I'm currently in the process of building a new desk exclusively for my coin hobby. Does anybody have any suggestions on what I should keep in mind when designing my new workspace?
First and foremost IMHO, would be to design it with comfort in mind. Gadgets and options are nice, albeit somtimes critical, but the hours and hours some of us spend on coins can take a toll on your back and neck if the workstation isn't designed well.
With that in mind, I already lowered the desk surface from where the "carpenter" we hired first put it. He had it a good 2-3 inches higher than we had asked for. We dismissed him in a hurry!
Make it a standing desk. Then just get a nice bar stool or chair when you do want to sit. I switched from the sit down desks to standing for my home computer workstation, couldn't be happier since. Sitting for long periods is worse than standing.
Illumination will be important. You want to be able to control the lighting on & around your table. You might also want to have a soft floor covering in case a coin gets dropped. Post a photo when it's completed.
I picked up at a weird surplus store we have here a large piece of matte black padded fabric. It cost about a buck, but is a great multi tasker. Roll it up when not in use, use it as a background for photos, lay it out on the desk when going through some coins to avoid dropping them on the hard surface. I thought it great for a dollar. Its similar to a mouse pad fabric but thinner. Other than that, make sure you have plenty of storage and book space. I know coins are small, but its amazing how much space they start taking up!
I have been working on desk plans for the coin/tying workshop. I envision a combination of this http://www.crestviewcable.com/~archy2/cabinet/cabinet2600.jpg and this http://www.norsemandesignswest.com/desks/desks/15-00.jpg morphed in to this http://www.vermontfurnituremakers.com/members/mosheim/items/scott_flytying_after_ss2.jpg Something with a lot of trays and drawers for coins and feathers.
WoW! I'd like to see YOUR desk when it's done! Btw, what IS that first cabinet called or used for? It's awesome and I want one!
The first is a cabinet that was owned by and housed Geotz's work. Probably one of the neatest contemporary numismatic stories that connects the past artist with today's devoted collector. here is the whole story (photo heavy) http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=6&threadid=686548&STARTPAGE=1 http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=6&threadid=644267&STARTPAGE=3 Here are some smaller cabinets by Peter Nichols http://www.coincabinets.com/ I have the Crozier for my bust coinage and the Annulet for the colonial type set...they are very well made pieces The second and third are fly tying desks from an east coast furniture maker.
That's a great idea. I've often thought it would be great to have some kind of felt-lined tray, with small compartments, for when I am roll searching. What you are describing might work just as good or better and would be much simpler.
Depending on how big a space you have, I'd go with a horseshoe-shaped desk. I used to have one for my graphics design company and it was an incredible space to work on. Everything was easily reached and you have a ton of space.
lighting is key too, make sure your desk will have a spot to either use a clip on light or something, im not sure what kind of lights you use but make sure you have room for it.
Important feature is being able to turn each of the lamps on & off independently An "L" shape desk is what I put together. This gives me room for a laptop, loose coins, open reference book(s), and open coin album(s). [I actually spend more time standing (working on coins) at a very long bar-height table in the same room]. Back to my original post above, lighting is really important. I've ended up with several different types of lights & my set-up is far from ideal. IMO the important feature is being able to turn each of the lamps on & off independently.
Are you planning on having a laptop or lots of electronics stuff on your desk? Not sure if you're going to but these things takes up a ton of space. When I was re-doing my desk I had to switch everything to wireless to create more space.
food for thought Everyone here has given some good advice on this thread. Getting power to everything can be a chore. For the laptop, I purchased a 2nd power supply and hard-wired it to the underside of the table. The wires are hidden under the table top & there's a convenient power hook-up for the laptop. Just food for thought.
you should make your main top drawer very shallow and fully padded then you will always be able to have a place to look at coins without getting up from your desk, and not worry about dropping them (even when your desk top is full) by just opening a small drawer or even like a bread board like I have done on a dozen desks that I have built over the years and they were used for extra writing space and or course none were padded. I would suggest that you use full extension glides on all drawers and heavy duty full extension glides if you do big drawers. Its easy to add up a lot of weight when collecting coins. you should mount it to the wall as well. Be sure to keep in mind everything you want to fit into the drawers always allow finger space to grab items out of drawers. There are tons of add on items for desks like, for keyboards I like the pull out hidden keyboard & mouse pad that mount under desk top there are arms that fit on top and hold keyboards but the first ones work the best. The other thing I would tell you is to give yourself the option to be able to lock one or all of the drawers. Building your own furniture kitchen etc... is the best made perfectly for you and by you!!! Good Luck on your Build
