Dave, I am afraid my sense of style isn't going to be as good as yours. Industrial Clutter is my style. I am building my new bench as follows: Two of those red 30" tall Automotive toolboxes, with wheels, the kind with the one inch tall, 27 inch wide drawers, will sit on either side, with a solid core 30" X 6'8" oak door bolted to the top. This is my "poor man's antistatic top". A 36" door is too wide, my skinny little arms can't quite reach the back of it without an uncomfortable stretch. There will be a hefty Panavise bolted to one corner, with a smaller panavise bolted to a heavy piece of steel on rubber feet that can move around the bench but won't slide. This panavise also has a holder for my smoke absorber fan. On both right and left sides will be two tall steel cabinets to hold instruments and meters and bulkier parts stock, test fixtures and the like. The Right side will have a space for a scope cart. The bench is bolted onto on wheeled toolboxes so it can roll. Everything should be on rollers if possible for a quickly reconfigurable shop. Also helps in cleaning up if you have frequent floods, which we seemed to in my last shop. (don't ask) Behind the bench is a steel shelf. The shelf underneath the bench, accessible only by crawling, is for backstock and infrequently used items. The first shelf above the bench is for meters and instruments. The next shelf is 12" above the bench, and will sport a wiremold plugmold with an outlet every 6". There will be a dedicated 120V and 240V outlet on separate circuits, all outlets on GFI's. Everything should turn off with a single switch, which will operate a pilot relay. The second shelf above the bench is for the ubiquitous acro-mills bins, which I just reorganized, on the right, and a smaller tool drawer on the left. The tool drawer is a wooden model, with many smaller drawers for small tools, unlike the automotive toolboxes below, the drawers are an inch deep and 6" wide. Each wooden drawer has some custom dividers I folded up out of sheet metal (having worked in a toaster factory, I had access to all the scrap chrome plated steel I wanted, so these are made of chrome plate!) to divide the various kkinds of screwdrivers and such. Having once kept my tools in a file drawer, I am done with chucking all the tools in a big pile with the test leads and cords! Each tool should have a place. I may also take Herbert's suggestion and make one of the first shelves sloped for holding documentation. This always tends to get buried rightaway when I start a project. I am unsure as to whether to have a dedicated place for a computer. My development computer is a laptop, and does not take up much benchtop space. I haven't desided if this is going to be an "ELL" shaped workstation or just a bench along a wall. There will be an extra light fixture right above the bench plus a magnifier light. -- Lawrence Lile, P.E. Electrical and Electronic Solutions Project Solutions Companies www.projsolco.com > -----Original Message----- > From: Dave VanHorn [mailto:dvanhorn@dvanhorn.org] > Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2004 8:35 PM > To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. > Subject: Re: [OT:] Workspace organization > > At 09:08 PM 9/19/2004, steve@tla.co.nz wrote: > > >> I have decided on one thing, I want to use a big, somewhat nasty > >> looking open ceramic and copper knife switch to control the room > >> lights! > > > >You need to have it switch a BIG contactor in a rattly metal cabinet. > >Maybe add a speaker in the bottom with suitably shaped hum generator > >(as seen/heard on "Back to the Future") and little bit of light dimmer > >modulation to get the total effect. > > Well, I'm trying to achieve a style and look, without spending any > significant money on it, that is somewhat visually appealing. > > It's amazing how little there is out there on electronic workbenches and > workspaces, beyond cubicles, and very overpriced industrial benches. > You'd think that nobody else on the planet actually does this stuff! > > > >Steve. > > > >PS. We had a Schaffner test setup that did all that for real and made big > >sparks too. > > I have my own version, that is rather more energetic than the Schaffner, > but I can turn it down.. > > _______________________________________________ > http://www.piclist.com > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > > --- > Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.762 / Virus Database: 510 - Release Date: 9/13/2004 > --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.762 / Virus Database: 510 - Release Date: 9/13/2004 _______________________________________________ http://www.piclist.com View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist