Building an assembly table as a gift

[vloood]

Hi everyone!

I'm planning to build a round assembly table with adjustable height and a rotating tabletop on my own — I want to give it as a surprise gift, so I can't ask the "recipient" directly. I don't have much experience with modeling myself, so I'm counting on your advice. I'm especially interested in input from those who build ships, but I'd appreciate any experience.

1. Height. What range of adjustment is needed — minimum and maximum height? I want it to be comfortable to work both sitting and standing.
2. Width (diameter). What size tabletop is optimal so that the model fits with room to spare, but the table doesn't take up half the room?
3. Design with a rotating center section. I'm thinking of doing it like this: the table itself is fixed, and in the center there's a separate rotating platform. You place the ship on it and spin it, while the fixed part around the edges leaves room for tools and supplies. How practical is this in real use? And if this layout makes sense — how much distance should I leave from the edge of the table to the rotating part, so that there's room for tools and the model doesn't get knocked while rotating?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[JacquesCousteau]

It's a very thoughtful gift idea. That said, I feel like a round table is a bit awkward and inefficient--you can't really put it against the wall, there's a lot of lost space compared to a similar rectangular table, you can't push your chair in very far, etc. Maybe a rectangular or square table would work better? The size of the table really depends on the models being built. I model fairly small fishing boats and my largest model is about 15 inches long, someone modeling a large warship model would need a lot more space.

 

[AllanKP69]

I like the idea over all. Consider the largest size ship to be built on it? A fully rigged sailing ship model at 1:48 scale can be about 4 feet long so a table about double the one in your drawings would be appropriate. If the builds are all small scale that table could work very well. If I ever make it to the point of living in an assisted living facility, that table would be a perfect way to stay in the hobby.
Allan

 

[Roger Pellett]

It would seem that this table is aimed at modelers building from plastic kits where fabrication of parts is not required. For me, the major shortcoming would be the raised lip around the table that interferes with mounting a vise.

For apartment dwellers building models in living spaces this might make sense, but in that case I would want the lazy Susan to be removable so the table could be covered with a cloth when not in use.

Roger