Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
My lab/workshop is my dining room (it's great being single) and I just went out and bought a very sturdy workbench that was on our auction site from a person just across town. The top was pretty poor and grubby so I just skimmed it with a sheet of plywood and it came up nice. I had to assemble the trestles and the top in the room as it was in pieces as there was no way I could get it through the door, and two of us could hardly lift the heavy top. I recon it could easily support a small car or a couple of truck engines so all the heavy gear I have on it now is well within it's limits. I certainly wanted something strong and deep enough to hold the sort of gear we use plus have room at the front and back of the instruments and found most of the modern workbences were too weak and far too narrow for me. My advice is to make sure you have ample depth in any work bench so you can have power distribution and cables at the back plus space at the front to hold devices under test. Also make sure it is strong enough so you can pile it full of gear and be able to stand on it so you can lean over the back to plug things in and out. I discovered this at my last place of work where we had some benches that started to sag badly so one of my collages designed the bench from hell. It was the sort of over engineered construction that come an earthquake or bomb you rush over to it and hid underneath as that one could probably hold up a truck :-) The bad thing is that they want to replace the carpet in my house so heaven knows how I'm going to shift this thing :-) Steve -- Steve Rooke - ZL3TUV G8KVD A man with one clock knows what time it is; A man with two clocks is never quite sure. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
Solid concrete floors here. I wouldn't have trusted my bench and all the kit I have on it (and under it) on floorboards alone, I'd probably have laid down a thick piece of ply to cover the area under the bench and therefore spread the weight or at least put some pieces under each 4x2 leg. Steve 2010/1/26 Mike Naruta AA8K a...@comcast.net: If the top is a two-person lift, and you are putting all your heavy equipment on it, and you are not on a concrete floor, you may want to align the bench legs with the floor joists or use plates to distribute the weight. :) My shop bench is made from wood from our family's barn. The legs are 6 by 6 inch (15 cm) and the long dimension framing is 2 by 12 inch (5 by 30 cm) and leg brace/foot rests are 2 by 2 inch (5 cm). I had to use threaded rod because the local hardware stores did not have bolts long enough. This wood was old when we purchased the farm in 1953. I built it as a tribute to our old barn. I mounted my father-in-law's big metal vise/vice on it. It is 11.5 inches (30 cm) high and 29 inches (74 cm) from front to back when closed. The screw handle is 7/8 inch (2 cm) in diameter and 16.75 inches (43 cm) long. I was barely able to lift the vise to the bench top to mount it. I also have my father's half-century old Sears vise mounted on the bench. It is 17 inches (43 cm) long (closed) and 11.5 inches (29 cm) high. The vise is in remarkably good condition, especially considering all the projects we used it for. The attached photo shows the bench with the appropriate number of projects on it. Mike - AA8K Steve Rooke wrote: My lab/workshop is my dining room (it's great being single) and I just went out and bought a very sturdy workbench that was on our auction ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. -- Steve Rooke - ZL3TUV G8KVD A man with one clock knows what time it is; A man with two clocks is never quite sure. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
Oh, and I also put up 4x8 sheets of white perfboard all around my workspace instead of drywall, and have various metal hooks to hang cables from. That's been *really* handy. John John Ackermann N8UR said the following on 01/24/2010 01:19 PM: An idea I really like, but haven't had room to implement at my current house, is one that a friend used. Rather than standard 19 inch racks, he used the heavy duty 24 inch deep, 48 inch wide, 60 inch tall shelf units available at home improvement stores -- the ones with the heavy metal frame and particle board shelves that are well supported around all four sides. He had three of these units holding his test gear, with a workbench in front. The shelves were arranged so that the one lined up directly with the workbench with the higher shelves spaced for either a single heavy piece or a stack of lighter stuff. The beauty part is that he had enough room to get around and behind the shelves to work on the rear cabling. Using shelves rather than bolting the gear into racks makes it much easier to rearrange the pieces when the mood strikes. As for myself, I have a couple of racks, a 30x60 metal office table as a workbench, and several wooden equipment carts with casters that a woodworker friend built for me. A picture of one of the carts (with a second partially visible behind) is attached. They are made of heavy-duty plywood with metal frames for the shelves and metal cross braces for stabilization. The top shelf is tilted to allow a better viewing angle. These have worked really well in my fairly small space. John ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
Here's a couple of items from the Make Magazine site: Re-purposing IKEA furniture to hold rack mount gear: http://wiki.eth-0.nl/index.php/LackRack A workshop to dream about: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/01/dream_workshop.html How many hours did that person work to make everything look good for the cameras, and what does it look like in mid project? In my own lab I didn't use Ikea furniture, but I did build a two bay wooden rack. 90% of the gear is on slides or sliding shelves (using drawer hardware), so the wood is not a drawback. The sides and intermediate upright are 2x4 frames with OSB panels glued into dados for strength. Cheers, Keith -Original Message- From: John Ackermann N8UR [mailto:j...@febo.com] Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2010 10:19 AM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches... An idea I really like, but haven't had room to implement at my current house, is one that a friend used. Rather than standard 19 inch racks, he used the heavy duty 24 inch deep, 48 inch wide, 60 inch tall shelf units available at home improvement stores -- the ones with the heavy metal frame and particle board shelves that are well supported around all four sides. He had three of these units holding his test gear, with a workbench in front. The shelves were arranged so that the one lined up directly with the workbench with the higher shelves spaced for either a single heavy piece or a stack of lighter stuff. The beauty part is that he had enough room to get around and behind the shelves to work on the rear cabling. Using shelves rather than bolting the gear into racks makes it much easier to rearrange the pieces when the mood strikes. As for myself, I have a couple of racks, a 30x60 metal office table as a workbench, and several wooden equipment carts with casters that a woodworker friend built for me. A picture of one of the carts (with a second partially visible behind) is attached. They are made of heavy-duty plywood with metal frames for the shelves and metal cross braces for stabilization. The top shelf is tilted to allow a better viewing angle. These have worked really well in my fairly small space. John ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
On 1/24/10 10:43 AM, Keith Payea kpa...@bryantlabs.net wrote: Here's a couple of items from the Make Magazine site: Re-purposing IKEA furniture to hold rack mount gear: http://wiki.eth-0.nl/index.php/LackRack A workshop to dream about: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/01/dream_workshop.html How many hours did that person work to make everything look good for the cameras, and what does it look like in mid project? Where I used to work (a mechanical special effects shop), we used to think about a scheme where you'd have a bench base that supported a removable bench top. The bench top had raised edges on sides and back (so stuff doesn't roll off), and a removable front edge. Then, you'd have a big motorized storage rack for the benchtops. Each project then gets it's own bench top. Work on project 1 for a few hours,then, stow it, and pull out benchtop 2 for the next project. It lets you do things like tape, fasten, or clamp parts to the bench (say, while waiting for the glue to dry or resin to cure). After all, for most projects, the vertical extent on the bench is not very much (maybe a foot or two) but the horizontal extent is great, and preferably not disturbed. What we want in that ideal shop is always lots of benches and tables so you can spread out. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
james.p@jpl.nasa.gov said: Where I used to work (a mechanical special effects shop), we used to think about a scheme where you'd have a bench base that supported a removable bench top. The bench top had raised edges on sides and back (so stuff doesn't roll off), and a removable front edge. Then, you'd have a big motorized storage rack for the benchtops. Each project then gets it's own bench top. Work on project 1 for a few hours,then, stow it, and pull out benchtop 2 for the next project. What do you do when the storage rack is full of cluttered bench tops? -- These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
Hi You get one of those high rise rotating storage gizmos that will store 200 bench tops in an area 40' wide x 30' deep x 600' tall. Bob On Jan 24, 2010, at 2:34 PM, Hal Murray wrote: james.p@jpl.nasa.gov said: Where I used to work (a mechanical special effects shop), we used to think about a scheme where you'd have a bench base that supported a removable bench top. The bench top had raised edges on sides and back (so stuff doesn't roll off), and a removable front edge. Then, you'd have a big motorized storage rack for the benchtops. Each project then gets it's own bench top. Work on project 1 for a few hours,then, stow it, and pull out benchtop 2 for the next project. What do you do when the storage rack is full of cluttered bench tops? -- These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
Hal Murray wrote: james.p@jpl.nasa.gov said: Where I used to work (a mechanical special effects shop), we used to think about a scheme where you'd have a bench base that supported a removable bench top. The bench top had raised edges on sides and back (so stuff doesn't roll off), and a removable front edge. Then, you'd have a big motorized storage rack for the benchtops. Each project then gets it's own bench top. Work on project 1 for a few hours,then, stow it, and pull out benchtop 2 for the next project. What do you do when the storage rack is full of cluttered bench tops? Finally finish a project sounds like a good thing. Or maybe just merge two benchtops not in need of the full space. Work on the low-haning fruit and get satisfaction from completeing something. :) Cheers, Magnus ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
Hi Complete something !! Yikes what a terrible idea. That would involve actually doing all the un-fun things that I've been putting off once the fun stuff was all done. Bob On Jan 24, 2010, at 4:51 PM, Magnus Danielson wrote: Hal Murray wrote: james.p@jpl.nasa.gov said: Where I used to work (a mechanical special effects shop), we used to think about a scheme where you'd have a bench base that supported a removable bench top. The bench top had raised edges on sides and back (so stuff doesn't roll off), and a removable front edge. Then, you'd have a big motorized storage rack for the benchtops. Each project then gets it's own bench top. Work on project 1 for a few hours,then, stow it, and pull out benchtop 2 for the next project. What do you do when the storage rack is full of cluttered bench tops? Finally finish a project sounds like a good thing. Or maybe just merge two benchtops not in need of the full space. Work on the low-haning fruit and get satisfaction from completeing something. :) Cheers, Magnus ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
Bob Camp wrote: Hi Complete something !! Yikes what a terrible idea. That would involve actually doing all the un-fun things that I've been putting off once the fun stuff was all done. Well, it may be a provoking idea to some, but there is a joy in actually having done those other things as well and have a working something. At least, that is what I've heard from friends who say they know someone that had an uncle that did it... maybe I'll try it myself some day. Cheers, Magnus ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
On 1/24/10 2:06 PM, Bob Camp li...@cq.nu wrote: Hi Complete something !! Yikes what a terrible idea. That would involve actually doing all the un-fun things that I've been putting off once the fun stuff was all done. Bob Well, even though we had a fair amount of time to tinker with ideas that might pan out, most of the work was actually for a client and had a defined delivery date (usually in a couple weeks from starting the job). And, of course, it's just like running out of room in the garage. Do you just buy a bigger garage? ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Test equipment / work benches...
Hi rent a bigger storage locker guilty Bob On Jan 24, 2010, at 6:48 PM, Lux, Jim (337C) wrote: On 1/24/10 2:06 PM, Bob Camp li...@cq.nu wrote: Hi Complete something !! Yikes what a terrible idea. That would involve actually doing all the un-fun things that I've been putting off once the fun stuff was all done. Bob Well, even though we had a fair amount of time to tinker with ideas that might pan out, most of the work was actually for a client and had a defined delivery date (usually in a couple weeks from starting the job). And, of course, it's just like running out of room in the garage. Do you just buy a bigger garage? ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
