Show us your mancave(s)!

[Ravhin]

I'm so envious of your man cave :

 

[Ferris928]

Very Nice Indeed!!!

 

[Ian]

I was lucky to have a spare room in the house that we hadn't done anything to yet. I'm calling it "The Studio" now, more of a multi-purpose craft room, but still the main modeling area.

Spending a couple days painting and finishing really makes a difference though.

I'm looking at Marmoleum for the flooring, similar to what we did in our bathrooms and kitchen.

 

[TBadger]

What kind of main desk is that and where to you get it ? something similar would be absolutely perfect for my space

 

[Ian]

It's the "Galant" system from Ikea.

I have two T-legs - http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20056915/ and the frame, but made my own mdf top.

You can pick and choose here: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S19852113/#/S19852113

 

[JohnSimmons]

Lovely stuff Ian!

 

[geegad]

that looks like a Professional work shop bud..looking superb

 

[Ian]

Knocked up an inexpensive DIY spray booth this evening, using the box fan + filter approach. Luckily I already had the thick cardboard and protective edges, so put them to good use.

 

[hooterville75]

Ian, although I'm brand new to this hobby, I have done an extreme amount of research on the spray booths. Using a box fan is a bad idea as the fans motor is directly in the line of fire of the fumes. It is as I read a big big fire hazard. You want to get a fan that has a external motor that the fumes don't go through. A Squirell blower or a Axial fan (I believe that's the name, they're for a computer) fan are the ones that work best. Grendels has a very nice tutorial on you tube that explains how to build a nice spray booth and uses a fan that is kind of like a Squirell blower. Might want to look into the fan situation a little bit in regards to the fire hazard. Nice setup though otherwise. Props to your construction skills. You've really did a lot in a short period of time in your man cave. Anxious to see photos of the finished result

 

[Ian]

Appreciate the advice. Since I too am new to this, I decided to go the inexpensive route first with the spray booth, weighing the pro and cons of the box fan. The filter I'm using is fairly dense, more so than the standard dust ones, and at the moment I only plan on spraying water-based acrylic. I am aware that thinning the paint can obviously change its composition.

If the modeling bug sticks I definitely plan on swapping the fan for a fire proof blower.

 

[Grendels]

As long as you are spraying acrylics you should be fine with using a box fan. Just think twice before you spray a lacquer through that setup. The lacquer fumes could eventually eat through the insulation on the wiring for the fan.

 

[steezy]

Looks good, but you'll need to seal off the entire window around the fan to make it effective. Research positive and negative airflow pressure. Basically the fumes will blow back into the room unless you completely seal off everything around the fan. I would suggest scaling down the size of the spray booth and using a smaller exhaust fan with an exhaust hose that can be feed outside the window. Small bathroom exhaust fans are cheap and perfect for a spray booth.

 

[adampolo13]

Ian,

Nothing wrong with going the cheap stuff. That's what I did too. You should be fine spraying acrylics just like Grendels said. Can't wait to see your finished work!

 

[Ian]

Looks good, but you'll need to seal off the entire window around the fan to make it effective. … I would suggest scaling down the size of the spray booth...

Yeah, I got a little out of hand with the size.

 

[steezy]

Looks good, but you'll need to seal off the entire window around the fan to make it effective. … I would suggest scaling down the size of the spray booth...

Yeah, I got a little out of hand with the size.

It will be easier to keep clean if it's smaller. ;D Paint dust can build up quickly. I made mine out of 2x4s and it's about 2'x2'x2'. It's probably bigger than it needs to be and it takes up a lot of space, but it works great. I mounted a window fan on the back and sealed it up around the window.

Your set up will work great with acrylics, but I suspect your going to want to top coat your models to protect all the hard work you put into them. There are acrylic top coats, but I find the lacquer spray cans are the easiest to use. Lacquers wouldn't be safe to use with your set up. A respirator is still always required. Safety first, protect your lungs!

If interested, I posted a video a while back when I made mine. It might be helpful, or it might not be. Since the video I modified the booth to fit better in the window and sealed it up better. Its at youtube, /watch?v=rr-QlMTQp_0

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Actually I think the size of his home made booth is just about right.

Really depends on what you build. If all you build are 1/25 cars, or 1/35 armor, then yeah, something 2'X2'X2' is probably fine, but is someone is a large scale building, ship builder, or aircraft builder, you need something quite a bit bigger.

I have one I built that is centered around a 16" X 24" furnace filter, and is likely 24" high, which is good for most jobs, but for something like a 1/48 B-17 or Lancaster, or 1/72 Vulcan, B1B, etc, etc. I would have to be extremely careful moving the kit around inside the booth as to not bump it off the sides of the booth.

Ian, if it works for you....have at it my friend.

As far as the motor in the fan being an open winding motor and suspect for setting fumes on fire, the one in my booth is a 100cfm bathroom fan, open motor, and I have sprayed enamel, lacquer and acrylics in there with no problems at all. 99% of the time, the thing with people blowing themselves up with that type of motor in their booth is they are using aerosol cans of paint, and it is the propellent in the can that is igniting. The propellent for the most part is much more combustible than the paint is.

Anyone wants to see my home made paint booth, follow the link:

http://public.fotki.com/ScottM/models/paint-booth/

 

[Junkie]

Since I was waiting on shipments I decided to finish the space a little more.

Painted three walls with our off white interior house color "Accolade" and then did an accent wall with our left over front door color. Installed the closet doors (with the help of my Dad), then put up the shelves and installed the air regulator with moisture filter.

That is a nice room....congrats.

 

[KA-22]

8). Room, very nice!

Spray booth?? Need 'duct piece' to window or fumes will spill over! Sorry

Once again Kool room!

Karl.

 

[spud]

Wow Ian that is Fantastic

 

[Ian]

Thanks man!

Now that I've actually begun modeling it's a complete mess, with stuff strewn everywhere. Reworking the spray booth to vent better by installing a 4" pipe to the outside, with a combination of dryer ductwork and a dust removal system. I didn't fancy having the window open to the outside Vermont winter temps of 20 degrees F (-7 C).