New light duty electronics workbench for office.

Rob Keeble

Member
Messages
12,633
Location
GTA Ontario Canada
I have been milling lumber for a another smaller custom purpose workbench. This time i want want in my office behind me and my desk. I dont have a plan. Yeah my typical way of doing things. I do enough planning in my normal work so i like to go ad hoc to some extent.

Here is a link to the idea and concept i am using with some variations.

https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1406

My bench will be 2x4 and most likely be two of them. Screw together once in situ.

But i have some IKEA wine rack shelves left over from our old cold room at prior house that i will repurpose to use for bin storage on the side of one bench. Will also deploy as a L shape to make use of corner. Office is tiny not small.

Will use height to have double shelving above bench. Will add lighting under first shelf. Add pegboard on rear and some on side.

Also will add foot rest on rail between two side rails.

Part of my plan is to move to sitting on a stool an not flat with legs at 90 degrees. Want to try get to standing. So have plans to modify my cheapo Ikea desk and raise it to same height after. This way one stool in room can serve as seating for either work side or hobby side.

Some prior inefficient IKEA storage units are possibly going to be trashed they look acceptable but i aint into looks right now more efficient functional use of space. They going to get cleaned out too some of the stuff needs to go in a tote for the once in a blue moon need. Heck when last did you burn a DVD? Or reload all the programs you have on your computer. So they dont need to be on hand.

Going to keep a place for fly tying, I have in mind to tie a few flys this winter and see if in spring a fish will take my own fly. Thats what i am hoping for and telling myself.


Plan for legs is to take 2x4 which i have already cut down to 3" and squared up and planned and then cut a 45 through middle of 3" and join with glue at right angles making a think looking corner shaped leg.

Aprons are going to be some 1" maple i got real cheap that is rough cut (had to cut damaged bits off) and ready for front top rear and side as well as lower rear and sides.

Top is to be Birch ply that i already had and was in corner before on two filing cabinets but was not working out as extra work surface. So thats already cut. Need an additional piece for second bench.

Shelves that will mount on rhs of bench using Ikea wine racking will be supported by 1.24x1.25 ex 2x lumber cut squared up and planned.

Going to add a bar somewhere to support rolls of wire and perhaps a dedicated location for new scope and other instruments so they dont clutter bench or shelf.

Have extra long power strip bar something like this http://www.harborfreight.com/12-outlet-4-ft-metal-power-strip-62504.html that will be used for power.

Will try to take some pics along the way but depends if i remember lol. Nothing really special.

Oh assembly will be pocket hole screws for speed and its light duty so i think highly appropriate.
 
I was just thinking the other day I needed a dedicated cabinet for all my electronic project supplies.

I have something a little different in mind, more of a rolling cabinet that I would have drawers in for storage, and room to store my soldering station and stuff on.

Really like the idea of a dedicated area though.
 
The related question is what about small parts storage? Both fly tying and electronics both want a fair bit of it. I have a couple of the plastic pull out drawer things at the side bench I use mostly for such things but haven't ever really been in love with them.
 
As for me, I'm going to make up a cabinet that will allow me to use a bunch of those plano organisers to store small parts.

Like these

4fe40ebc-24e0-46f3-b9e2-b279d88ef563_400.jpg
 
Great project Rob, it will serve you well for years, but... are you sure you are not procastinating? Is this the project you "have" to do instead of another one that don't dare to start? LOL;):p;):D

Since you posted about procastinating I have some sort of fixation and just keep on asking myself the same question.:eek:
 
not much to add to your design. It looks typical to the type of benches we used when I was in the industry back in the 70's and 80's( Yes I know I am old but but at least we used transistors and later IC's not vacuum tubes) . I was in Harbor freight and saw these . You might want to put a couple of them along the front or the back .
 
Looks like it will be a great bench to have. I've invested heavily in those $1 plastic shoe boxes from HD, but have a bunch of the plano boxes as well. I've recently started buying the yellow and black cases from HF, they have removable bins which make it easy to move things around inside to keep grouped items together as I add to them. Looks like I'll be stopping over there this week as they are on sale.

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/part-storage/15-bin-portable-parts-storage-case-93929.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/part-storage/abs-storage-organizer-95807.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/part-storage/19-bin-portable-parts-storage-case-93928.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/part-storage/8-bin-portable-parts-storage-case-93927.html
 
Rob,

I bought this kit at my local Daiki DIY store. Chromed steel. I can move my chair up and put my feet on the carpet on the bottom "shelf".


Desk.jpg


The black boxes with blue tops have trays in them for small parts.

Not "woodworking" but cheaper than buying the wood and it works.... LOL!

Good luck,

Greg
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the tip Greg. Good to see you popping in. Hows the new shop coming along, last i recall it was a empty garage at the new house.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
Rob,

Thanks...

Unfortunately, the garage is still packed! The Spring and Summer were not good weather wise to be able to get inside and do some organizing. Miserably hot and humid. Hopefully this Fall I can do something..

Full with car.jpg



Full garage.JPG

Greg
 
Well i made some progress this weekend on this project.


please note this is like building the house that jack built story.



first i had to sort my saw alignment out which meant a full day of fussing with TS and making a Bradley jig. ;) to help do the job properly.



Then i needed to sort out a ZCI that i could use for bevel cuts so that meant making some Zcis. (proof in different post.)



Then i decided given i was planning to cut loads of borg pine 2x4 which could twist and turn any way it liked i would not be safe without the rip fence. So you can see that project in another post under jigs.




Finally deep breath.....i got cracking on the legs for the two benches. So today i got busy cutting the lumber glue up at 45 degree i wanted and planned them all to same size either way. Previously i had cut up some maple so we getting close.

uploadfromtaptalk1443402382437.jpg

Also managed to plane up and cut some cherry strips for use on the edge of the ply i plan on using for the top and got them glued to two edges before i had to call it a day.
uploadfromtaptalk1443402396181.jpg
Oh and in the midst of all this i knocked out a pair of fold up saw horses to have an outside
uploadfromtaptalk1443402567164.jpg
Phew i am bushed. Now i got to do some assembly.
Getting close.....
 
Last edited:
Looking Good Mr. Keeble. I like the looks of those sawhorses. I've got too many sets of feeble ones that are destined for the fireplace this winter.

Those look like they might actually hold up!
 
Ha those sawhorses are made from absolute junk material. They actually can fold to nothing. Not my design ...forget where i got the plan. will do a post on them later in week. I made them as i was feeling rather cheap. Local Hd wanted $70 odd for a pair of the fold up plastic ones. I refused to pay that for plastic so turned to the scrap pile. Nothing special.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
I use the shelf one, because I found it on sale one day. I added a piece of plywood for a desk, extension and also gives me a place for one of those lighted magnifiers.
I'd like to do one in another place and maybe sell that shelf and am considering some of the instructables or designs that use jacks, to make it height adjustable (sit down/stand up desk), with shelves built into the wall.
Point being, until you start to use one, you will always find things you didn't think of.
 
well first bench is done ....now for second and shelving.....

Thanks Jim D for the Lv caster tip. Just the ticket for what this needs.

uploadfromtaptalk1443986637820.jpg

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
Now i am bushed this is the second one next for shelves but that will have to be another day. :)

uploadfromtaptalk1443999353562.jpg

Had a real nice workshop weekend. Just wish my jointer was working here it would make it so much better. :( but i am not complaining got er done which is important to me.


Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
Top