Using a rolltop desk as a watchmakers bench?

[Ptarmigan]

Hi,

I like the antique look and although I would love an old watchmakers bench but they seem to be relatively rare these days in the UK.

So I was thinking of getting an old rolltop desk and raising it to the correct height by putting two wooden blocks underneath it. I would get the blocks cut to the correct height.

This would give me lots of drawers and a space to work with sides and back to stop screws escaping. Also if I had a uncompleted project that I wanted to park for a while, I could just roll down the top so it looked tidy.

Can anyone see anything wrong with this idea? Would there be enough light in the working area?

[Robb Ludwig]

Sounds sound enough to me. If you haven't seen it yet, here's the Show your space thread. You can see what other folks use for their workspace. You'll notice lots of lamps on the desks/benches.

[GeneJockey]

Make sure the sides are far enough apart for you to rest both forearms ans your chin on the bench while working on something, without hitting the sides. Beyond that, since it has higher sides than a regular bench, you might lose fewer parts!

[ec633]

The rolltop desk seems a good idea. At the very least, it keeps the dust out. Show a pix when finish , please.

[Samantha]

If you can find one, what's really nice is a rolltop watchmakers bench. I've seen a few, and they're really nice!
Samantha

[Robb Ludwig]

GeneJockey above said that one should be able to "rest both forearms ans your chin on the bench while working on something". This raises an issue for me.

I'm 6'4" tall. But I built my benches to the height suggested by de Carle in "Practical Watch Repairing" which I think is 38". Unless I do serious contortions, or use a different chair that can be adjusted much lower, my chin is nowhere near the top of the bench.

Is this something I should change?

At first I did the low chair thing, but it seemed almost too low, and I had some serious shoulder pains from it. But I'm thinking that could have something to do with being almost 50, and never having sat in a position with my arms elevated like that for long periods.

Thanks,

Robb

[Archer]

GeneJockey above said that one should be able to "rest both forearms ans your chin on the bench while working on something". This raises an issue for me.

I'm 6'4" tall. But I built my benches to the height suggested by de Carle in "Practical Watch Repairing" which I think is 38". Unless I do serious contortions, or use a different chair that can be adjusted much lower, my chin is nowhere near the top of the bench.

Is this something I should change?

At first I did the low chair thing, but it seemed almost too low, and I had some serious shoulder pains from it. But I'm thinking that could have something to do with being almost 50, and never having sat in a position with my arms elevated like that for long periods.

Thanks,

Robb

To determine the proper bench height (which it different for most people) you first need to determine the proper chair set-up. Sit in your chair and adjust the chair height so your feet are flat on the floor, and your thighs are parallel to the floor. That is your starting point and then you can work out the correct height of the top of the bench from there. It will depend partially on what type of arm rests you use - mine angle down for comfort, I'm about 6 feet tall, and my bench top is 41 inches from the floor. If I were to rest my arms on the top of the bench, then I would likely have it lower - if you spend any length of time at all at the bench, having a good ergonomic set-up is important.

Cheers, Al

[ec633]

What you need is a small portable section of table top which can be placed over the low level one. The former can be tailored to suit the comfortable height as required. Just watch you tube on video from high end watch technicians showing the relative position of the arms at rest up as high as the level of the chin.