Whats your Work-Bench/lab look like? Post some pictures of your Lab.

[TiN]

Kilovolt gods need a sacrifice to be happy and not unwrap their wrath on the owner.   

[Vgkid]

I don't see anything on that bench that would take kindly to 20kv 

[PartialDischarge]

I don't see anything on that bench that would take kindly to 20kv 

Oh, Im not there yet. I have 5 x1000 probes rated anywhere from 12kv to 40kv. Besides I have a number of ceramic resistive 1:10000 dividers, around 550Mohms, that will take 50kV+ with no problem, if submerged in oil or epoxy of course as they are not that big.

And I forgot the not very well known HP 11039 capacitive voltage divider

Hey, it may be a very old scope, about to be sent to its death against a 20KV foe, but that's no reason to torment it so. Incorrectly compensated probe on the test square wave output, and the ground clip not connected. Hence non-square display. It hurts the eyes, and offends the scope-gods.
Otherwise, nice bench.

Well I'm just probing the LV section first. The 182C itself is a repair-in-process. I already fixed a broken internal part, and has some issues with the vertical gain, compensation(not a probe thing) and triggering. Anyway its usable enough for this task, no way I'm using any of my digital scopes for this, but to demonstrate my good faith I'll use a 2.5kV x100 probe with it 

[TerraHertz]

And I forgot the little known HP 11039 capacitive voltage divider

That is very nice. I'd never heard of the 11039A either. So little known I can't find a manual for it. Do you happen to have a pdf of it?
The 11039A very rarely appears on ebay it seems.

[Martin.M]

soving scool for men 

greetings
Martin

[PartialDischarge]

And I forgot the little known HP 11039 capacitive voltage divider

That is very nice. I'd never heard of the 11039A either. So little known I can't find a manual for it. Do you happen to have a pdf of it?
The 11039A very rarely appears on ebay it seems.

Nothing much out there, as it was an accessory for the HP 410B and C voltmeters, 1963 stuff! .I bought it as is and put a BNC connector on it.
$150 in 1963 $$$

[VK5RC]

soving scool for men 

greetings
Martin

Again lovely work!
Robert

[TerraHertz]

Nothing much out there, as it was an accessory for the HP 410B and C voltmeters, 1963 stuff! .I bought it as is and put a BNC connector on it.
$150 in 1963 $$$

So, there's no connection other than a coax? Meaning there's no powered circuitry inside?
Reason I'm interested, is I have a box of large vacuum capacitors, and for some reason it didn't occur to me till seeing that photo that they'd be a good start on making a high voltage capacitive divider.

[PartialDischarge]

I have a box of large vacuum capacitors,

Those are expensive and best suited for capacitive dividers, you just need a low side capacitor to make the correct division factor and a adjustable cap to fine tune, read this PDF for more info:

https://www.surplussales.com/VaccumVarCaps/pdf/JenningsVoltageDivider.pdf

[dimkasta]

Work in progress...

Unfortunately for just ~5mm I cannot have a proper solid 3m bench. I have to juggle some stuff around and see how I can fit two 150cm tables into a ~299.5cm wall

[xrunner]

Work in progress...

Unfortunately for just ~5mm I cannot have a proper solid 3m bench. I have to juggle some stuff around and see how I can fit two 150cm tables into a ~299.5cm wall

 

Slam it in there - no one will be the wiser!

[dimkasta]

Yeah, I already tried it. Unfortunately, those IKEA Linnmon boards are so crappy that I am afraid they will start cracking after a bit.
I will just get some longer extension screws for the feet and learn to live with the height difference.

And I need to screw them to the wall too. They are way too lightweight to be trusted....

[macboy]

Yeah, I already tried it. Unfortunately, those IKEA Linnmon boards are so crappy that I am afraid they will start cracking after a bit.
I will just get some longer extension screws for the feet and learn to live with the height difference.

And I need to screw them to the wall too. They are way too lightweight to be trusted....

Consider having one table at desk height and the other at bar height for standing at while you work. Personally I like to stand while assembling or disassembling out other mechanical type work, but prefer to sit while soldering, probing, etc. This will also create separate mechanical and electrical spaces.

[dimkasta]

Consider having one table at desk height and the other at bar height for standing at while you work. Personally I like to stand while assembling or disassembling out other mechanical type work, but prefer to sit while soldering, probing, etc. This will also create separate mechanical and electrical spaces.

I am doing the same thing, but I think that I prefer it on desk height while standing. It's probably because it gives me a nice overview of the assembly and better mechanical strength because I can turn my arms whichever way they need to be, usually straight up while I'm screwing something. Remember how we usually bend to the side to align our forearm with the screw if we have to screw something with some force in front of us. Working from above makes this much easier.

It might be a nice idea to help stretch our legs a bit though

[TerraHertz]

Unfortunately for just ~5mm I cannot have a proper solid 3m bench. I have to juggle some stuff around and see how I can fit two 150cm tables into a ~299.5cm wall

But.... 5mm? There are things called circular saws, and ironically enough, table saws. Can't you just saw 5mm (or 7) mm off whatever 3m table you like?
Even if you don't have such tools, timber yards and joinery shops do. Take the table to them.

If you have only a very cheap small circular saw, you can still get a perfect clean straight cut, by clamping a guide rail to the table and running the saw along against that.

[moz]

But.... 5mm? There are things called circular saws, and ironically enough, table saws.

Yep, even if you're renting and not allowed to change the property in any way, there's no reason to stick with what you can buy ready-made. I've had Dave-style setups in rented places... actually, *Dave* rents that office, so Dave has a Dave-style setup in a rented space. Just sayin

One option would be to even rough-cut the edge off one table with a handsaw, then get a sheet of proper table-top cut by a local timber merchant to the exact size you want. But at 3m it's likely to be pricey because most standard sheet materials come in 2.4m or 6 foot lengths. If you can stand having the gap in the centre of the bench you could just live with the two tables.

A better option for portability would be to make a "benchtop" that's the size you like to work on, and put other stuff on the outside ends of the two tables. You could also get a ~2.8m length of structural timber, run that along the front edge of the tables and remove or cut off the middle legs. That way you don't have the annoying legs breaking up the space under your workbench.

[dimkasta]

Yeah I have a circular saw

But I am reluctant to cut the tabletop because it is an IKEA particle board that is more or less hollow after a few mms of stuff.
It will probably start to fall apart sooner or later if cut.

I did think of doing the entire table out of mdf or ply, but I do not really have the time and energy to do any proper woodwork and/or finishing at this point
I just wanted something easily portable and fast .

BTW moving from a 40cm countertop to a much wider surface is such a relief

Now i just have to find a place to store the guestroom stuff

[Shock]

Yeah I have a circular saw But I am reluctant to cut the tabletop because it is an IKEA particle board that is more or less hollow after a few mms of stuff.  It will probably start to fall apart sooner or later if cut.

Perhaps you could do a quick test from the bottom (measure in and make a tiny hole) to see if you have this?
http://www.ikeahackers.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/honeycomb.jpg

[eugenenine]

Or quit buying termite barf from ikea and just go to the hardware store and buy some plywood.

[mtdoc]

Yes, do a test hole with a small drill bit. As long as 0.5cm from the edge does not put you into a hollow core (unlikely) then you can cut it with a circular saw.  It would be best with that kind of melamine or laminate top to use a fine tooth blade with a thin kerf. If you don't have one for your saw already, it's a worthwhile investment.  As Terrahertz said, clamp a guide rail parallel to the edge to get a clean, straight cut.

[rdl]

You might be able to slice the end off, make a resize cut, then glue the end back on. Probably would require good equipment though. I might even be tempted to try and peel the laminate off the end first using hot air to help.

[exor]

Moving my lab to another place. Started by installing storage bin cabinets I bought from company where I worked many years but was closed two years ago. Cabinets were originally arranged in two rotating towers but I prefer have them on the wall.

It took some time to plan, measure, drill and screw to have them in straight lines. There are totally 23 cabinets (17 + 6), installation is almost ready in second picture.

Cabinets came with lots of components but I will add some more from my own boxes, bins, bags, tubes, .. I have to rearrange and relabel all bins, ordered Dymo LabelWriter 450 Duo already.. I wonder should I use different colors for active, passive, opto, mechanical and other items or use just ordinary black on white.

[tautech]

Yeah I have a circular saw

But I am reluctant to cut the tabletop because it is an IKEA particle board that is more or less hollow after a few mms of stuff.
It will probably start to fall apart sooner or later if cut.

I did think of doing the entire table out of mdf or ply, but I do not really have the time and energy to do any proper woodwork and/or finishing at this point
I just wanted something easily portable and fast .

BTW moving from a 40cm countertop to a much wider surface is such a relief

Now i just have to find a place to store the guestroom stuff

There's a few ways you can do the trim.
If the clashing strip is thin take a little off both ends, clean it up with a wood plane and reseal it with some primer.
OR if you need more, dress up a new clashing strip, cut the desk to size and glue/fix the new strip over the cut.

A sharp hand buzzer is good for leaving a smooth surface for the clashing strip to be glued to and with a little ingenuity and a handful of clamps you can use a strongback on top of the strip and clamp it in tight while the glue sets for a neat and tidy joint.

[mtdoc]

If I understood correctly, he needs to cut 0.5cm off of one end to squeeze two of these between 2 walls, in which case the cut end would be snug against a wall.  So finishing it or covering it with laminate is unnecessary. If it was me, I'd just file or sand the top edge of the cut smooth and perhaps use a strip of white duct tape across the cut end before putting it up against the wall.

If it's going to be a semi-permanent installation, then a small bead of white silicone caulk between the top cut edge and wall might also be a good idea.

[Housedad]

Good thing you have wall room for all those drawer cabinets!