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

[Deathwish]

The DSO is under the bench - Difficult place to view it? But you smoke matches?

McBryce.

Nothing wrong with that , I see a toughened glass pane inserted into the desk and room to get a hand under that to use controls in my head.

[McBryce]

Mr. McBryce,
I roll my own and when the lighter fluid runs out, the matches save the day, but you can go through a box quickly.
That scope is so deep that it had to go under the bench and was a back breaker in both senses.

Peter

Yes, it's just that in the picture it looks like the ashtray is full of matches, but no cigarette butts.

McBryce.

[TerraHertz]

Here's my mess after an all nighter...

A 10-keyless keyboard, an old Nokia phone, a Tek 7000 rackmount scope, old tower PC... are you my long-lost brother?

[purpose]

A 10-keyless keyboard, an old Nokia phone, a Tek 7000 rackmount scope, old tower PC... are you my long-lost brother?

Quite possibly... my old dad did have a bicycle.

[Radio Tech]

Here's my mess after an all nighter...

Looks about right for an all-nighter to me.
My shop looks like I pulled an all month long project.
Stuff torn down waiting parts on the bench:
2 hand held transceivers
3 solid state HF transceivers
5 tube transceivers
2 Oscilloscopes
1 signal generator.
I got to get busy
Plenty of YouTube material

[AF6LJ]

Looks about right for an all-nighter to me.
My shop looks like I pulled an all month long project.
Stuff torn down waiting parts on the bench:
2 hand held transceivers
3 solid state HF transceivers
5 tube transceivers
2 Oscilloscopes
1 signal generator.
I got to get busy
Plenty of YouTube material

Please Do I am running out of good things to watch.....
My bench is in gridlock for a couple of weeks while I work on a radio club project...

[PA0PBZ]

Please Do I am running out of good things to watch.....

Try this: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCarlsonsLab/videos

[AF6LJ]

Thanks...
Something to watch while I wait for the next installment of Road Kill.

[Radio Tech]

Please Do I am running out of good things to watch.....
My bench is in gridlock for a couple of weeks while I work on a radio club project...

If all goes well I may have 2 uploaded this weekend. And I feel the same way. Some repair vides I have watched twice or more.

Please Do I am running out of good things to watch.....

Try this: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCarlsonsLab/videos

I like his videos. Does a good job.
Also Peter TRXbench does some nice repairs.
Cannot add his channel here at work. YouTube blocks.

I did  a bit of redesigning my main bench yesterday.  I use this one the most out of all 4. But it was not deep enough with the 12 inch shelf . So I moved the section out and added 12 inches to the rear. Now have 32 inches of bench space. Also added a 32 inch monitor directly behind the bench. Don't know if anyone ever looked at schematics from Kenwood. This monitor helps! Here is a peek.

[AF6LJ]

Cool...

[Richard Head]

With the ubiquitous HP8640 sig gen. I wonder if you've had broken gear issues with it also?

[GreyWoolfe]

Radio Tech, I have monitor envy.  I only have a 22" on my bench

[Radio Tech]

With the ubiquitous HP8640 sig gen. I wonder if you've had broken gear issues with it also?

Sure did, I had to repair mine when I got it. I chose to repair my gears instead of finding the guy that makes replicas.  My first 3 YouTube videos is on the 8640B.
# 001, 002, 003

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHJpeSrEjtVk1YtRU3FrpQQ/videos

For some reason video #004 did not record. It showed how I took the broken gears and glued them back together. I used a backing plate to reinforce the gears made out of a piece of perf-board. I then aligned the gear in my milling machine. Put the brass insert on a mandrel and heated it. Was able to put the insert back into the gear dead center and after it cooled there was no chance of it coming back out.

Note: what causes the gears to crack in the first place is over time the material the gear is made of shrinks. The brass insert does not shrink. With the set screw hole in the gear this creates a weak link and is where the gear breaks at.  If you glue the gear back together you can no longer install the insert since the hole is now undersized due to the shrinkage. This is why I heat the insert and force it back into the undersized hole.

Very time consuming but works fine.

Radio Tech, I have monitor envy.  I only have a 22" on my bench

I hear you 
But even 22 inches is better than most standard PC monitors. When I went to 32 inches things became much clearer. 

[AF6LJ]

With the ubiquitous HP8640 sig gen. I wonder if you've had broken gear issues with it also?

That is so common I wonder if someone has made a replacement..

[Radio Tech]

With the ubiquitous HP8640 sig gen. I wonder if you've had broken gear issues with it also?

That is so common I wonder if someone has made a replacement..

Mr Hoffman shows how to cast replacement gears here:
http://conradhoffman.com/HP8640B_gears.htm

There was a guy on Ebay selling casted gears at one time. Although I have not seen a listing for quite some time now.
I am still thinking about searching for another 8640B to restore. I do not want to tear mine back down again. So if I can ever find another at a reasonable price I am going to try and duplicate the gears. Thinking about making them out of brass. One I get the pattern done I should be able to reproduce  a few sets.

[AF6LJ]

With the ubiquitous HP8640 sig gen. I wonder if you've had broken gear issues with it also?

That is so common I wonder if someone has made a replacement..

Mr Hoffman shows how to cast replacement gears here:
http://conradhoffman.com/HP8640B_gears.htm

There was a guy on Ebay selling casted gears at one time. Although I have not seen a listing for quite some time now.
I am still thinking about searching for another 8640B to restore. I do not want to tear mine back down again. So if I can ever find another at a reasonable price I am going to try and duplicate the gears. Thinking about making them out of brass. One I get the pattern done I should be able to reproduce  a few sets.

That would be a good deal, that's my all time favorite signal generator, used them hundreds of times. I haven't owned one just yet.

[jmsc_02]

Just I've finished my workbench. Total cost: Around 150€.

A little pic, before put all the instruments:

[Radio Tech]

That would be a good deal, that's my all time favorite signal generator, used them hundreds of times. I haven't owned one just yet.

Yes, I love the 8640B. Very solid generator and fairly easy to work on.  Got mine for 100 bucks non working. When I emailed the seller the next day telling him it was working I could tell his heart sank.

Just I've finished my workbench. Total cost: Around 150€.

A little pic, before put all the instruments:

Nice start 

[TerraHertz]

For some reason video #004 did not record. It showed how I took the broken gears and glued them back together. I used a backing plate to reinforce the gears made out of a piece of perf-board. I then aligned the gear in my milling machine. Put the brass insert on a mandrel and heated it. Was able to put the insert back into the gear dead center and after it cooled there was no chance of it coming back out.

Note: what causes the gears to crack in the first place is over time the material the gear is made of shrinks. The brass insert does not shrink. With the set screw hole in the gear this creates a weak link and is where the gear breaks at.  If you glue the gear back together you can no longer install the insert since the hole is now undersized due to the shrinkage. This is why I heat the insert and force it back into the undersized hole.

Very time consuming but works fine.

Ah ha! I have a nice chart recorder with gears broken for the same reason - plastic shrank, brass core did not. I've been looking for a solution other than setting up to machine new all-brass gears - which I could do but too lazy.
Heating the brass bit and forcing it in while centered on lathe did not occur to me. Thanks!

What did you use to glue the fractured gear? It's nylon isn't it?

[Radio Tech]

Ah ha! I have a nice chart recorder with gears broken for the same reason - plastic shrank, brass core did not. I've been looking for a solution other than setting up to machine new all-brass gears - which I could do but too lazy.
Heating the brass bit and forcing it in while centered on lathe did not occur to me. Thanks!

What did you use to glue the fractured gear? It's nylon isn't it?

As you know it is practically impossible to glue nylon together. This is due to it's thermal properties and is a very slick substance. But this can be beat.
All in preparation. You have to rough up the two parts with sand paper. Then I drill several tiny holes in the part. As many as possible. Now you have something for the glue to adhere to. Clean the gear with ISA. I used Quick-Cure 5 minute epoxy.

There is also a glue called "Liquid nails" that works pretty good.

[TerraHertz]

As you know it is practically impossible to glue nylon together. This is due to it's thermal properties and is a very slick substance.

Sure do! Most times when I have no alternative to 'fixing' a broken nylon part I use splints and rivets. Lots of small brass pins...
Some types of plastic can be heat-welded, using a soldering iron and some scrap same-type plastic bits.

But this can be beat.
All in preparation. You have to rough up the two parts with sand paper. Then I drill several tiny holes in the part. As many as possible. Now you have something for the glue to adhere to. Clean the gear with ISA.

ISA? Did you mean IPA - Isopropyl alcohol?

I used Quick-Cure 5 minute epoxy.
There is also a glue called "Liquid nails" that works pretty good.

Also the rubbery contact cements can work for low stress large area joints on non-stickable plastic.

[Radio Tech]

ISA? Did you mean IPA - Isopropyl alcohol?

Yes, Don't know why I typed that for. Brain fried for working on a TS-904 all day I guess.

Also the rubbery contact cements can work for low stress large area joints on non-stickable plastic.

That's good to know. May try that some day.

[Smokey]

Just I've finished my workbench. Total cost: Around 150€.

A little pic, before put all the instruments:

That reminds me of an erector set.  Is it stable?

[FireFlower]

Just I've finished my workbench. Total cost: Around 150€.

A little pic, before put all the instruments:

Looks dangerous 

[jmsc_02]

Nice start 

Thank you! I hope to enjoy it and fill it with dangerous prototypes.

That reminds me of an erector set.  Is it stable?

It's made using parts of metallic (steel) shelves. It can hold my weight (90kg ~ 200lb) safely but yes, needs extra support to make it definitely stable because actually it's a little stagger.

https://www.google.es/search?q=metallic+shelves

Looks dangerous 

haha... Don't be scared, man. The work bench is ugly but not dangerous. I need to buy some cable conduit to hide all the power cables (I hate to see a mesh of cables around the top table). and the structure is earth grounded (not neutral).