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I'm building myself a hobby room, with desk, comfy chair, daylight bulbs etc and all that...I've always wanted a decent space, plus I can finally get out all my Mini Pillar Drills and rotary drills and leave them out. (Only problem is my new AIRBRUSH will have to live in the Garage...D'oH!)

1. Does anyone have a Desk covering like plastic matting or should i buy some cheap linoleum as a desk covering?
2. Any recommendations for desks, I'm thinking of an Ikea cheapy effort and then cover it with plastic or linoleum.
3. I'm thinking of buying a small hover for the room for all the little pieces i will lose when i cut them off the sprue!
4. I'm thinking of fitting an exhaust fan or something to keep the smells of glue, paint etc to a minimum.

Does anyone have any advice or little tips to keep the mess to a minimum (And therefore keep the long haired emperor off my back)..

Daylight bulbs probably good but expensive :(
But in my experience lighting is a really important issue.

I would try and get an angle poise lamp or two. I managed to bag one of Freecycle and it has been such a boost.

Can't help about good housekeeping as I am culpable of messy tendencies The hoover may not help as the bitx will have already been devoured by the dreaded carpet monster!

Cheap lino is good for the desk- never thought of that. would be good on the floor to help find the things that go ping! I have a glass oven door for a quick mixing of stuff, and a cutting matt. Together they cover the work surface.

Would advise anything that aids quick wipe downs and easy dusting/polishing to keep the studio as free from dust as possible.

Coverting the comfy chair! Good luck with the room - sounds good.

Some decent setups here in these threads.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/128074.page
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/258815.page#1009401
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/205383.page#209799

1)If the desk is cheap enough i'd not bother with protecting it. A rubber cutting mat is usually enough to stop things slipping around.

2)Buy the desk with the best possible layout. Drawers, shelves, cable tidies, pull out sections and wrap around type desks are all worth looking into. I wouldn't worry too much about the finish as it will soon get trashed no matter how careful you are.

3)I keep a cheap 9.5V Dustbuster in my hobby room to keep under the desk clean and stop me standing on stray sprue, drill bits, gravel and craft blades!

4)Good idea. If you are doing some electrical work think about lighting, additional plug sockets and possibly an extractor for a spray booth if that's an option?

I find the sink in my hobby room to be invaluable. Look into getting one if you can.

Hope this helps?

mwnciboo wrote:
1. Does anyone have a Desk covering like plastic matting or should i buy some cheap linoleum as a desk covering?
2. Any recommendations for desks, I'm thinking of an Ikea cheapy effort and then cover it with plastic or linoleum.
3. I'm thinking of buying a small hover for the room for all the little pieces i will lose when i cut them off the sprue!
4. I'm thinking of fitting an exhaust fan or something to keep the smells of glue, paint etc to a minimum.

Dont forget tea! (and the occasional muffin)

Alex Kolodotschko some of those Paint station pictures are brilliantly funny, althought Wynns studio looks like a Crime Lab from CSI....

I either paint in the living room on my 2 year old son's table or on my dining room table that I use as sort of a catch all desk area. sometimes i sit on my patio outside and my son and i paint together. I normally watch tv while I'm painting so the little tikes table is the usual venue. all of my materials are in a toolbox so i can take them to different areas of the house depending on my mood.

Best thing I ever built for my hobby area was a jewelers apron. It's a cloth (jewelers use leather) that's attached to the edge of the table. The opposite edge has a cord on it that ties around your waist.

When you drop a component the apron catches it - no more hunting on the floor.
When you want to tidy you sweep it all into the apron and then slide it into the bin.

You can pick up self-healing cutting mats for a couple of quid and they are a brilliant surface for modelling and painting on.

If you have the room/option I would recommend having a different desk/station for cutting/cleaning/filing and a separate one for painting. It really helps to keep all of the junk/dust out of your paint and off of your minis.

You could also get yourself a small (ie: Iwata Smart Jet) compressor to consolidate all of your painting efforts to one general area.

I use a computer desk I use as my painting area, it is one of the ones with a pull out keyboard section which is great also I have an old toolbox I use for storage

I have a steelcase desk that is painted gloss black on everything but the working surface, that is painted flat grey. I use this as my everyday desk,but it is very easy to clear away so I also use it for painting. these kinds of desks are fairly easy to find on auction sites(I got mine for 20 dollars,no lie it was amazing, however most likely not a standard) the point is they are all metal and very very solid. if you spill anything just repaint the spot. However I have started using those flimsy Paperboard backings that come with cheaper furniture as a painting surface works out nice. another note I have been using G.E reveal bulbs, the halogen ones are around 675 lumens and they cost ten bucks so I just go with them. Just my two cent!

Here is mine... cheap staples (fake) wooden desk (my only concerns were that it be sturdy and tall enough for me to rest my arms on while painting):

a hoover is deffinatly a good investment. in my rooom i have to wear shoes because of all the ofcuts and broken knife blades.
also maybe look in tto putting some shelve up for armies to stand on. i would also put in a table or area were projects can be put/ left, like a to do area.

Cheers I am pretty blown away by all the responses here, some brilliant points and suggestions.

I, Being 15, have half of our living room in control, all my boxes, 3 tables,and the much needed storage closet's,... just bay a cheap wooden board not from ikea but from a shop where they sell paint, to decorate your house, bricks,...(I don't know the english word for that kind of shop) and then buy some metal poles to but the wooden table on. oh and a i have a placemat(imo that works great)

SCRAZZA in the UK we call it a DIY Store (Do it Yourself Store) e.g all the equipment and materials to do decorating and home improvement in the US i think they call them a Hardware store (Never really understood why..)

Best thing I ever built for my hobby area was a jewelers apron. It's a cloth (jewelers use leather) that's attached to the edge of the table. The opposite edge has a cord on it that ties around your waist.

When you drop a component the apron catches it - no more hunting on the floor.
When you want to tidy you sweep it all into the apron and then slide it into the bin.

Never thought of that. I spend at least 5 min crawling around on the floor every time I build something. Before I steal the idea, how did you attach it to the table? Tape, glue, clamps, or weights?

Work space?
I just grab what i need from various box's in draws and sit at the kitchen table lol.

If i had a work area, it would simply be yet another area i'd make a mess of and need to tidy.

make a hole in the desk to fit a bin in so you van sweep crap in to it

mwnciboo wrote:SCRAZZA in the UK we call it a DIY Store (Do it Yourself Store) e.g all the equipment and materials to do decorating and home improvement in the US i think they call them a Hardware store (Never really understood why..)

thanks for the heads up!