Work surface

[Brent]

There is one thing in life that I have figured out is to ask question, Sometime the best sounding ideas are complete failures because of overlooked items.

I have a workbench where my plastic making is set up, it has a wood surface which was here before I moved into the house, I wanted to make sure I didn't get any contaminants while making, mixing, or shooting. I originally used a piece of Plexiglas for a work surface which worked well for a while, after placing the Pyrex cup on it, it first warped then spider cracked. The Plexiglas was very nice in the aspect that any trail plastic (from cup to mold) easily pulled right up.

Any thoughts or ideas out there?

[jl3140]

I found an old metal cabinet type thing that works perfect for me. I can peel up any plastic I spill and its easy to keep the workspace clean. I bought some silicone insulating things from Walmart a while back for a couple bucks and that's what I put my Pyrex cups on. I remember a photo of someone else's workspace where they had a wooden top on it and placed a sheet of aluminum or something on it and that looked like it would work very well.

Josh

[Denny Welch]

I built a simple, but sturdy, bench.  I use a 2" solid core door for the top of the bench.  You can pick the door up at most home supply stores and I think I paid about $40 - $50 dollars for it.  It provides a ton of work space and I can keep all my clamps clamped to the side and back edge of the table.  It also provides a ton of storage  space under the top.  If I was more industrious, I'd build a couple drawers  to hold glitters, powders, etc.  It might not be the prettiest bench in the world, but it works for me.

[ctom]

My garage bench is made of 2X6's, but I am having an aluminum sheet made to go over the wood and will cover the 1 1/2" face as well as the top.

[Denny Welch]

What is the approximate cost to something like that, Tom?

[ctom]

I have a buddy who is a sheetmetal shop foreman. I'm assuming my 8 foot long by 28" deep cover is going to cost about 2 cases of beer. He's using metal removed from other construction at demolition time for this project. The aluminum is 1/16 inch stock and will have counter-sunk holes for taper seat stainless, phillips head screws. I know new aluminum stock is crazy expensive.

On a bench cover. Be sure to have a wrap bent into it to cover the front edge of the bench material. Mine will extend three inches over the under side of the wood bench top, but I'll have to cut notches to allow for the bench legs. Simply running aluminum to the top edge creates a snag nightmare. Have an 1-1/2 90 degree put on the metal at least so you don't have a gap all the way across the front edge of the bench top.

 

[Mic]

I didn't get that technical, I found 2 vanity cabinets on the side of the road and then bought a clearanced counter top to put on top of the cabinets.  The counter top is a laminate and all the plastic comes off easily.  I want a bigger surface but I have been using this for 14 months with no issues.   no issues with heat from molds, Pyrex cups, a griddle, or a presto pot.  just my take on it.  I am still in my garage with a dream of building a building for my plastics.

[Justin9j]

I use the something mic does.  Cheap counter top.  Mine come from a buddy who is a carpenter. One he tore out of a apartment building.  Works good for me.  I have about 15 feet worth of countertop.

[DARRYL]

Can some of you guys possibly post some pics of your workbench? I'm getting ready to move my stuff down to the garage and I have plenty of space for a workbench. I was wanting to get some different ideas on what to do. I have pegboard so I guess I'm going to use that. Any ideas are welcome! Thanks!

[pjmcla]

Laminated counter top and Plywood on top of a folding table.   

[Cygarbuff]

I bought a couple of stainless steel tables off of Craigslist. If you watch the classified you can find restaurants or diners that went out of business. Most are selling their equipment off cheap as they don't want to put their whole kitchen in storage. I paid $100 for each of my tables and each is worth 7 times that. My table is 30" deep by 6ft wide. I bought wheel so I can move it around the garage as needed and the wheel gave me more height for my working surface. No colorants will stain stainless and all plastic will instantly peel right off of it. It can take a pounding and heat will never affect it. I sometimes unload my injector right onto the table surface. To save on table top space I built a 4 tier lazy susan for my glitter. Maybe I will built another for my colorants, not sure yet. I'll try posting pictures but its my first shot at posting an image and I don't know if I am doing it right.

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[Denny Welch]

Looks like you've got your act together, Jay.  Waaayyy too neat though.  I like the table you've got, just be careful to keep those wheels locked.

[Jerry V]

When the wife and I moved into our current home we remodeled nearly the entire house before moving in.  I saved the old counter top from the kitchen and reinstalled parts of it in a corner of the basement.  The laminate top works well with plastic and hot pyrex.  I added a vent hood that moves a sufficient amount of air to the out doors and set out to making tackle.  This photo is as neat as it's ever been since.  The only reason I have the photo is because I was so proud of finally cleaning and organizing it for ONCE since I had built it... ask my wife, it doesn't typically look anything like this.

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[ctom]

Spoons.....hot damn I see two spoons on that hot pad in the corner of the pic. Are you hand pouring using my trick of the trade?

[Jerry V]

Those spoons are for stirrin' but thanks for letting us all in on your secret there Tom.  I'll be drizzling some plastic off those spoons soon.