Even cheaper and less work than plywood - solid wood doors from Home
Depot, laid across a rectangle using 2x4 as horizontals with 4x4 as
legs.
It you use lag bolts (and you should, as nails work loose over time),
you can take the things apart when you move.
My buddy has a few that all his milling machine parts sit on, and
they haven't sagged.
Ask if they have any scratch and dent doors for really cheap.
Tom Frank, KA2CDK
On Jan 24, 2010, at 10:03 AM, Bob Camp wrote:
Hi
If you are looking for massive tables on the cheap, you can indeed
build them. Have the local Home Depot rip some plywood to an
appropriate width and glue four sheets one on top of the other.
2x4's or 4x4's make fine legs and support structure under the table
top. I have 16 feet of it sitting in the basement. No test gear on
it at all. Other hobbies seem to have taken over the entire space...
The only real drawback is that it's a build in place item. You
aren't going to take it with you when you move. There are various
versions of that table scattered all over the US.
Bob
On Jan 23, 2010, at 7:48 PM, Mike Feher wrote:
I also had similar problems with my 8 ft tables for my test
equipment. I
found at Home Depot replacement fold down legs. I bought some, and
installed
them right in the middle of the tables. No more sagging problems.
I had to
shorten the legs somewhat as they were a few inches too long. But,
have
supported hundreds of ponds for many years now with no sigh of
warping/sagging. 73 - Mike
Mike B. Feher, N4FS
89 Arnold Blvd.
Howell, NJ, 07731
732-886-5960
-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-
boun...@febo.com] On
Behalf Of John Miles
Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2010 7:38 PM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Test Equipment
Another important aspect of the electronic test bench is the
furniture.
I started with the cheapie particle board "fold up legged" tables
and
very soon
learned they could not hold much weight without significant sagging.
If you have the space, you could do what I do, and bolt multiple
folding
tables together with 'L'- and 'T'-shaped flat metal brackets. The
idea,
besides adding surface area, is to dampen the tables' tendency to
wobble.
This adds a surprising amount of stability and load-bearing
capacity. It
completely eliminates the need to add a center leg, which is
otherwise
pretty much mandatory when using folding tables.
With cheap folding tables, you don't have to feel bad about
drilling into
your workbench or otherwise marring and gouging it. Every few
years, or
when you move, just throw the old folding table away and spend
$39.95 on
another one. Voila, a brand new workbench.
Many industrial equipment catalogs will give you an idea of the
accessories possible.
Shelves, drawers, electrical outlet strips.etc.
An effective infrastructure will allow the test bench to
gradually grow,
as the budget allows.
Also, HP/Agilent equipment racks are sometimes available on eBay.
These are
nothing like the relay racks or server racks that you commonly see
in data
centers. They are *stout*. They're very expensive when new, but
almost
free for the shipping when bought used. I used generic shelving
units to
hold test equipment for a long time, but once you use real racks,
you won't
go back.
An Agilent E3662A/B rack can hold up to 81 EIA units of gear
weighing up to
1800 pounds. I have three in my living room and wish I had more...
-- john, KE5FX
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