Book Reviews, Thoughts, and Random Interesting Ideas

If you’ve been following along, I’m at the end of my rock polishing hobby bench series of posts. The first post was the wall I built, the second was my industrial/steampunk inspired light (made of pipe), and now, the final product, the workbench itself. In keeping with the industrial look, I used pipe to build the base, 2X6 lumber for the top, and mounted all my toys for polishing rocks and gemstones.

The bench base:

Let’s start with the base. I used 3/4” pipes and pipe nipples to create a sturdy foundation for the top (important because I don’t want it to collapse). The entire base is just under ten feet long and about twenty-four inches wide. I built it to accommodate a barstool height chair and it works perfectly. Just the right height to work the stones.

Here is the base after I painted it black to match the light (got to be coordinated, you know).

The bench top:

The top, as I mentioned above, is made of 2X6 lumber. Nothing fancy, just off the shelf interior pine boards. I used my pocket hole jig to create screw holes to join the boards together (makes it sturdier, I think). I sanded it lightly, mostly to remove the markings from the boards, then put it on the floor, top side down so I could attach the base. Below is the assembled top.

I attached the base using 1 5/8” drywall screws through the flanges I installed on the top of each nipple. Nice and secure. Then, I asked John, my rock hunting companion and brother, to help me move it into the basement (which meant taking it across the lawn and through the basement door, rather than trying to take it down the stairs inside). Once we got it there, we centered it on the wall and that was that!

The equipment:

I cut a hole in the top for my Highland Park cabochon drive belt to pass through and reach the motor that I mounted below the bench. I built a small belt guard to keep things from getting caught up in the belt (safety first), and drilled a few holes for water and drain lines. In addition, I mounted my Rock Rascal next to the HP equipment. Of course, I left room for faceting equipment (one day). I also added a variable speed bench grinder with a felt polishing wheel for final buffing of the stones.

At the very end of the bench, I left space on the wall for my homemade flat lap. Now all my toys are in one place, and it’s easy to move from one to another. I even added some anti-fatigue mats on the floor, just for comfort when I’m standing up on the hard concrete.

The final product:

There you have it! The final step of the project. I’ve used it a lot since I finished it and everything works just as I wanted it to. Overall, a fun project that wasn’t too difficult, and I’m sure it will keep me busy with the rocks I’ve collected.

What do you think? Any suggestions to improve it? Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or Pinterest and let me know! Happy rockhounding and rock polishing!

You recall my post about my rock polishing hobby workbench, where I built the wall I needed. Today’s post is about the light fixture I built to shine light on my projects. Read on for the details!

The building of the light fixture:

I like the look of some of the industrial fixtures I’ve seen, so I decided to make my light from metal piping and paint it black. Here are the fittings I started with:

I had to work out the dimensions before I bought the piping, how the fixture would mount to the wall, and where the wires had to end to ensure I could get power to the lights. I also wanted to have the fixture wired to a switch to make it easy to turn on and off. All of that went into the design. I assembled it, wired each socket, and ran the wires for power.

After getting it assembled and the wires pulled, I wired it temporarily in my garage so I could test it. Guess what? It worked!

I mounted it to a 2X4 so I could paint it. It kept the fixture upright so I could get all sides of it painted. I also made sure to put tape over the sockets to keep paint out of them. I think it turned out nicely.

Installation:

Mounting it on the wall was a little awkward given the length of it, but I used a couple of 2X4s to hold it at approximately the height I wanted, then loosely screwed it into the studs on one end and in the middle. I ran the wires through the wall and then tightened everything and removed the 2X4 supports.

When I had the electricians wire the wall, I asked them to put a wire from the switch to a junction box for me to connect the fixture. I made sure I turned off the breaker (safety first!) before I wired it. I pulled the fixtures wires into the junction box and connected them to the power wire the electricians left me. Once I had it wired and the junction box cover installed, I closed the breaker and flipped the switch and there was light!

The finished product:

I added some Edison light bulbs in keeping with the steampunk-inspired industrial look, and left the air ducts, AC coolant lines, and joists exposed to add to the look. I like the way it turned out and it gives me 300 watts of light over the workbench. Seems like a lot, but since the workbench will be ten feet long, a lot of light is needed.

What do you think? Connect with me on social media and let me know. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest. You can also email me at bill@williamlstuart.com.

As my readers know, I enjoy many different hobbies and interests. Writing my books, reading and reviewing other authors, submarines, gold prospecting, and, of course, rockhounding and hunting for gemstones are among them. As I’ve accumulated rocks, I need a place to work on them. If you’ve read the blog for any length of time, you’ll recall my post about my rock polishing toys. I decided to build a workbench in my basement to accommodate all of them, plus a little room for more toys. In order to do that, I started with the wall!

Before the Wall:

My basement is partially finished, so I decided to use a portion of the unfinished basement for my rock hobby area. Here is a picture of the unfinished wall I started with:

Wall Construction:

I had to sheetrock the wall, which was a new skill for me. You can see from the picture above that I used a strip of wood to hold the upper sheets in place (since I was doing it myself) while I screwed it to the studs. Worked great!

Getting the lower sheets done was a lot easier and before long, I was ready for tape and mud! I’m glad I did some research about staggering the joints.

Here is the finished wall! I decided to paint it white to reflect as much light as possible. Since I don’t have any windows on that side of the basement, natural light wasn’t an option.

Electrical:

Of course, I had to have power for the equipment. I contracted that part out. I probably could have done it since I have a background (from many years ago) as an electronics tech and a maintenance electrician, but it has been too many years to be up to speed on the electrical code. I laid out where I wanted the outlets, though, and had them installed at four feet above the floor. That way I didn’t have to crawl under the workbench every time I had to plug in a toy. I also made sure I had plenty of outlets on a dedicated circuit. I even made sure to include the GFCI outlet since the toys require water and water and electricity don’t play well together. It pays to plan ahead!

This was only the first step in the project. The next step will be the light fixture. I won’t give away much about it, but it gives me the light I wanted (plus it looks cool)! Stay tuned for it!

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