Workbench CRASH!

Doug A. Mar 2, 2012

  1. Doug A.

    Doug A. TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well, I guess I'm now a statistic.

    I just moved to a new apartment. Great news: my layout still fits without modification. Good news: there is a neat little cubbyhole inset bookshelf area in the living room that appeared to be just perfect to set up a compact workspace to do some modeling while enjoying the "big TV". Track shelving wide enough to hold my "workbench" which is a wooden tray-type portable modeling area. This neat little tray has been with me for somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 years, and was built as a Christmas present to me by my late uncle Tommy who was a woodshop teacher back then. At the time of the move, it was hosting a quartet of Bowser airslide covered hoppers in the process of being superdetailed, in varying stages of completion. In addition, related tools and materials.

    After adjusting the shelving to an appropriate height to function as a workbench, I placed my work tray on there along with my Ott Light. I had given it the "push down on it hard" test to make sure the shelf was stable before putting anything on it, and everything seemed to be in good order.

    Yet, fast forward about 6 hours, and as I'm watching TV I am startled by a loud CRASH and partial view of the entire production collapsing down in a heap on the floor.

    Amazingly, the damage to the contents was minimal. Best I can tell a few broken "scrap" pieces and one GMM walkway that was bent severely enough that it's probably toast. The Ott Light survived, only losing it's base that was easily snapped back into place. But the ultimate casualty came in the form of the tray itself which apparently took the brunt of the fall. It landed hard onto the collapsed wooden shelf beneath it and at what was apparently a right angle whereby the shelf had the perfect "karate chop" alignment, splitting the dimensional wood making up the actual workspace on the tray CLEAN in two. This is obviously more sentimental to me but still pretty disappointing regardless. I can probably rebuild it but it's not something I have time or materials/appropriate tools to do at the moment.

    I've read about such happenings on the forums for years, and now I, too, have the scars to show.
     

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