We just got our glowforge, and determined that it just barely won’t fit on the same workbench as the 3d printer, nor will it be very ergonomic if it’s up there. So I’m looking for alternatives that are efficient uses of my limited space. I saw some spectacularly appropriate art tables in a catalog, with a big sturdy wooden top and a bunch of extra-wide drawers big enough to put large art paper-- or large acrylic sheets!-- in. Unfortunately, that one was four thousand dollars and sized for a classroom, not a single glowforge. I’ve tried searching for workbench cabinets, and there are some nice ones out there, but they’re almost all a few inches too narrow for the glowforge.
How have other folks solved this problem? I’ve considered getting one of the narrower (18ish inches seems pretty common) workbench cabinets with a solid wood top and putting another, wider countertop on top, but I’m a complete novice at woodworking so don’t really know either how hard that would be to do or just how secure it would be. (And I don’t want to put my lovely new laser cutter on an unstable surface!) I can find a plain old worktable that’s the right size, but having seen the wonders of drawers big enough for materials, it just seems like the perfect solution to my space problem, with the bonus property of being heavy enough to help keep things super-stable. Customizing a table by adding sides and drawers is a bit beyond my current skill levels, though.
Suggestions appreciated! I’m willing to go a little bit outside of “just buy X”, but I have neither skills nor any woodworking tools; if I can’t do it with a drill, a sawzall, or a dremer I probably won’t be doing it any time soon. (Well, or a blacksmith’s forge, but I am so not trying to hand-forge a work cabinet. Just… no.)
For bonus difficulty points, the glowforge gets to live on the third floor of our house, with no elevator. So whatever it is needs to be carryable upstairs and not too heavy to sit on an upper floor, although if it’s sufficiently awesome and not too expensive I might be willing to hire someone to help with it.
The spouse suggested that other people must have solved this problem, so-- what’s worked for you?
If you search the forums there are a ton of threads about this.
That being said, I have mine on a workbench countertop that was already in place, but I added storage underneath in the form of an Alex unit from IKEA. It’s basically a light duty flat file and it works for the bulk of my materials.
Thanks! Ikea recommendations are always very much appreciated. I admit I’m a forum newbie and have found the initial interface for finding things a little confusing, sorry for the accidental duplicate posting.
From the link posted by @evansd2 I see they used an IKEA tv stand, this seems to be a good solution.
I’ve done the same with mine and it just perfectly fits and has space underneath for supplies. Although mine appears to be an older one that I don’t see on their site anymore (old enough I had a CRT and a VCR on it).
One clarification: I don’t have my GF supported by the ALEX unit. The GF sits on a sturdy countertop workbench made from 2x4s and plywood. The workbench is high enough that an ALEX easily slots underneath it as a series of flat drawers for materials.
Could a GF sit on an ALEX? Maybe? You’d need to add a larger top surface, and the casters on the ALEX would probably need to go. If i were going to use ALEXes to support my GF, I’d get two, and place them side by side. Cut a piece of plywood(at bare minimum) to rest across both of them to make a deeper surface for the GF to sit on, and you’re in business. Without the casters it’d be a pretty low surface, but the GF is kind of tall, so it would probably work out pretty well. Lets get the tape measure…
ALEX sans casters: 23.5"
Plywood: .75"
GF: 8.25"
Grand total: your GF top surface would be 32.5" tall. This is barely taller than a regular table, and 2-4" inches lower than the average countertop. If you decided to leave the casters on, that’s another 2.5", but I wouldn’t want the wobble.
ALEXes go for about 115 apiece, so you’re in for about $250-260, all in? Getting pretty close to a rolling tool cart price at that point, so I don’t know if I’d recommend it.
That being said, if you are looking for reasonably priced materials storage, the ALEX works pretty well. The drawers’ interior dimensions are 23.5 x 16.75", easily big enough for a full sheet.
