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Show off your work space!


spectre6000

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Here's my very humble setup as it sits... My office turned into a baby's room just before xmas, and I've been couch surfing with my laptop since. That's fine as long as I'm just coding, but the hardware work is about to begin. Initially, everything was unceremoniously dumped onto the bare dining room table, but with my couch surfing coming to an end, it's time to resurrect something akin to a proper work space.

What you see is my wife's sewing mat at the end of the table (to be replaced if and when my shipment from China ever arrives), with tools and supplies arranged around it for accessibility. There's a Seiko 5 in the cover tray, and a shock springless Tongji "art" watch adjacent. To the left are occasional use tools and/or boxes/containers/packaging. Under the camera tripod are jars of cleaning solution and oils/greases. To the right (I'm right handed) are the frequent use tools, anything that needs power (closest outlet), and a "third hand" for soldering I recently unearthed and deposited in an open space because thought it might be useful (haven't tried it yet). My computer monitor is back left because that's where it landed during the office exodus, and I don't have anything like a desk yet. Back right is camera accoutrement, some leatherwork stuff, and some more even less frequently used watchmaking materiel and boxes.

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I put a white vinyl/flannel table cloth down on the dark "wood" floor to keep things from bouncing and make them easier to find. The stool is something my BIL made us for Xmas a few years back based on a Japanese design. Annotated tech sheet for the 7S26 is sitting on the stool. It's really low, so it's got me at a reasonable height. Magnetic sweeper leaning against the wall, and to the left of it behind the table are the jugs of clean/rinse solutions. Ultrasonic lives in the basement bathroom because that noise...

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Very ad hoc and half assed. I'm just getting started, but I'm about to commandeer an area to actually set up a work space in. I'd like to make accommodations for watchmaking, but also need to be able to use my computer and work with electronics hardware. Hopefully, I'll get some inspiration from you guys' shops!

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This is my desk that I use for Watch repair as well as work. All work tools and parts are in a wall unit where I simply swing around for access. The tray has the most used tools such as tweezers, hand removers, bench keys, hand setters, etc. speciality tools are locked up. Lathes are also in the wall unit and brought out as needed as they have counter shafts and Borel stands making them portable. Some day I shall have a proper work desk, but this works well for now. I also do a lot of youtube videos so having a computer and two screens is great. I also have many different cameras.9023d294279437891bce086a49cf6289.jpgf10e7aed1bf4f31186af0957d40dcb45.jpge930b85a37447887e699a80259250d32.jpg


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2 hours ago, spectre6000 said:

The "natural state" is more informative.

More informative of what?

Normally my watch bench at home would have a sheet of plastic covering the entire bench. That's because I don't work on it a lot and it's amazing how much dust is floating around. Then typically because I don't use it that much I would just lift up the plastic work on a little section put the plastic down. But last time I took the plastic off that was a big mistake it's amazing how much dust exists in the universe.

Then there was the boss at work he had some silly idea that I should take all my watches home and work on them there. So the space to the right normally would have all sorts of stuff piled in a nice un-organized pile along with the witschi timing machine for quartz watches which of all had to relocate someplace else. Now this gives me a staging area for the work watches.

Normally I like a very very clean bench. The picture is not a clean bench in my mind at all but it's a lot cleaner than it was. Then there was a minor rearrangement of stuff in the very back. That so the Chinese 1000 machine now has a home. It can sit next to the witschi timing machine. Then for those paying attention in the far corner is a paper tape timing machine Conveniently hiding under its plastic cover at least it doesn't have dust.

Then even if the bench was clean it still not quite right in that I'm missing my power supply for working on quartz watches. That had to relocate the work because they didn't have a suitable power supply for working on Electric watches.So that man's a lot of miscellaneous tools that should be at work or sitting in the living room. But for the most part none of them would've been on top of the bench I really do like a super clean bench unlike this one. So now I need to finish a few projects on top and then think about whatever is it's lurking to the right of me that I'm trying to not pay attention to.

 

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2 hours ago, Watchtime said:

Here is mine, not "clean" at all......:D

The only reason my work area is currently uncharacteristically clean is because watches had temporarily given up their nicely lighted warm corner of the house to seed trays. However now that everything has germinated and been put out in the garden, I have started to re-occupy my little corner of the house once more. 

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This tidy state of affairs almost certainly wont last long. :D

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This is a more typical view. Microscope, tools, jars and "stuff" everywhere.

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Storage area  for tools and other stuff (aka the boiler cupboard).

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Various bits of assistance to allow ancient eyes to look at very small stuff.

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More "stuff".

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The normal contents of the bench have been mainly  been relocated in those containers on the floor to make way for tomato seedlings and other random plant life .

A selection of this lot would typically be on the bench at any one time. Different stuff, depending on what I am working on (electronics, watches, clocks, locks, cameras, computers or whatever).

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First you have my desk then my work bench. Next is my cleaning area and then my storage area.  I have yet to fully take apart a movement and reassemble it but I think it's just nabout time to give it a try.  From the photos you can see that I need a bigger monitor and more storage area.

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Here's my workspace ...
Mahogany writing desk from the 60ies (same time period as me and most of my watches) ... "neo-vintage" modded by myself ...
In a few weeks I'll move out to a new home where I'll have space enough to organise a specific area for "machinery" ... a drill stand I already have and a pad-printer I have just ordered ... later I'll probably get a lathe and a 4 axes engraver ...

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My space has been adjusted to fit the addition of a vintage watch bench. It also helped create the space for the turntable.  That too adds to the nostalgic feel of living in the past.  Today's list of artist included The Sex Pistols,  Golden Earring, CCR and The Doors.

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Well I might aswell jump in and join this one, here’s mine, I had a thread running in it, all from Ikea total cost just over £200 inc delivery. Bench sits at 1mtr high and add another 45cm to the top. It’s 1.2mtrs wide and 60cm deep.

2 vintage engineers chest hold tools and spares from jewels to gaskets and gravers to movement holders to pith wood. The top drawers above the chests hold books. The left hand chest holds wrist watches and spares for numerous movements, also pocket watch spares and projects awaiting attention. Also extra tools and oils. The right hand side has my staking set and cleaning fluids and some odds and sods.

 

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Yes, it's a mess, but it's NOT a disaster, despite what my wife says! :biggrin: I know where everything is. I have had a helluva time finding a nice cutting mat to put down as my work pad, so the lovely green pillow case is temporary. Good lighting is a must, thankfully the newer LED bulbs are bright and generate almost no heat.  Decent storage is my next quest. That will help free some space and make things less cluttered looking.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Also try looking at the material used for covering drafting tables.  I have a smaller piece of the same material that I use as the work area on my bench. One side is the classic green the other size a cream color and it's about 1.3 mm thick. I'm not entirely sure where mine came from it was left over from when my father used to to cover a drafting table a very very long time ago.  looking on Amazon gives you the link below kind of the starting point.

 

https://www.amazon.com/drafting-table-cover/s?k=drafting+table+cover

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