Soon I will be setting up a new building room. The area I have to work with is long, but very narrow (shallow depth). I'll try to get measurements soon.

In the meantime what is the smallest workbench size some of you would recommend. I will be using a PacBay lathe to wrap. Like I said, length isn't an issue...the room is likely 20+ feet long. How deep would you consider a "minimum" for a work bench?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2013 10:59PM by Jay Lancaster.

I have two 8 foot work desks which are simply 3/4" Birch Plywood mounted on steel shelving units.
They're set perpendicular to one another.

The primary one is 31-1/2" wide which seems ideal to me.
It serves many functions.. from rod wrapping to writing desk and even my primary dining table.
( I live alone so it's just practical for me to sit in one spot for everything.)



The other table top is 24" wide and I use that for my computer and to keep other things within reach.
It's set at my right side so I just swivel in my chair to use the computer.

If I had to go narrower than 31" or so I guess 24" would work... but it would be a compromise I'd rather not have to make.
The 24" width would accommodate a rod lathe and have room for some storage units behind it.
I guess I could get by with a few inches less width if I had to... but I'd like that as my minimum.

Mounting a shelf above it which you can reach from a sitting position will increase the practicality of your workstation.

Good luck with the new work room.

G'Day Jay my bench is 24'' wide & I don't find that its too narrow .If it was any wider there would only be more room for junk .The bench is made from a right angle computer desk with ply screwed to the top & is 12'6'' long .There is also a shelf on the bench that the computer monitor sat on.When sitting in front I can easily reach anything at the back of the bench.

Regards Baz

Bundeena
NSW Australia

It doesn't make a lot of sense to build a very deep bench if your lathe is going to be mounted on one side. You can only reach so deep and having to reach over or under a rod to get to anything isn't very efficient. Most all my wrapping benches over the years have only been 2 feet deep.

Here are a couple shots of the RodMaker rod building shop, which like your area, is long but narrow:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

[www.rodbuilding.org]

..............

Since my building area is only 10 X 10 my bench is only 24" deep and 8' long and it is more than adequate as far as depth for the wrapper

Ron Weber

Yup. 24" accommodates the wrapper and some storage behind. If your storage had solid tops, you could mount a dryer on top of the storage if you needed the capacity. If you eliminate the storage depth, you could probably get by with 18" for just a wrapper, but I think you would find the storage space behind pretty useful.

Terry

There are several shops in the area that have several rod builders all building at the same time.

All of their benches are 18 inches deep. They have plenty of room and it works very well.

In addition, these same shops have a drying cabinet above the bench that is also 18 inches deep with drum dryers in them. They also work very well.

Really no reason to have a bench deeper than that. A deeper bench just collects extra things. Keep cabinets on the sides of the bench to store things, and keep everything except the rod in question, the tools and thread needed for that ONE rod off of the bench and there is no issue.

Just don't use the bench as a storage area and you will be good t go.

All of the builders using these benches use either manual wrappers or power wrappers that are 6 inches wide, and are on the front edge of the benches. this leave a foot of extra room behind the rod.

When I say my room is narrow...think "closet" space.

I think I'll measure out 18" and see what it looks like. 24" may be too deep. My bench before was 24" and I had tons of space. This one...eh...this one will be a bit different.

Jay

My rod building work surface is only 16" deep X 8' long, and has been just fine for my purposes! Lots of storage cabinet space below the benchtop.

Rog

I measured the "closet" today...it's a whopping 3'3" from wall to wall. I'll try to get a picture up.

She's gonna be tight!

If your space is 39" how are you going to work in that space, you won't be able to turn around or bend over to pick something up.

Chester

May your line be tight and your beverages be cold!

It is called being a tiny rod builder!!

Just stay seated on a chair with casters. Roll in, out or spin around!!

It is called being a tiny rod builder!!

Just stay seated on a chair with casters. Roll in, out or spin around!!

Picture. LoL

Don't laugh...I have to make it work...

[www.rodbuilding.org]



I'm liking the idea of a sliding lathe bed more & more.

Jay, You can do it. You only need 12'' surface area for a Pac-Bay unit because the thread carrage is in front of you. If you had a Renzetti, you would need 18". If you can wrap #4 micro's with single thread inlays, I would have a party in there just to break it in. Good luck with your new wrapping room. Now thats the real meaning of a "MAN CAVE".

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Jay,
One very important thing - and I can't emphasize that too much , is to get good ventilation in your small room.

Always work with the door open, and put a good fan on the floor to blow air into the room.

If you don't have a fan to blow air into the room, you will be breathing stagnant air, as well as any potential chemical smells.

On the other hand - perfect for drying. Get the rod drying, shut the door and you have the perfect drying cabinet.

p.s.
If you don't want to blow air INTO the room, then suck air out of the room from the bottom. That will bring fresh air into the room from the top of the opening.

Jay,
p.s.
When my wife and I and new born baby moved to the Cities from our former location, we lived in a nice two bedroom apartment.
But the only space that I could call my own was 1/2 of the walk in closet.

So, this space became my office and hobby area for the three years that we lived in the apartment.

It actually worked well and didn't disturb my wife or small child for late night office work or studying.

It won't take much to light it. Can I ask how did you come up with that size of room? Was it an after thought? Is this new construction (building)?

Chester

May your line be tight and your beverages be cold!

On the far end, to the left, is the closet for the Frog (which is where these two storage closets are...one on either side of the room). I tried to get the builder to cut me a doorway into the closet so I could open it up on both ends for better ventilation. They refused as they insisted on putting a door on the opening and said they didn't have enough swing in the closet for it. There's actually plenty of room, but that's behind us at this point. I'm likely going to cut a doorway myself once we close on the house.

The other side of the FROG has a similar storage closet, but is about 5' shorter due to mechanicals being plumbed through on one end. I wasn't planning on using that room at all, but I am now thinking of using it as a finishing/drying room.