Anyone built their own workshop?

[deathjester]

Ah, thanks - I knew one of you guys would know what I was talking about!  Are those bulbs any good then?  And what sort of price do they go for?

[Joe C-P]

Micro-Mark sells lamps that offer "true" light; I have one and it's invaluable in my workroom, even above the track lighting with more than one light on my work area. Micro-Mark has many things you'd never thought you needed but realize you must have. 
Make certain your shelving is sturdy and stable.
A light, single-coloured floor can help find dropped pieces.

Temperature fluctuations can cause different materials to expand or contract different amounts on your assembled models, and some adhesives and glues, and paints, may not hold up or cure properly if they get too cold or too humid.

[Father Ennis]

Something else you need to remember about using a fan in your spraybooth, you need a special type of fan. The normal fans can cause an explosion and fire when you are spray painting.  The fine particles OS spray can be ignited by the spark in the fan motor.  So unless you have the fan out of the airflow ,you need to consider that. I'm sorry I can't remember what those special motors are called. You should check with your supplier for complete info on this. I use a home made paintbooth. I got a large box and an air conditioner filture . Cut a hole in the back of the box a little smaller than the filture and cut the sides to shape as well. I use the cut pieces to reinforce the box by gluing them on in various places. The filture stops paint particles but let's the air thru.
      I have bought from MicroMark in the past and can highly recommend them. I just got a catalog today in fact. If I bought half the stuff I saw I think I want, I couldn't even unbox the stuff  because I wouldn't have a place to stand let alone put anything !!! 
     
      Good luck on your project,my friend.  I hope you keep us posted on you progress.

                    Father Ennis ...

[PR19_Kit]

Ah, thanks - I knew one of you guys would know what I was talking about!  Are those bulbs any good then?  And what sort of price do they go for?

DON'T get Lloytron bulbs! 

I was fool enough to get four of them from a stand at Telford 2011, swung by the advert that said 'Up tp 8 years life', which was 100% correct.

But the shortest lived one lasted 3 days (!) and the longest lasted 3-4 months. Needless to say the suppliers don't bother to answer my emails....

[Dizzyfugu]

Daylight bulbs make most sense when you are planning to take pictures. "Normal" bulbs or living area lighting tends to be more yellow-ish, but I would not see an issue here in a workshop. Rather look for sufficient overall light.

[McColm]

I find music helps, so a good radio or cassette player.  Tapes of the Goons, around the horn or Hancocks half hour playing in the background should get you in the creative mood.

[deathjester]

I find music helps, so a good radio or cassette player.  Tapes of the Goons, around the horn or Hancocks half hour playing in the background should get you in the creative mood.

The Goons    How the hell is that supposed to help you paint or cut straight!

Now that would be an interesting one for the Casualty docs;

...'Nurse, why has this patient got a scalpel stuck in his leg, a wonkily painted Hunter superglued to his right hand, has trod on a pin vice, and spray painted himself blue?...and why is he laughing so much!'   

[Weaver]

I've got a blue-painted incandescent daylight bulb in a magnifier/desk light: it works fine, but you get very hot under it very quickly!

I've just switched to LED daylight bulbs in that light and in various places around the house. They're expensive to buy, but the projected life is huge: up tp 35,000 hours, which is far greater than even compact fluorescents (about 8000 hours).

Here's where I get them from: http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/bulbfinder/?w=Any&v=Any&c=Any&f=Daylight&cat=12

There are other places on the web and DIY stores are starting to stock them too. Be aware that just because a bulb is LED doesn't automatically make it "Daylight" though. Most are "warm white" with a colour temperature of 2700K whereas "daylight" bulbs are 6000K or greater. LED bulbs are also not yet available in really powerful versions for a reasonable price, however I find the daylight colour temperature does a lot to compensate for that. For instance, I replaced an 11W (60W equivalent) warm white fluorescent in my room with a 4W (25W equivalent) daylight LED bulb and it's fine.

[Nick]

If you are looking at extractor fans from old kitchens, do also consider grabbing the old work surface. Big solid wide stretch of thick heavy duty wood (or marble if you're lucky), no need to worry about scratching or painting it. Just add legs, fix it against the wall and you're done.

[buzzbomb]

If you are looking at extractor fans from old kitchens, do also consider grabbing the old work surface. Big solid wide stretch of thick heavy duty wood (or marble if you're lucky), no need to worry about scratching or painting it. Just add legs, fix it against the wall and you're done.

Or the entire kitchen with cupboards and drawers...
I used a cheapo Flat pack kitchen during my hobby room revamp.

With pegboard for storing tools and stuff

[eatthis]

i decked my garage out. insulated the walls and roof then lined the lot with 6mm ply.
got a load of old kitchen units and worktops for nowt from an old factory
made big shelves with 9mm (maybe 12mm i cant remember now lol)
made myself a paintrack that holds about 200 paints with some old chipboard and a 32mm hole cutter (that i ruined lol)
2 double 5ft strip lights in roof with daylight tubes very white light its great
4 foot double strip light over modelling bench again with daylight bulbs

i got the insulation and the units/worktops for free lighting cost about £50 and the ply/mdf cost approx £100.
it cost me £150 all in and i did it in 2 weekends and its great for what i want

[MiB]

USS Discovery....mmmm, very interesting....