Brent Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Ok so after a 3 year gap from the hobby due to splitting up with partner I gave the hobby up because running costs of a house where to great to take on alone. Now im settled sharing a house with a friend and suffering from poor health due to just finding out I have cancer of the stomach and undergoing chemo whilst I await my op to remove the stomach I thought maybe now is a good time to return to the hobby, to help keep me motivated and looking forward . So with a love for designing models and building them I decided an arf was no good for me I needed a kit, the only problem is where do I build it I only have my bedroom till im well enough to go out and convert the coalshed which is insulated and quite large infact... I decided I would browse the net and have a look at large office desks ( the old ones with drawers that weigh a ton). Didn't want to spend allot of money and quickly found that these big old office desks are now selling for daft prices on ebay. so I went on google and typed in work benchs along with workstations. I even had an hour or 2 on ebay looking. I saw some realy nice designs I may add but they also had really nice prices attached of a £100 plus. Then google gave me the answer and lead me to a product argos is selling at the moment. After looking at the measurements and thinking well its smaller then I need by a few inch or so but seing such good reviews I thought stuff it £49.99 isn't going to get me anything better then this to build a few kits on... I have to say I am over the moon with it. Its actually bigger then you think once assembled and fits in my bedroom just nice. I will take some pics of it later on after iv cleaned up the mess so you guys can see just how big these are. went together like a dream. Its not heavy duty but perfect for people like us just wanting to build models on. its over a meter wide n 2ft from front to back. the drawers is on ball bearings so is ever so smooth. the work surface is big enough to build most 40-60 size fuselages on, and to top it off I found another source selling a table matching this that's 1.5 meters long without the drawer and upper shelving for £27 delivered, same framework colour and everything on Ebay so to get one of those and put along side this will be perfect for any bigger projects. The downside to giving up this hobby is something always drags you back to it so I figured this time I was going to buy all the tools and a proper workbench because having all the tools and a good space to build on really does make building allot easier and more enjoyable. But anyone looking for a cheap building bench that looks good really should get one of these because for the price and quality and what it actually does offer is unbeatable. Sealey do the exact same version of this and there wanting £150+ and the only thing missing off this is the sealey badge there really is no difference. I am tempted to go get a second one of these for the under storage space and also the extra drawer and upper storage as well as back plate having drilled holes and hooks for hanging things up such as servo leads or metal rulers and screwdrivers. one for building the other for covering and finishing on but side by side so if I need the extra workspace when building a wing then it can spill onto the second one. My nurse is going to have a shock in the morning when she comes haha she will think iv moved into a garage. Having said that maybe this is something some of you guys could find useful and at that price its a great little investment so I just had to share it with you guys. Now for me to track down a second hand bandsaw and dremmel etc so I can get cracked on with a little bit of building . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cardwell 1 Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Hi Brent, so sorry to read about your illness, my wife said i'm not having this in my body, took it on and is now ok nearly 4 years on anyway the bench looks brill , i'm after a new one so will have alook thanks for the review and good luck with your treatment. alan Edited By Pete B - Moderator on 30/09/2014 23:10:41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Good luck from me also Brent, I have a few friends who have been through the same thing and come through it. It looks a handy bench for the money John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thanks Alan and yes will power really does help with this illness. I am only 28 and have a long life ahead of me and something like this isn't keeping me back or holding me down. I new I would one day possibly end up with it due to it being a big problem in my family its wiped all my mums side out apart from my uncle and all where stomach cancer. Ended up taking 3 hospitals to diagnose it and doctors repeatedly saying its not cancer your too young. Least St James's at Leeds listened to me and carried out the checks to in fact find out I was right. Its a shame 2 hospitals missed it because it makes you wonder how many other people are in fact miss diagnosed. I know the argos website have the size and dimensions on there listing but believe me its a lot bigger then you think. and the framework is a little chunkier then in the photo. Going to keep an eye on the mdf worktop to make sure it doesn't warp as it is not very thick but considering its in a warm dry environment I shouldn't see any problems with it warping but if your going to use it in a garage or shed where the air temp changes regular id be tempted to call at wickes or b&q and grab another sheet and double it up just for piece of mind. Nothing worse then building a wing to find out its warped due to the work top warping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thanks john, its great for the value I really am chuffed to bits over it. iv always wanted a bench like this but been put off by the prices over £150, I really did think for £49.99 it ant be much good but how wrong I was its brilliant. Im just in the process of cluttering it up now. so far the top shelf's got my 450 size beam heli on there as well as the hitec transmitter in its original box what I bought to put me on till I can go and buy the Aurora 9 and there's still room left for pots of glue etc. iv got 2 kit boxes on the shelf underneath and there's still plenty of room for another 3 kit box's at least. The back board has lots of holes drilled and the bench comes with hooks to hang stuff on there so will be digging out all my packaged goodies for the 2 kits I am starting on and getting those hung on there so there to hand for quick reference etc. The model building I really do find therapeutic believe it or not and because of my condition I have a pump on a drip stand pumping food and nutrients into my bowel till the remove my stomach so getting around is not easy. so I figured Spending hours of building over the winter will be just the ticket. come next spring Il be fine, ops before xmas and last lot of chemo just after new year. so come spring I should have a few planes to maiden membership to pay for and fingers crossed a nice relaxing summer recovering from it all. Once the ops out of the way il be allot better because I cant take anything orally other then sips of water so its a pain in the a$$. A few friends cant believe how open I am about my problem. but whats to hide its just a hurdle in life that one has to overcome and beat and lifes full of them and this is just one of those hurdles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingKade Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 its a brilliant hobby to be involved in and I look forward to your build photos and updates on your health, you,re right you have a long life ahead of you, get on with the kit builds and we,ll be congratulating you in no time.. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingKade Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I,m working on a bit of mdf!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Whybrow Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Good find with the bench. Your determination in beating your illness is inspirational; with willpower like that you're sure to make a good recovery and be flying next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Thanks guys, Believe me I can not wait to start building on it and im going to enjoy every minute of it. I already have a build thread on the go somewhere that I started a couple of weeks ago, its an Antec models extrim 3D. I was building that on back of a solid wood door which was not very convenient but was very flat haha. I really need to get hold of some sheets or a big sheet of cork. glue that to the work bench so when I am pining structures down the pins go through the cork. And flying next season I will be without a shadow of a doubt and hopefully I will have a few scratch builds built by then too, because I do love just building as I go from no plans just off the top of my head. Its surprising how artistic one can be and I find it so much easier to build a model then draw a plan for it rather then trying to come up with a design to then build. Speaking of which here is a model I never got to finish when I broke up with my ex. this was when I had all the tools and room in the world and 3 meters of kitchen worktop to build on with lots of under cupboard storage. Someone some where bought this off my friends ebay because I sold up to a friend who then broke down all the planes and so on and made a hefty profit at my loss. I built the wing but never got round to finishing the airlerons. I did have a picture of it with the elevators on but it seems to have gone walkies. but this model was nicknamed the erection 46 by my friend because the model was built off the top of my head and the engine was an Irvine 46 that was to power it. The thing was light as a feather even though the center of the fus where the wing seats was doubled with ply around the wing seat and then a thin fiberlass cloth layed in soaked in resin to reinforce the whole area. really wish I could have finished it because it really would have been a nice flyer im more then sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiltshire Flyer Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Wishing you the very best mate 👍 you show it who's boss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Day Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Good luck Brent - on both counts. Great idea to get back to modelling. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Plains Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Hi Brent, That's a pretty decent looking workbench from Argos. We have an industrial version of something similar at work. Let me recommend reducing the height of the corners to lower than the top surface, and adding short 45 degree angled braces to each point where the legs attach, where practicable. And also I'll point out that a screw directly through each of the slot in joints, once you've decided on their permanent positions, helps a good deal too (though it may interfere with the sliding drawer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Plains Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Looking at the Argos image again, it may be a good idea to completely board in the back and screw/bolt it in many places, to increase stability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 That's something I will do in time chuck, as for the back panel (peg board) yes I agree it needs a support in the center. it has 5 bolts on either side which are great but the center flexs too easily. The whole framework when assembled is actualy very very sturdy and when I order the 1.5meter bench off ebay to go next to it which is same design just without the peg board and drawer it will get bolted to the bench above for extra support. the 1.5 meter bench will be then the building bench n this one the part makin bench with little band saw bolted to the top and vice which I have just bought. Just dropped on a band saw 45 quid with a brand new blade ready to be fitted because the old one has a tooth missing. other then that its absolutely spotless. so very happy with that purchase because it makes ply formers of any size a piece of cake. aswell as making multiple ribs etc. For once im loving spending the money on tools because it makes the designing and building models so much easier and results in cleaner fitting parts making the build of the model so much more enjoyable. it really opens the windows to this hobby if you have the tools at hand. who needs cnc and laser cutting when the old fashioned way is good enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cardwell 1 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hiya Brent, No modelling just to let you know I'm rooting for you and hope your coping with your treatment, keep us informed your forum mates are behind you. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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