# My Attempt At Making A Diy Home Made Bench This Weekend



## jnash

Unfortunately i dont have the space to buy a full watchmaker bench for breaking watches. Because of the lack of space i decided to look for a table top version of the watchmakers bench. These werent expensive however the shipping was.

Also the wooden tabletop bench would just look "odd" in my place, and there still isn't any space to store it when it isn't in use.

I decided to put my thinking cap on and with the aid of some stackable A4 Drawers, Velcro, Whiteboard and a small suction base Vise i have my detachable watch bench fit for a king that can be stored in pieces easily.

Attached a few pics.

*Stackable A4 Drawers from Muji (**all the compartment bits were from there too**)*










*Added the velcro to the tops of the Drawers*










*Simple Whiteboard and the small suction vise i purchased off the bay...*










*Here is the bench attached to the drawers with velcro, very sturdy*



















*When not in use, it neatly stacks up in my second room*


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## tixntox

That looks like a cracking piece of kit. Well done! My 710 would love to get rid of my workspace which has grown and grown and ............................

Mike


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## Roger the Dodger

What a superb solution to a familiar problem. My one suggestion to improve on it would be to add a removable back and sides to contain those springs and screws that ping out of the forceps, never to be seen again!


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## jnash

Roger the Dodger said:


> What a superb solution to a familiar problem. My one suggestion to improve on it would be to add a removable back and sides to contain those springs and screws that ping out of the forceps, never to be seen again!


Way ahead of you...............


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## Phillionaire

Great stuff. Not too sure about your clip on light though. Is it enough?


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## jnash

It's not, I have a overarching one that clips to the table


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## Tony1951

Roger the Dodger said:


> What a superb solution to a familiar problem. My one suggestion to improve on it would be to add a removable back and sides to contain those springs and screws that ping out of the forceps, never to be seen again!


I had this problem - I suppose we all have. I found it helps to have a clean laminate floor in the room you're working in. Then you have a chance at least to crawl around with a spot light feeling for it. I found carpet not so good when parts had flown the tweezers. 

Also, a fine white cloth stretched and taped to a tray helped stop things bouncing away for me. Of course the best solution would be learning not to be ham fisted so the bits didn't get dropped in the first place. That is something I am yet to master. My first practice movement, a Â£5 Chinese skeleton pocket watch, is now missing two parts; the setting lever which I lost in a carpet and a pallet fork jewel which fell out somewhere somehow and was probably hoovered up, never to be seen again.

My stupidest error so far was to assume that a watch left to run down wouldn't need the spring let down. I thought, well, its run down and stopped so the spring will be released......... Lifted the running train bridge and discovered I was wrong ..... Ziiiiipppp - kerrrping..... Much crawling about the floor looking for the last of the screws which had been still on the exploding bridge ad was now gone. I found it after twenty minutes dabbing about on the laminate with a head torch on.


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## bsa

What a top set up i going to make one myself, thanks.


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## jnash

Why not, i just like the ability to put it away when not in use....


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## mel

Excellent solution, I'm going to have a good think about something similar :yes: (never thouight about VELCRO, good tip!)

Hmmm!, you could have more plastic boxes with VELCRO tops and keep Timex stuff in one, Electric in another, and so on, swap the top boxes around to suit waht you're working on!  :weed:


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## jnash

Yep thats the point, effectively i can have the drawers on the other side of my computer desk and take what i need, the MUJI plastic compartments are useful as well and they all go so my girlfriend is happy too.... just picked up some other bits today.....


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## pugster

great work , very innovative ,, only sugggestion i would make is to maybe have a separate solid plastic tray for the turns/mini lathe so that removing swarf /dust from using it is easier (and any lubricants you might need whilst using it)


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## jnash

pugster said:


> great work , very innovative ,, only sugggestion i would make is to maybe have a separate solid plastic tray for the turns/mini lathe so that removing swarf /dust from using it is easier (and any lubricants you might need whilst using it)


The Muji store has lots of trays and compartments available so ive bought a few, great idea thanks...


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## bfreer

Just wanted to say thanks for the idea! Found this and your blog post with a google search, and I'm glad I did! I was able to make something similar using a drafting board I had collecting dust and some drawer units from office depot. The result is great! Good height, lots of storage, plenty of width to rest my arms on, and only had to spend $35 on the units. Beats the heck out of the one from Otto Frei, especially at that price. Just need to rig up some sides for it now, and decide how all to organize my tools.


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## jnash

bfreer said:


> Just wanted to say thanks for the idea! Found this and your blog post with a google search, and I'm glad I did! I was able to make something similar using a drafting board I had collecting dust and some drawer units from office depot. The result is great! Good height, lots of storage, plenty of width to rest my arms on, and only had to spend $35 on the units. Beats the heck out of the one from Otto Frei, especially at that price. Just need to rig up some sides for it now, and decide how all to organize my tools.


Glad it worked out, great image...

Ive moved onto another desk now, it may be worth putting that up, as my hobby has grown ive now needed something more permanent but still modern and stealthy..

Thanks

Jonathan


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## no8yogi

Lets see the new set up Jon!

When the rugby season finishes this is what I will do!


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## jnash

ive since actually made another bench that incorporates IKEA stuff, need to take some pics when i get a moment.!


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## tixntox

jnash said:


> ive since actually made another bench that incorporates IKEA stuff, need to take some pics when i get a moment.!


Now there's the excuse to take the 710 to Ikea!


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## jnash

yep - im never happy so it always keeps on evolving...


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## jnash

not to mention the hot dogs...


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## pugster

get some pics up of your ikea one  , i remember you saying when you first got here that it had 'to be kept small and fit the decor ' to keep the mrs happy -has she given up yet? or have you been punted to another room?


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## jnash

Okay so the dynamics have changed as my watch breaking has been noted as NOT just one of my "phases"

So we went to ikea and I wanted something that could not just be used for my watch bits as space is a problem in the flat.

I found a bench top that had effectively a cover that protected my watch parts when I'm not working on them , then I got the adjustable legs that allowed me to play with the height.

The top had this felt bit inside which I stripped out immediately as that would be a hive for dust.

After a while I needed more space so I got hold of those little compartments and put them under the table in the corner. You may also remember the drawers, I attached them to the desk just like a real bench!

So not so innovative this time but its doing its purpose well and it's serving as a working desk when I'm not loosing parts all over the place....

A few snaps





































I also decided that I needed to modify it a bit more so I cut into the desk and made arm rests. I put a lip on the edges and the best bit is my dodgy jigsaw is not seen when closed










And like I said, can be used as a computer desk aswell


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## no8yogi

^^^^^^ that is excellent!! Wish I had the room for that!


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## SSTEEL

Some great ideas there, impressive. My workbench consists of two full sized office desks placed in an L Shape in the corner of our large living room. I have a few wooden American made pieces incoming to help with my organisation of tools, and equipment. Not seen in the photo below are my ultrasonic cleaner, drill press and WR tester.


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## Retronaut

A fine effort - good work!


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## chris.ph

my little set up care of ikea this was taken last year and ive got a few more toys on it now


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## SSTEEL

Nice little set up. I had one of those cheap presses, and it snapped on me, so be careful. I'm guessing a poor casting was the cause. Also if you are not careful, screwing the die down fully, sometimes the metal threaded part protrudes above the die, resulting in it damaging your watch.


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## chris.ph

i think ive been lucky with that one ssteel it has done its job many times without failing yet :thumbup:


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## SSTEEL

As I said, I think mine had a bad casting. This was the result..


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## jnash

chris.ph said:


> my little set up care of ikea this was taken last year and ive got a few more toys on it now


The first thing i did with this was remove the felt, doesn;t go to well with watch movements when working on them, stores too much dust... its black underneath as you can see a few posts up...


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