Making Tight Space Work- Home office desktop mill closet.

Given the constraints of average folks trying to setup a maker space, and accepting the reality that you can’t have a vast dream space to set up shop, you have to get creative and make your existing space work for your needs. With the launch of our Nomad Feet, we thought it would be a perfect time to show off a little space we made for our favorite desktop CNC milling machine. And when we say “little”, we mean it literally. As it goes with most home office spaces, especially for makers, there is never enough space to put all your stuff. Tools, materials, equipment, space to work, space to move around your work, and all the other stuff that goes along with making things, where do you put it all? In our case, we really wanted to keep our Nomad 883 accessible but quiet(er) when running jobs and not out in the garage exposed to humidity. To achieve that, we converted an underutilized closet into a milling station!  

Figure 1.- Closet milling station for mere mortals that make stuff.

Figure 2.- Work surface and pullout drawer.

To start, we repurposed an old counter top that was ripped out of a remodel for a sturdy work surface. After cutting it down to size, it was still bit of a pain to wedge in but with the 45-degree corner relief, it fit in on top of some sturdy 2x4 braces attached to the wall. We added in some electrical to have outlets up higher at the level of the work surface and a bright LED shop light mounted to the ceiling. To conserve the limited space on the work surface, we added an articulating wall bracket for the monitor and mounted to a box made out of scrap wood for the computer to the underside. To make the space even more efficient, we made a custom pullout drawer to mount underneath the work surface. We wanted the drawer to be able to hold more than just a keyboard and mouse. So, we made it strong and deep using ¾” plywood, pocket screws, and dado joints. We splurged on some really nice, beefy 16” Knape & Vogt KV locking sliders to actuate the drawer (maybe a little overkill but they work great).

Figure 3.- The bottom of the pullout drawer. Dado joints and pocket screws make it really strong!

Figure 4.- Box made from scrap for small form factor computer to run Carbide Motion tucked under the top.

If you want to download design files to make a similar drawer, we have a Free Downloads page where you will find: STEP files for the rough drawer design and an STL for a router template we used to make the opening on the front face.   

The nice part about tucking this milling station into a closet is the ability to close the doors to keep both the dust and sound down in the office. By keeping the peripheral computer equipment off the work surface and floor, we could add a toolbox next to the mill and store materials on the floor. With the addition of our rubber Nomad Feet on the bottom of the mill to isolate vibration from the mill being transferred to the work surface, we were able to quickly and easily reduce the sound even more! Additionally, the hard feet of the machine no longer slide around on the hard work surface it sits on. The machine stays right were you put it. It isn’t glamorous but it works! Hopefully, sharing this, along with some free downloads and maybe a set of Nomad Feet will help you “do it better” in your maker space!