that is mounted on the arm in a variety of locations and angles. This will be useful when I'm doing videos and I need to do an 'Above the work space' shot.
This is my newly revamped work space. What? not impressed? Oh confused about some of it. Well that's no problem because I intended to talk about it.
So the first big thing, the work mat. Previously I just had the Hobbico mat sitting on the table top. Which was fine.... right up until I needed to use a speed square or needed a solid edge to align against. 1/8" thickness doesn't give me a lot to work with. So I mounted the cutting mat to a section of 1/2" plywood. This helps keep the cutting mat up off my table top surface, while still preventing the mat from slipping or sliding while I'm working on it. it also provides a hard edge to align the speed square and carpenter square against.
The new lamp has new joints with rubber meshing in them so it's sturdier and better able to stay in a given position. It also has a magnifying lens built into the head lamp as well. As an added piece of versatility, I built a new base for the lamp. Made from a section of 2x4 lumber, with a series of 1/2" copper pipping counter set into the wood I have different positions I can place the base of the lamp and still have it stay put on the work space surface.
What? Don't know what a boom arm is? Oh, well let me explain. The short version is a boom is used when you need to hold something like a camera in a position or spot that you don't otherwise have the means to hold it. This could be because of distance, or it could be something as simple as "I don't have someone else to hold it!" In my case it's closer to the latter. See this boom arms is mounted over top of my work space and because of the articulated nature of the arm, I can position the camera that is mounted on the arm in a variety of locations and angles. This will be useful when I'm doing videos and I need to do an 'Above the work space' shot.
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