Todd's RC workbench

by Todd Ferrante  <back to homepage>
last edited 8/22/2006

Background:
When I started building RC airplanes in January, 2005, I needed somewhere to work.  I ended up taking a wooden countertop and setting it on a big cardboard box to make a makeshift workbench.  This had the advantage of being easy to break down when houseguests came to stay.  It was also cluttered and messy.  Tools and supplies would work their way in from the edges until I was working on a tiny little area of cleared space in the middle.

Workbench made from countertop on a box.

When we moved from the condo we were renting to a house we bought, I wanted something a little less cobbled together.  I envisioned two part workstation consisting of a wall mounted shelf for storage, and a workbench that was easy to break down. 

Design goals:
My main goal was to keep the work surface completely free of clutter and available for working upon.  At the same time, I wanted all my supplies and tools to be within easy reach when they were needed.  The workbench I wanted to be easily stowable. 

Wall mounted storage (7/9/06):
After thinking on it for a couple weeks, I sat down and sketched a concept for the wall unit.  Some features included two stacks of drawers made of plastic shoebox sized storage boxes.  It would have magazine holders for back issues and catalogs.  It would also have drawer units for storing plane electronics like servos and motors.  On the underside of the shelf would be a flourescent shop light.  On the left side would be storage for carbon rods and the like.  On the right side would be storage for sheets of EPP and depron foam.  On the lower left front would be a spot for battery rechargers.

The wall storage concept sketch.

The concept sketch sat around for awhile until I came upon a whole stack of white melamine coated shelf boards at a garage sale.  I had considered cutting up a wood finished Sauder bookshelf for material, but the white boards made for a much better looking shelf.  I bought the whole stack and built the shelf unit over a weekend.

The semi-finished wall unit.

I built the main body of the shelf unit with the intention of adding on racks for the stick storage and sheet storage later.  The final product ended up quite similar to the concept sketch.  The plastic drawer boxes on the right (from K-Mart) all are easily removable. They hold larger, less frequently used items like boxes of dremel bits, bags of glue sticks, plug in soldering iron... The wooden drawer set is from IKEA. The drawers are also removable, and it holds all the electrical parts: servos, receivers, ESCs, motors. The underside of the bottom shelf has a double tube flourescent shop light.

Workbench (7/24/06):
I mulled over several designs for the stowable workbench.  These included a couple ideas for hinging the top to the wall.  I eventually went with an idea based on a drafting table I built in high school shop class.  That table had side frames connected at the back and top and a table top hinged at the front so the angle was adjustable.  This frame is made from 2x4 lumber.  The square side frames are attached to two cross pieces in the back with hinges.  A shelf under the top at the rear keeps the hinged sides open.  The table top sits on the frame.  I can break the workbench down easily and stick the top and the folded base behind doors.  The top also remains in a clean condition, with not screw holes.  Maybe someday it will get turned into a kitchen island as was originally intended.

Workbench with removable top and foldable base frame.

Tool caddy (7/24/06):
One of the things I really didn't like about my old workbench was how clutter just built up until it was a mess.  A big part of being able to easily break down the workbench is keeping the work surface uncluttered.  To help with this, I built a little tool caddy for all my hand tools. The main component is a plastic tool holder designed for hanging tools on the wall. I bought 3 of these from Lowes or Home Depot a few years back. They are like 3 or 4 bucks each. This caddy holds all the little tools that tend to clutter up the work surface. My goal is to have a place for everything, so nothing is left on the worktop. (Still not there quite yet.)  When it comes time to fold up the table I can just carry the caddy to my garage workbench, sweep off the table top, and be ready to go.  We'll see how this actually works out in practise. 

Tool caddy with carrying handle on top.

Stick storage (8/20/06):
I took another free Sunday to throw together the left side add on rack for stick storage.  This rack also ended up as a good spot for mounting all the battery rechargers.  The front and back are white pegboard.  The sides and bottom are the same white boards as the shelf unit.  The rings are cut from 21/2" diameter PVC pipe.

Stick storage.

RC work station (8/22/06):
Put all the pieces together and you get my RC work station in it's current state.  Sooner or later I'll clean up the wire management of the recharger power supplies.  I also still need to add the foam sheet storage on the right side.

The current state of the work station.