Time to Think Again

It has been over a year since I wrote the post, Time to Think.  There I pondered what to do with the space I have been blessed with; a garage.  Since then I have determined that space is not so good for model trains.  In fact, it needs more work than I realized even though it isn't a bad space for a workshop and storage.  It will be a fine place to build Halloween props each year, work on home improvement projects or generally make a mess I wouldn't make in the house.  In fact, I built this year's NMRBO diorama in that space and the Pine Branch Park railroad has lived there since we moved in.

Can you find the diorama in this image?

But the trains can't live there much longer.  The winter was indeed cold and damp.  No leaks in the roof, but seepage from the concrete floor needs to be addressed eventually.  The summers have been hot and dry but thanks to our evening lows the mornings are pleasant and the garage can be used for a few hours.  If the weather is mild and the evening breeze picks up it is downright enjoyable with the garage door open (and a cold beverage!).  The spiders aren't too bad, nor the dust, and so far - knock on wood - no sign of rodents!  Still, it is a hostile environment for vintage craftsman structures and rolling stock!

So where will the trains go?  As I mentioned in my post "New Digs", this house has a second living room we call the den.  There I'll be sharing the space with my son's computer desk, a bookshelf with display cabinet, and a TV area.  The bookshelf was built last fall and just in the last month I installed new lighting.  My son's computer area is well established and he regularly plays VR games in that end of the room, wildly swinging his arms, working up a sweat!  The workbench has been moved to make room for the trains.

Percy enjoys his new bed atop a Helmer cabinet between my workbench and the sliding glass doors overlooking the back yard.  We both enjoy the natural light and the view.

 
All that remains before the trains come inside is to build some legs for the railroad.  In the garage, both this one and the last, it rested on metal shelving and that will remain in the garage.  In the den it will need legs with wheels; not that it will be rolled around that often, but it will be convenient for photo shoots and cleaning.  Beneath the benchwork will be space for rolling carts.  These will hold paints, supplies, tools, etc. that don't fit in the Ikea Helmer drawers at the workbench.

I'm also going to make some shelves to go over the workbench.  The lowest will include a section of cork board for tacking up instructions (or maybe a metal strip for magnets).  As I've used this smaller bench I have discovered the need to set large plan sheets and even smaller instruction pages...somewhere.  Now that the cat is sharing the space, there's really no good place to put pages of plans.  My desk lamp seen in the photo above will be relocated and strip lighting will be attached under the lowest shelf.  This will not only give me a few more inches on the work surface, but the shelf will provide a place to attach a camera looking straight down onto the bench, should I decide to shoot a video or two.

Hopefully all this will be accomplished in September because October will be for building new Halloween yard haunt props and that time will be here soon!  Feel free to leave comments or questions down below and thanks for reading!

This is Not Benchwork...Yet

Ikea furniture seems to have become fodder for small layout builders as potential benchwork.  It is mentioned in Iain Rice's perennial "Small, Smart and Practical" layout design book (terrific eye candy, that stuff!) and a quick Google search will turn up some fine examples of others who have "hacked" Ikea furniture into all sorts of things.  Bernie Kempinski even used some under one of his layouts and another modeler posted a link in the comments to his use of IVAR shelving as benchwork here:

http://usmrr.blogspot.com/2015/03/ivar-instant-benchwork.html

I have now joined the ranks of Ikea Hackers, though not formally on their website.  My eldest needed a desk in his room but had these "GORM" shelves.  They came with our last house and moved with us to this one.  After a bit of cogitating I determined that I could use the components from the shelves plus a few planks from the store and arrive at a desk/shelf combo for his room.  With the leftover bits I could then create benchwork that doubles as shelving for the layout space in the living room.

Here is the desk/shelf combo (minus the desk top still to come) in my son's room:

And here are the bits left over, some of which will be used in the benchwork:

BTW, I am hoping to make this Sunday afternoon posting a regular occurrence.  I have been successful at fighting my perfectionist tendencies lately...they tend to get in the way of all kinds of productivity and fun.  So these blog posts may not be as polished as they could be, but I will be sharing content and hopefully eventually gaining a few more readers who share my interests.  If you like this sort of stuff, please share with others who do also.