In my quest to get organised for 2010, my primary objective is to remove all the items that have been residing in my floor, or stuffed into a closet, and put together some semblance of structure.
I’m also trying to get some ideas for how a proper maintenance station is organised. Something for working on, building, and maintaining your weapons.
Anyone have a dedicated setup in their man cave for this sort of thing?
Break out some pics!
Right now, I’ve got the base of my bench, but I am wanting to put together a top. Most likely I’ll be doing a plywood base for the tabletop. I’d like to put something over the plywood. If I could find diamond-plate plastic sheeting, I’d be in business. I’m open to suggestions on a decent tabletop material that isn’t wood.
I wish I could post pics of a guy I met who runs a training company around here. He was a certifed armorer many times over.
In a den/office in his basement, he had two huge safes, a rolling toolbox, small air compressor, a six-foot work bench with two vices, and shelves and shelves of BCGs, barrels, slides, etc. Of course he had the standard LCD with cable, two laptops, and a college sized fridge.
My description does nothing to describe it’s magnificence and the funny tingly feeling a got being there. I can’t wait to see some of these pics you guys post.
Also for the table top consider some industrial type carpet. It keeps small parts from rolling. Even if its just on one side of the top its good to have when working with lowers and such.
I did build a dedicated work bench but no photos yet. 2x4 posts with a 3/4" plywood top. Has a small 4" vice mounted to it.
Basically what I’m working with is a particle-board top, that is about to be replaced, ASAP. Mine is VERY similar to what you’re working with, only without the additional frame/pegboard in the rear. I’ll probably go with the modular pegboard wall panels I saw at Home Depot. They were 16"², and I used one where the mirror was in my wall-locker. The pieces fit together like legos. The challenge is that the homebuilder cut corners, and didn’t go with standard 16" studs, so I’m most likely forced to use some sort of anchor. :rolleyes:
I almost put that in my original post. I was also considering the type of carpeting that is on a lot of road-cases/racks, and speaker enclosures. My worries would be little fuzzies working their way into crevices of lead-slingers. Another benefit is no finish-destruction.
This might be one of the easier routes to take. I could just staple the carpeting onto the plywood top before I mount it to the base.
My other conundrum is finding a means to mount an overhead shop light. I’d prefer to bypass the ceiling, and have it at the top of my workstation, under a shelf.
I’m sure if I sit in the garage, and chain-smoke enough, I can conjure up some sort of system to accomplish this.
My garage is grotesquely lacking in lighting. Unless it’s sunny, and the door’s open, it looks like a morgue in there.
Thin-wall EMT conduit; get two sections, bend a 90* on one end of each to form an inverted “L”, use conduit hangers to attach to back of workbench with the short lengths positioned over the bench, hang light…
Standing in front of the bench, facing it, I have mine on the far right corner, all the way at the front. I used to have my reloading press mounted on the opposite, left-hand, corner.
Probably the position I’ll end up going with. The left side is most likely going to be up against my locker. I installed 6 of the modular panels of pegboard yesterday, so the project is moving ahead.
Some shitty harbor freight junk. finish flaked off, metal rusted, doesn’t like to stay in position when I rotate it… but it was cheap as hell and it still works for what I need.
I’m using a delrin lower receiver vice block that mimics a magazine. For the uppers I use a clamshell type Brownell’s block. I got a 5" vice, that’s probably the smallest I’d go.
I can’t wait to see some of these pics you guys post.