Hey everyone, my Glowforge Plus should be here early this week and I’m incredibly jazzed about it! In preparation, I built a workbench in my basement to make a home for the gf. It was a bit of work but I was able to bore a vent through the concrete wall to the outside.
Any tips for a first time user?
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You will probably want to build some operational abilities like lots of short x wide x deep shelves/ drawers as you will have a lot of different sheets up to 24" deep (Glowforge can only take 20" but a lot comes only in 24" lengths that you will find need to store before cutting shorter) then everything you cut will leave large pieces that you will hate to toss out.
Having a scroll saw or band saw allows you to cut off the extra width, and cut all the bigger pieces from the skeleton of what you have cut, but even the smaller pieces will pile up over time so a thought to what will happen with them also needs thought. Many more pieces you will cut 170% of need to put the best together, but want to keep the matching pieces together or similar long thin parts that will want their own bucket to use when those are needed.
Add in screwdrivers, wood files, sandpapers, glues, paint, and various electric sanders etc. The need for work space and storage will expand beyond the space available so planning helps a bit.
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Read everything you can from Tips and Tricks section. There is a lot of great information available.
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Be careful, but have a blast and let your creativity take wings!
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This thread is just what you need:
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These are great tips, thank you! Definitely planning on working on some tool/material storage
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Second the Tips and Tricks recommendation. Probably the single best thing you can do for yourself is spend some time learning the vector and raster design softwares of your choice. Believe me, it will be time well spent.
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There are quite a few topics that talk about workspace prep, tools, materials and other supplies. In the long winter of the beta and pre-release, we had plenty of time to discuss this.
Calipers?
Masking tape?
Magnets (they still are useful) but print the holdown pins right away.
rulers?
CA glue?
Utility knife?
Xacto?
Your place looks great. First thought I was looking at a venting setup, then figured it was waste pipe.
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Ha! That diagonal waste pipe has always been on the list to cut out and move but never got around to it. Good call on the hold down pins, I’ll get that file ready to go! Thanks @marmak3261
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Look for shielded magnets as we have discovered that strong magnetic fields above the work cause problems with any fast moving metal parts (like fans) and you will need these as early as you can preferably of 
maple plywood or 1/8" Baltic Birch if you happen to find some in a hardware, or hobby store.
For non- sources you might find these folks handy as they are among the best price, reliability, and array of species available and you can put the pass through to use as most is 24" long.
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Welcome to the forum. I am wondering what that drain pipe is for and why you would want to put the glowforge anywhere near it.
Hey welcome to the forum. Great advice above, so I’ll just add…if you can, prepare and freeze a few meals ahead of time. 
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Your bench looks great! Good for you building one!
Have fun and be safe!
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Lots covered already! I’ll just say… Have fun! And please share what you make. 
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