[Jewelry making - Article 00397] - Re: [Orchid] Benches - to cutout or not to cutout

[Karen Goeller]

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    I'd like to add another "twist" to the question of benches and bench
    design. One reason I've stayed away from a traditional bench is that
    I like moving around a lot while I'm working.  I have a soldering
    table/station, which is across the room from my polishing area, which
    is down the wall a bit from my fabrication/bench-pin area, which is
    in a different room entirely from my designing area.  This gets me up
    and walking, standing, sitting, moving and seems to decrease the
    fatigue factor for me.  Sitting in one small area for many hours can
    be really tiring. 

    My fabrication area, by the way, has as its base kitchen base
    cabinets, raised about 3 inches, with a thick plywood top, covered in
    some areas by masonite/hardboard.  Other areas expose the well-oiled
    plywood, and have cutout holes for holding various things (like my
    tumbler barrel, ring mandrel, etc.) when I need an extra hand. (Corks
    plug the holes when I'm not using them.) On the front framing of the
    cabinets, we've mounted a long 2x4 just under the level of the top --
    this holds the bench pin and the bench vise beautifully.  A "skirt"
    (now I'm finding out the "real" name for it is something else, I
    guess) hangs underneath the bench pin to catch those errant pieces
    that my fumbly fingers miss.  In the "cabinet" part I store all my
    less-frequently used things, spare supplies, etc. 

    I really like this setup, particularly the higher-than-normal
    cabinet surface to work on.  I find that over time I'm preferring to
    stand while doing a lot of my work, but it's also not too tall to sit
    on my bench stool (a former drummer's "throne" which is ergonomically
    padded and height adjustable -- highly comfy and improves your
    posture!). 

    Now I obviously realize that some store setups, in particular, just
    aren't practical for this type of working style -- but I'm curious
    whether there are others that have avoided a traditional bench for
    similar reasons? 

Karen Goeller
kgoeller AT nolimitations.com

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