After many months of fruitless searching for the perfect old (and cheap) desk to make into a FrankenBench, I decided to just buy the cheapo one from Otto Frei (ships for less via FedEx or UPS!)
It's actually a lot nicer than I thought it would be. Sure, it's not solid hardwood, except for the top, but I made sure to make it sturdy by gluing it together as well as using the screws that were provided. It's small enough to move easily, so I don't think I'll ever need to take it apart. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself there.)
No, the drawers didn't come in that color. Originally I had wanted to just stain it a bit darker, but testing on the drawers informed me that that was a bad decision. So, since I had to do something to cover that mess, I spray painted them in my favorite color - aquamarine.
No torch setup, as you can see, as I can get along quite well still with a little microtorch.
Where I really splurged though, was on a benchmate system. In this way, I have a bench pin, setting block, and soldering surface/third hands that are all interchangeable and can sit right beneath my nose where I need them. And when I upgrade to a better bench, well it can come right along.
Been sketching a bit, hoping to get a new brand/line off the ground. What amazed me, though is how difficult it was to find 1mm graph paper. I had to order it from England!
