I have a large downstairs space that I am going to convert to a rod building / fly tying / man cave. What are some of the must haves to take into consideration when laying out the room (ie is 15' worktop big enough, lots of cabinets for storage)? What are some of the nice to haves (ie outlets at workspace height, track lighting with daylight bulbs)?

Currently more of a hobbyist but will be looking to go commercial some time in the future. Budget not a consideration right now...just brainstorming ideas and will prioritize later. This will be more of a clean area just for wrapping, tying, drying, and such and not for sanding or other dirty jobs.

Throw me your ideas.

First of all, keeping "dirty work" separate is critical,dirt and dust can ruin epoxy work! Almost no such thing a too much lighting. for wrap work I find intense close up lighting works best. A number of ways to attain it, I use goose neck (Giraff brand) light and separate goose neck magnifier.

The longest length of rods you will be building effects the length needed, for things like table or counter and wrapper or lathe. As I only do fly rods, I'm almost exclusively working with short sections at a time, so a 6ft table works for me.

Planning the layout of your immediate work area will payoff by having tools and materials close at hand. Some type of storage racks for blanks and finished rods is also very useful.

I'm sure you will get very good input from others on this site.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2016 07:02PM by Phil Erickson.

I would mention this - I did "dirty" work in the same room, on the same lathe, as I did epoxy work and never once had a problem. It is only airborne dust and debris that will foil epoxy work. So as long as you don't do both at the same time it's not the problem it might seem.

If you have room to separate them in two rooms, or take dirty work outside, by all means do so, but having to do both in the same room isn't the problem it's often made out to be if you separate the times you do them.

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

Eric,
I appreciate your comment on this room being a "clean room" only.

Yes, I read and understand Mr. Kirkman's comments about it being possible to do epoxy work and lathe work in the same room, but life is just so much simpler by not having to contend at all with sanding dust etc in an area where you do wrapping.

I will also 2nd the comment on the use of a lot of light.

When I redid my room that I currently work in, I stripped the room to the rafters and to the wall studs. I put in a near floor and a chest level outlet about every 5 feet all of the way around the room.
I also ran a separate power panel into the room and fed it with a 60 amp breaker and the room has a half dozen circuits in it.

Although I use florescent lighting in my room that work well, there are now LED lights that would also work equally good. One of the clues to avoid shadows is to not to use the very brightest lights in a few places but have somewhat less bright lights spread more completely through the room. I have 4 foot fixtures a foot apart for the width of the room, and then repeat the lights every 4 feet. Each bank is on its own switch, so that I only need to light the part of the room where I am working.

When you set up a working area, you want to decide if you want a sitting work bench, a standing work bench or one that is somewhere in the middle.

I have personally found that I prefer to have a work bench long enough so that I can take my power rod wrapper, and with the wrapper on rollers roll the rod by my work station that is in the middle of my rod bench so that I can work on the butt of the rod all of the way to the tip of the rod, without ever having to move my work station. I.e. I keep myself and my tools in one place and I roll the rods by me. Other folks have different setups.
I also like to have a bench that does not have anything under it. That way, one can be anywhere along the bench and be able to fully extend your legs while working. i.e. I don't like to have any storage cabinets under the bench, because I like to keep that space clear.

Then, On the opposite side of the room, I have a large closet for all kinds of storage and other items.

I also have the ceiling and walls white. When doing things like rod building, wrapping and fly tying, vision and illumination is essential. By having a white ceiling and white walls, light is better reflected to make a brighter working area.

I also like the idea of a hard surface floor. I like the ability to use a chair or stool with casters to roll about and a solid surface floor is easy to move about, is easy to keep clean, and if things are dropped, much easier to find.

By the way, I do all of my dirty work, drilling sanding, sawing, and lathe work in a separate building. After working the floor is swept, and then the doors are opened, and all of the dust and any thing extra is just blown out the door so that the floors, walls, rafters and shelving all stay free of dust and debris.

When I do any lathe or sawing or chopping, I always wear a shop apron and there is always plenty of junk on the apron and in my hair etc after working for a while. Again, the use of high pressure air from the compressor is great to use to blow things off and on out the door as needed to keep things tidy.

Good luck and happy building.

As has already been mentioned " LIGHT" - lots of it especially as you age lighting becomes a critical factor. Over heads at 6500k - LED's if you can afford them if not then "daylight flouros" coupled with task lighting. I did the 'task lighting' with simple desk lamps ..... here's an interesting article on light & age: [www.lightology.com]

AND here's a source for you. Simple enough to change from a clamp on to a moveable lamp by screwing the lamp directly into a 2x6 board 6 to 8 inches long to keep it from tipping: [www.draftingsteals.com]

Eric, make sure your basement or down stairs dry and not wet, just don't want to get mould and mildew . make sure you prep for that.

I have a lot of bright ceiling mounted lighting for general room light.

But, I still use one or two of these swing arm lights for my actual rod wrapping.

I generally have the light itself about 10 inches away from my wrapping hand. I very much appreciate the very very bright light that I get on my work when wrapping. So much easier to see when you have a LOT of light on your work.

I tried using a lamp mounted magnifier but found it awkward to use. Rather, I use a head band mounted magnifier with the magnifier lens about 4-5 inches in front of my eyes and glasses. With this style magnifier, one can use glasses with no issue.

[www.amazon.com]

I also use a pair of single vision glasses for my rod wrapping. Even though I normally wear tri focals for every day use, I wear a pair of single vision glasses that are calibrated for about 4 feet. When I combine these glasses with the 3X magnifier on the head band magnifier, the wrapping field of vision is in perfect focus at a convenient distance from my eyes.

Good luck

Definitely agree with Roger on the use (non use) of a lamp mounted magnifier. The edges blur out of focus and the bulbs/lamps used are, for me way too dim.

I have a magnifier lamp and use it all the time to make A thread look like D works well

I did customize it with new bolts and wing nuts so if it starts to slip and not stay in place I tighten the wings and works well

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2016 06:48PM by bill boettcher.

Since your starting from scratch and you did say you want to go commercial at some point down the road, it's important to plan for the eventuality now so you're not reworking stuff later on.

Separate all the dirty work from the clean work. Use surfaces that are easily cleaned and also do not trap dirt and dust, for example, no carpeting.

Think about the chemicals you will use and the need for sufficient and properly designed ventilation. Some chemical's vapors are lighter than air and may require ventilation towards the ceiling while other chemical's vapors may be heavier than air and require ventilation closer to the floor - do your research now. One example is contact cement for building up foam grips - if I recall correctly, the vapors are heavier than air and floor-height ventilation is in order. Also, remember that ventilation means both incoming air and outgoing air, not just exhaust.

If you have the room, you might consider carving out a designated sales area where you will meet and work with your customers. All businesses large and small have them, if you have the room it will add to the professionalism of your business. You might include blanks, display rods, and/or select components in this area. This area should be comfortable, accommodating and inviting and decorated accordingly. Photos of happy customers fishing with your rods and some letters (unsolicited testimonials) are great for display.

For a modest fee, you can hire a professional designer - this can be great money spent if you find yourself design challenged. Or, take a cue from them and draw up a to-scale floor plan drawing of the area, and make some to-scale paper cutouts of all the equipment and benches that will occupy floor space. Designers use these by arranging and rearranging them to get the best use of space and workflow. layout out equipment and workstations ahead of time will dictate where you will need your systems like electrical supply, lighting, ventilation etc.

Look up stuff online - I can't stress this enough. Find out what is the ideal lumens for task work and use that to inform your lighting purchases. How much room do you need between counters or behind a chair for example? How many CFM of ventilation will you need for your work area based on the chemical vapors you will be evacuating?

Contact your insurance agent and find out the implications of operating a business from your home. Are you adequately covered is something catastrophic happens that originates from a business work area in your private home? Will you be storing flammable products inside this area? They may require you to purchase a dedicated yellow flammable material storage cabinet or other equipment.

Check with your zoning department - why spend thousands of dollars if they're going to shut you down for operating a business out of your home. If you get their approval check with the building inspector in your area. He/she may have specific concerns that are best addressed in the planning stages rather than afterwards in the form of a citation.

Another often overlooked item is how will your customers enter the sales area. Are they going to have to walk through your home? You may want to consider a separate entrance.

I could go on and on here, but I think you get the idea. Think of what you want to end up with down the road and plan for that now before you begin any work. Plan everything in advance and grow into your plans over time otherwise every expansion will likely entail some redoing of things you have already done and/or doing things that you did not take care of in the first place.

have the ceiling be as high as it can be. Rod length plus at least 6 ft.