I built myself a jewelry bench out of scrap pieces of lumber and an old dinner table I found on the side of the road to start my jewelry journey. It has served me well, but I have designs and an interest in a larger bench that has a bit more space to work.
I’m curious if anybody has any input on using a rolltop desk as a base for the project. I really like how the rolltop desk has a lot of storage and I can either make it a classical jewelers height or a setters height. I currently use both a bench pin and my homemade bench mate. The bench mate I use with a microscope and I would love to get an engravers ball at some point, but I don’t see that happening in the near future.
I’m planning on welding up a frame that I can attach to the ground and fill with sand for weight. Because I have all of the tools needed to build in both wood and metal. I can make adjustments later and/or build in features at the outset, but I would love to add to my design from your wisdom.
Here is a picture of the roll top desk as it is now
Over the years my bench has been parts from an old picnic table, a discarded teachers desk, a section of bowling alley and even a card table when we were building our house. You make due. This desk looks like a great start. Once you start using it, you will figure out what needs to be modified. Fifty years later, I am still making modifications to my piece of bowling alley…Rob
Brennan,
Great Project! I have often thought that a Rolltop Desk would make a great Jeweller’s Bench, though with this one you have to be careful not to put anything too tall towards the front, if you plan on closing the top. You also have to consider the placement of your Bench Light, your Flexshaft Pole-Hanger and Microscope if you do intend to close the top (since most often they are mounted to the Benchtop), though it does look like the top of the Desk is flat for the Light and you could always do a side-mount for your Flexshaft, I’m not sure about how you would mount a Microscope. As far whether to use it at Classic Jeweller’s Height or Stonesetter’s Height, why not both? Leave the Desktop alone and since you will be building the Bench’s base, why not build a Heavy-Weight Pullout, Fold-Up or Swing-Out Shelf for your future Engraver’s Ball? I would also encourage you to build as many Drawers as you can on both sides, you can never have enough Drawers with all the little bits & bobs and tools that we Jewellers use…
Anyway, many antique Clockmakers and some Watchmaker’s Benches were Rolltops, as it was very important to keep dust off of the Movements and other precision parts, since most Workshops could be quite dirty at times. I’m pretty sure that I’ve even seen a few antique Rolltop Jeweller’s Benches too, though they may have just been converted Clock/Watchmaker’s Benches or a custom-made piece, either way, they are all truly wonderful!
Good luck on your Project, I’m sure that you will receive a lot of great advice here on Gonoksin!
Jonathan
The average desk is about 30" tall and the average jeweler’s bench is about 38" tall. That said there is no right answer with bench height. It’s definitely a matter of personal preference, including how tall you are and what kind of chair that you have. Many folks who build jeweler’s benches out of desks create some kind of risers to raise up the desk height.
I know for me I like having options with working height. I rely heavily on the GRS adjustable height bracket.
Another factor with a desk is creating a catch tray. There’s been a number of threads talking about different ways to create that.
Do you think that you want to make a circular cut out to correspond with whatever you use for a catch tray? That will be another decision.
Most desks have a thinner top than jeweler’s benches. GRS makes a steel mounting plate for this situation. You’re pretty innovative and will probably want to make your own, but this is what I’m talking about.
Here’s a couple of old threads about making a bench out of a desk.
Looks like a beautiful desk! You’re going to have fun with this!
Hi,
if i were to make only a few suggestions it would be:
build a shelving unit for on top of the bench for bur boxes, and, hand tools, like scribe, ruler, divider, tweezers etc…
use wooden bur boxes for each category of burs, attachments like drills, burs, sanding, polishing, buffing, etc …mark holes with bur size…keep one size set in box, and backup bur packs in bur storage box
use plastic containers to store and separate compounds
use aluminum strip to make plier holders…miter corners, bend and screw in place
i added the top shelving after the fact…had to make two units with a space in the middle so that my dazor light could be lowered and raised…
my metals bench is small and my bench top is only 20” deep, so i am able to reach all but the uppermost top while in a seated position
my studio is very small and so i make maximum use of vertical space…
this has freed up my bench top (i am a clean freak and always keep things put away when not in use…i use plastic fishing tackle boxes to store tools, files, etc and keep them stacked in rolling cube units to the side of my bench
Good advise by the members. I would add a couple. First don’t worry about the top of your roll top being a limiting factor. you can have a shelving unit built for the top shelves that is framed on the outside of your desk. Think of it as a wooden coat wrapped around your desk. Just have it made a few inches above the roll top itself. That way you can still use the roll top feature. I wish I had that to keep my cats off of mine when I’m not working. Next would be the height. Since I’m being scheduled first for hip replacement then knee replacement before I can finally have my back fixed I can’t emphasize how important the correct posture is. My compromised bones are not due to incorrect posture but a drug interaction. I use to be so careful not to harm my back, but you never know what will happen. Now I can only sit for about an hour at my bench before the pain has me nearly crying. You want to keep your back very straight, and for those of us with our appendage pair higher keep your shoulders down, and your chest thrust out forward. As you sit in this position, think of how you could roll your pants pockets under your butt. Doing this you will feel very good. Problem most people have is we have weak ab muscles. That position is hard to hold for long unless you are a exercise buff. So what do you do? Sit at your desk and write something or a extended period of time. Feel what is happening with your back. Try various heights to see what works best for you and keeping your back as straight as possible. A lower chair helps, so does use of the extended arm rests some desks have. If I could go back to when I was a teenager, I would have gotten and kept over time a rock hard abdomen. Best of luck with your new bench. Keep the pictures coming.
i started by sitting with my feet flat on the floor, then adjusted bench height from there…i ended up stacking some wood strip under the bench legs until i figure out the best height…easy to do…
and next i would mention proper positioning of lighting to avoid shadows…i posted something about this awhile ago…with illustrations…lighting ergonomics or some such…
Brennan,
As far as needing a better chair, that will definitely help you and instead of buying an inexpensive chair, I would like to suggest going to your local Office Design Business and ask them if they have any Used Office Chairs (Swivel Type with Arm Rests and Wheels) that were returned or given to them by their clients. The vast majority of them will and some really nice, expensive ones too - I purchased a $375.00 Office Chair for $50.00 and it’s in near perfect condition and it has more features on it than my Car Seat does - the Arm Rests are even Adjustable - in and out and up and down! Anyway, give it a try, the worst that can happen is that they tell you no or try to sell it to you for more than you want to pay… Good Luck!
Julie,
That’s funny: “…after you sit and make your feet flat, cross your legs…” this is how I sit most of the time while I’m working, I sometimes even curl my legs thru and around the chair’s forked base too! Several of the other Jewellers that I worked with and for over the years, always shook their heads at me when they’d walk by…
As far as my Sweeps Tray is concerned, I will usually “wedge” my legs up under the bottom shelf that the sweeps tray rests on, using the adjustable height on my chair and that way I am a lot more stable and find myself “swaying” a little less while doing certain techniques… One of the many odd little things that I’ve been doing almost my entire (25+) years as a Bench Jeweller and even now that I’m no longer working for a Jewellery Store. We Jewellers sure can have some peculiar ways of doing things at times…
Jonathan
Hi!
Cool! you look busy! no mistakes! its your bench!
my suggestions would be:
scraps containers:
clean sheet
clean wire
castings
bits with solder
sweeps
-possibly a hole drilled at back of sweeps drawer, with a container attached/screwed beneath to collect sweeps
i use a flat plastic painter thingy as a sort of dustpan, to sweep onto, using a bench brush
-possibly get a dust collector/ fish mouth for back of sweeps drawer (with a hole for hose) (i bet you could magiver one with a shop vac, some vacumn hose, plumbing connectors, and wood!)
vertical shelving at back of bench
with pullout boxes to store bagged supplies (i use old wooden cigar boxes (with the slide off lid- i do not use the lids)
to store bottles, jars when not in use
to store less used items
thrift store stuff:
-wooden wine rack can be used for use for mandrels
-ceramic kitchen utensil holders make good holders for sanding sticks, rullers, scissors, mallets, etc
old pan lids make great pitch bowl covers
old baking pans make great trays
cut jumbo straws in a can/ jar keep needle files, tweezers, picks, and other hand tools separated safely
because i cannot survive in clutter, i am a clean freak…my love for containment and elevation is really just to facilitate easier cleaning! haha!
and something i started decades ago, while attending various classes…so i would be sure not to leave tools behind…
plastic Plano fishing tackle boxes are a great uniform/ stackable storage solution:
they have lids, so items stay clean
they have adjustable compartments, to keep tools separated and to keep them from moving around/ rubbing against each other (ie: to protect file teeth, points on scribes and dividers, exacto knives (wine corks!), etc…saw blade tubes…mini mandrels…scrapers…etc
they are great for backstock of flexshaft attachments (silicone wheels, buffs, sanding discs, abrasive points, etc
i probably love making storage and tools more than actually making jewelry, haha!
I love this advice. Thank you. I’ll endeavor to add as many as possible because I can see the value of all those suggestions. Thank you.
I decided to (as is my nature) get on with it and cut the roll top and plop it on the existing wooden base. I’ll definitely weld up a new metal base and thicken the top but this lets me test the ergonomics before that project.
I want to rig things so the roll top can close of course…
Anyway, give it a try, the worst that can happen is that they tell you no or try to sell it to you for more than you want to pay… Good Luck!
