The Airplane Factory

Two hard weeks of work behind me and one very nice looking airplane factory (IMHO) to show for it. I'm very happy with the way the shop has turned out. I can't wait to get the rest of my tools to fill that toolbox and officially start the build.

In the picture above you see the shop in full airplane building mode. The work bench ended up a stout six feet by three feet. Hopefully enough room for most bench top jobs. I lowered the bottom shelf all the way to the floor to provide for maximum storage. I had wanted to put a thick epoxy coating over the top of the bench to provide some extra durability, but it would have almost doubled the cost of the bench.

With the supplies left over from the main work bench I was able to build a smaller 2'x4' table for the corner. This is where I have placed my drill press, bench grinder and vise. You can just see the corner of it off to the right in the photo above.

The other feature I'm particularly proud of is the collapsible drafting style desk on the wall. This large writing surface is perfect for laying out drawings while working. The wall mounted brackets adjust to fold the desk flat against and at 70, 80 and 90 degree angles to the wall. In the picture the desk is sitting at 70 degrees which for me seems perfect. It also has a piece of plexiglass on it under which I can put handy reference materials.

The last photo shows the shop in "garage mode". One of the main requirements of the shop was that it must be able to house a single car throughout the build process. With the desk folded against the wall, the entire shop fits into the extra 4'x12' area off to the right of the garage door. Now I just have to figure out where to put the air compressor and a belt\disc sander.