Merry Christmas (DIY is Over)

Well here we are, Christmas Eve.  The last major house renovation job of the current projects is complete, the hall, stairs and landing are now fully painted and carpeted with only a few minor finishing touches to add.  A huge sigh of relief was heard when the carpet fitters left yesterday afternoon!  With no major DIY tasks planned for the next few months, I could finally undertake the job that bridged the gap between DIY and model making, creating my new cupboard based workbench.

And here it is:

The eagle-eyed will see that it is a little higher than the artists impression from August, as it became obvious through experimentation that a stool was easier to manage in the space than a chair.  This doesn't worry me, it also creates a good height to stand at for quick tasks.

The basis of the new workbench is a piece of timber furniture board from Wickes, which goes against my recycle-where-possible ethos, but seemed a better option than a piece of contiboard or MDF.  It is certainly solid, more so as it is braced underneath with sections of 20 x 15mm timber, sourced from the 'railway department' stash and bearing 30p price tags from the local hardware store's bargain bin!  The same stash provided 9mm quad bead to go around the edges to catch rogue wheels etc from rolling away.  This is very much a work in progress and is currently being varnished to complete the job.

Finally, from the archives, a 2007 view of the Somerthorpe Miniature Railway...