Thursday, March 15, 2018

Back On Track....

This morning I finally got back to building model rockets after having spent the past month diverting my attention toward a campaign of de-cluttering and re-organizing the basement.  This project also encompassed the wood shop and, of course, the model rocketry operations center. 
In my last post, I included a picture of the model rocket/utility workbench.  Last week I modified it to make it a little easier to use by removing the water bed drawer unit and a section of the under-bench shelf.  I can now sit comfortably on the shop stool facing forward with ample leg room underneath the bench.

Above the bench is a cabinet carcase which I had hanging around the wood shop.  The original intent was to build a hanging wall cabinet for my wood working hand tool collection, but I found that it makes a dandy enclosure to store all of the in-progress model rocket builds up and off the work bench.
Underneath the bench is a single wide recessed shelf that holds my model rocket tool box, the range box, a first aid kit, and a few other random tools, odds and ends.
Even though it is highly functional, I am still not entirely pleased with this bench, mainly for aesthetic reasons.  It's ugly. As noted before, it was originally built (nailed together!) out of scrap dimensional lumber to be used as a makeshift chop saw station. 
I currently have a design finished on the drafting table for a new dedicated model hobby bench that I will soon be building in the wood shop. It will be considerably smaller than the current bench, but will be equipped with a better system of tool storage drawers and a hutch unit with overhead shelves and cabinets.
And it will be much prettier!
As for my model rocket tool kit, I have organized it all into this:

It's an old lidded box that at one time held some sort of A/V equipment.  For many years it has been a storage repository for a lot of random junk that I have since discarded or re-purposed.
Last weekend, I cobbled together a shallow tool tray for this box out of a piece of 1/4" plywood and some Home Depot paint stir sticks.  The box now houses most of my model building tools and stores conveniently on the under-bench shelf.

In other un-related news, the BlastFromThePast family was increased by one with the birth of a new grandson on March 9th.  Another future model rocketeer soon to be in the making, I should suspect.....
Cheers!