Hello Everyone,

We are finishing our basement, and I'm going to move my rod building set up down to the "office/bonus room" we are adding. I was able to work out a 13-foot run, where I'll build a bench for my ALPS power wrapper and tracks.

Any tips or suggestions for things to add before the walls go up? I was thinking about moving/adding a couple of outlets above the bench? Any recommendations on things like additional lighting? Lighting is an issue in my current spot but I'm not sure if ceiling lights or a track system for lights on the wall? I may see if we can tie in a small exhaust fan to the bathroom set up as the room has the existing pipework in it...

Thoughts? Tips? I'd appreciate any you might have.

I'm not full-time, just a hobbyist, so I'm not going crazy, but I've got some money set aside to make the alterations to the room.

Thank you!

Kevin,
When I rebuilt the room in the lower level to use as a work shop, I started with bare walls, bare ceilings and bare floors.
I put up studs on the walls and added insulation in between the studs. I did the insulation on all 4 walls and also put insulation in the ceiling. Not only does the insulation keep the room at a more stable temperature, but it also inhibits sound from traveling into the work shop from the rest of the house or for sound emanating from the work shop to the rest of the house.

When I wired the room before doing the insulation, I placed outlets every 6 feet at 30 inches above the floor to take care of tools etc. when working. I also placed outlets every 6 feet at the normal 15 inches above the floor to take care of more permanent type electrical uses. I used three circuits in the room, with every other outlet on the same circuit. This means that if one breaker trips, the outlet next to it is all right.

I pulled in a 60 amp circuit into the room and put a sub panel on the wall to take care of circuit needs, as well as a circuit for lighting. So, I had a 4 -6 circuit sub panel to feed the room.

For myself - when I did the room 20+ years ago, I placed 4 foot florescent fixtures on 4 foot spacing down the length of the room and used two fixtures across to provide 8 feet of light on 4 foot spacing. I installed 1 switch for each bank of lights to light up just part of the room.

I also installed one 220 volt circuit with its own 220 volt outlet in case I wanted to run a 220 volt tool. Of course, this circuit has its own breaker.

I finished the walls and ceiling with sheet rock which I painted white. I had continuous flooring laid in the room which is white and a slight pattern in the flooring. I wanted a white room, to better reflect the light from every corner.

I also wired it for cable, and also for Internet with a hard wired Lan connection - with a couple of different drops in the room.

One more thing was to install an outlet in the ceiling, directly in the center of the room.

From time to time, I have had some larger projects that I work on - with a stand a lone bench in the center of the room. With the outlet overhead, I can drop a line down to the bench to power any tools that I am using at the center of the bench without tripping over any cords.

I did make a vow - however - that this room would never be used for "dirty" work - like sanding and or painting. All of that work would be done in the detached garage where I have other sets of benches. In the garage, when finished with a job - I just open the doors and use a leaf blower to blow all of the fumes, dust, dirt, paint etc. out of the door opening. This keeps all of the dust and or fumes from toxic clue odors, toxic paint odors or simply dust from sanding grips etc.

If you have a concrete floor in the room - you do NOT want to use any sort of wood on the floor. Simply put, if a floor is below grade - it is not if - but when the floor will have water on it. So, use a flooring material that is continuous and smooth and easy to clean and if possible insulated from the concrete to make the floor warmer. Or, you could put in - in floor heating, and then just use a continuous epoxy laid for the floor material.

But, for the room white ceilings, white walls, and white floors make for the brightest room, and also the color that makes items that are dropped to the floor - the easiest to see.

Best wishes.

Ditto everything Roger said.

My suggestions from my own experience:

I built an "L"-shaped bench in one corner of my basement with an island bench that is parallel to it; the benches and island make a rectangle when viewed together.
For me, having the extra work surface area is helpful. I like to have plenty of room to spread things out.

Also, think about storage spaces! I installed some cabinets above the benches and some shelves below the benches. These extra spaces above and below my working surface are great
because I don't have all the room in the world (too much stuff!). I store many of my fly-tying materials in clear Tupperware-like containers - so, I spaced the shelves accordingly to accept them;
same with a couple of larger tool boxes.

If you have any other tools or equipment that you may put on the bench and then take off the bench, measure the dimensions and build a dedicated space for these, too.

On the wall around the benches (and the space beneath the cabinets), I have pegboard and hangers for small tools and supplies: files, mandrels, lathe tools, pliers, etc.

Just to reiterate what Roger said:
* Plenty of outlets.
* Plenty of lights (The new LED fixtures are amazing).
* Design it to be easy to fix or add on to later if wanted.

This sounds like a fun project!

One lighting tip. Install undercabinet lighting under your bench. I used the stick on led tape lighting. Real nice when you drop something small to be able to look down and usually be able to see it immediately instead of searching the shadows.

Kevin,
You have received exceptionally good advice and ideas from Roger, Leslie and Michael; one that is often overlooked is the outlet in the middle of the ceiling. While planning your lighting, when you are confident you have enough, add 50% more; one never has enough light. Roger’s 6ft outlet spacing may be a bit overkill but, like lighting, more is certainly better than not enough; definitely go with at least double outlet boxes rather than singles. Although not required, having each outlet circuit on its own GFI certainly will not hurt anything. Fabricate diffusers for heating, A/C vents so they are not blowing directly on areas where sensitive operations are performed. Most importantly, make certain to have an easily accessible mini Fridge; I hate having to walk from my shop to inside the house to get a beer. Priorities are priorities.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

White, smooth, floor. Makes finding dropped micros a lot easier than the barefoot walk the floor method.

If it were me...I would be sure to install a real exhaust fan. Not one for the stove or the bathroom.
I'm talking 1000+ CFM. Even if you cant get to an exterior wall...have it just vent to the rest of the basement.
You will not regret this...especially when you start "expanding" the craft.

With all due respect to Chris and while lighting and outlets benefit from abundance, too much airflow can be a bad thing by @#$%& up SETTLED dust and making it AIRBORNE. Although a 1000 CFM exhaust fan might be beneficial while cleaning house, I certainly would not use it while thread wrapping or finishing.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Mark Talmo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> With all due respect to Chris and while lighting
> and outlets benefit from abundance, too much
> airflow can be a bad thing by @#$%& up SETTLED
> dust and making it AIRBORNE. Although a 1000 CFM
> exhaust fan might be beneficial while cleaning
> house, I certainly would not use it while thread
> wrapping or finishing.

And you came to this conclusion how?
I was speaking from experience. Airflow out of a room will only keep it cleaner....plus you can always just turn it off.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2022 04:22PM by Chris Catignani.

I built a 30" deep x 10' long x 4" thick torsion box for a bench. I support it with cabinet bases. Works great for me. I installed peg board behind my bench and use it for everything from tools to rolls of tape. I have storage boxes and other cabinets for storage under the bench. If you are going to use overhead lighting, consider 4' led lights. They provide plenty of light. Consider the color of the top of the bench. With bright lights, the reflection may be considerable and cause eye strain.

Chris,
Excuse me if I lack your experience. I was simply looking at it logically; “Airflow out of a room will only keep it cleaner” = the airflow OUT of a room MUST be replaced by airflow INTO the room which causes airflow WITHIN the room. The exceptions would be if the inlet were right next to the outlet (which would not be very efficient) or if there were no inlet in which case the exhaust fan would simply cavitate (again, not very efficient). Through my humble experience working in my shop which has doors on either end, to limit the airborne dust when windy at all, I close at least one of the doors to reduce or eliminate the crossflow of air possibly carrying dust. But both of us agree that an exhaust fan can (probably should) be turned off when dust contamination may be a threat to that perfect finish.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

<waves white flag>

Your scenario fits your argument perfectly (strawman).

For comfort, your bench height should be a major step in the plans of your shop. If you plan on standing while working, your bench should be so that your are erect (not hunched over) and have some sort of floor mat to stand on to cushion your feet.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Another thing is space permits. I would have a separate bench or at least a dedicated space away from everything else as your glue up area. Don't need a big area. Cover the bench with a cheap piece of 1/8 inch plywood. Make a mess on the bench no big deal just occasionally replace the plywood. In my case I am limited on space. I have a rolling cart that fits under my bench. Pull that out and do all my messy work on it and store all my products that could potential leak on the shelves of the cart.

Good point on bench height. Give it a lot of thought. I wrap sitting down and actually prefer my bench height a little lower than standard table top height.

On the subject of air circulation. Passive flow might be enough. I have a secured storage room in the basement. Might go weeks without being open. Aprox 10x12. I have one standard size wall vent in the corner opposite the door. Vent is just a covered hole through the wall. Humidity stays exactly the same as rest of basement. Dust is almost nonexistent. No musty smell.

Powered exhaust is fine if you can control the quality of air your bringing in. And you can control what the incoming airflow is or isn't stirring up. Really how much circulation is needed anyways for rodbuilding. Other than permagloss I see no need for regular high volume venting.

Room for a Lazy Susan? Things like this can help make good use of a corner space or otherwise 'wasted' space.

TO augment the comment by Michael about a disposable surface for glue up.

Although plywood will work, I very much prefer white painted 1/8th inch hardboard.

Hardboard is hard and tough and not easily dented or scratched. Plus it is less expensive than plywood.
I use this covering for all of my hard working benches in the garage. When one gets too bad, I just take another one and nail it over the top of the previous one.

Best wishes.

I am also a hobby builder. The biggest improvement to my rod building lathe / bench was the addition of 3 4ft. led shop lights hanging down from the joists above. These light "bars" hang (light chains) approximately 2 ft. above the bench surface and are centered over the rod being built. Also, if you stand up while building, a comfortable working height of your bench is important. I stand to wrap and finish, and I am most comfortable with my bench height at 46" (52" height to the actual rod).

Rog

Note:
Here is a Home Depot source for the white 1/8th inch white hardboard that I use for bench tops in the garage:

[www.homedepot.com]

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Note:
The bench surface that I use for my rod wrapping is a 10 foot long white kitchen counter top with back splash. This has a formica top that is tough, smooth and easy to keep clean.

Best wishes

When one gets right down to it, Dennis brought up arguably the most important consideration = bench height. After all, that is where we spend 95% of our time. The height will be different and dependant on each individual builder and his equipment but is crucial for comfort and avoiding nagging back pains.
Dang, with such good replies, suggestions and ideas, I might have to remodel my shop! Nah, too much work and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Lighting, lighting, lighting. Roger Templton's idea of having the light about 2' above where you're going to wrap is a good one. How far above your bench or table top, and above your wrapper is going to be a personal preference kind of thing.

I built a bracket set up that I attached a 4', 4200 lumen LED light to. I have the bottom of the light fixture 20" above my table top, which puts it 12" above a rod when it is in my wrapper. I sit when I wrap, and while It may seem like that is pretty low, it works out quite well for me personally.