Making a bench shelf

[npelov]

I bet 99% of you have lack of bench space. A lot of you are hobbyists like me and you probably don't have specialized work bench a lot of shelfs on it. Checkout Dave's shelf - 6 meters bench space + shelves and he quickly runs out of space.
So I built a shelf and described how I mounted it here:

http://www.microlab.info/beginners/455-bench-shelf.html

I still haven't treated the wood. I don't want to use lacquer because I want to keep the anti-slip behaviour of the wood. Some kind of oil ... well I'll ask in a wood working forum. I just wanted to share. One shelf makes big difference!

P.S. I watched Dave's video when he installed the Lab Bench ESD Matting ... the shelf was my excuse to clean the bench. When I took the pictures I sit and drunk a coffee while watching the bench nice and clean - it won't stay like this for too long.

[IanJ]

Nice clean bench.......and yes you can never have enough shelf space!

Here's my take on space saving.......I mounted my DSO below my main bench shelf and on an easily made rotating bracket. There's not a lot of room underneath it, but just enough to slide tools etc etc under it.

[npelov]

)) nice. Do you mind if I steal the idea?

[IanJ]

)) nice. Do you mind if I steal the idea?

Only if you post a photo......

[minibutmany]

 Try this danish oil, its easy to apply and is non-toxic. http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=45105&cat=1,190,42942

[nanofrog]

I still haven't treated the wood. I don't want to use lacquer because I want to keep the anti-slip behaviour of the wood. Some kind of oil ...

Might want to look into Tung Oil (aka China wood oil or Chinaoil).

[chickenHeadKnob]

I still haven't treated the wood. I don't want to use lacquer because I want to keep the anti-slip behaviour of the wood. Some kind of oil ...

Might want to look into Tung Oil (aka China wood oil or Chinaoil).

I used to finish  furniture with linseed and other oils, but found two problems. First the wood is left slightly porous and accepts dirt ground in leaving it with a dark look (stain). Some people might like it. The other problem is I found it weakened and softened glue joints over time (more than one year). That is joints made with the typical white glue -PVA polyvinyl acetate. I had two prominant glue failures, one in a drafting table the other in a shelf unit. I think other kind of adhesives would be un-affected. Now a days I only use water based urethane finishes. I love these but they do leave a hard smooth surface, something I prefer becuase it washes easily.

@npelov: that cramped corner your bench is in looks awkward, in my use stuff would always be falling out the back-side.

[npelov]

@npelov: that cramped corner your bench is in looks awkward, in my use stuff would always be falling out the back-side.

Until now nothing fall out behind. However I plan to use old piece of laminated parquet to make a stopper - 2-3 cm stopper. Most troubles I have with multimeters - especially Brymen BM869 - it's very unstable, very poorly designed back...
I'll mount one stopper on the bottom of the legs and one on the shelf. I had that in mind, but not living in a house has it's disadvantages. Cutting is not very easy because I don't have space and bench to lay it on. My electronics bench is not good for cutting, space is too little. But I'll make it soon and post pictures.

Thanks for the oil suggestions. I'll check if I can find them locally or order online for reasonable price.

[georges80]

Recently tidied up my bench to make room for a few new pieces of equipment. I considered wood shelves but decided that I really wanted something I could easily adjust the height if I rearranged equipment.

So, thought of using the adjustable wire shelving stuff that is common as stores. I measured the items I had to determine the width/depth that I needed each level to be and went shopping. Ended up with the following. I've been using it the past week and am very happy with the setup.

All my hand tools (pliers, scissors, screw drivers etc are in a tray that sit on the shelves on the right so within easy reach while sitting (in a comfortable adjustable office chair <- important and don't skimp on $ for this - adjustable height as well to get an optimum height at the bench). Less often used test tools (LCR meter, IR fun etc) are in a tray as well. In the empty location on the top wire shelf I have another plastic tray that has various test jigs, leads, coax leads etc).



The construction of the wire shelves ensures that you'll have at least an inch or so of airflow over the top of each instrument. I did have to put a sheet of cardboard (packing that the shelves came in) since the small feet of the DSA and scope would squeeze between the wires of the shelf. The top level equipment sits well (flat bottoms) so no need for any cardboard there. Lots of air flow.

The shelving uprights have adjustable feet on each corner, so easy to trip up the bottom height and level it since in my case the ESD mat is under the front feet but not the back feet.

I'm learning to enforce my own rule that I put things BACK into the trays ASAP after use so that the work surface remains tidy!

cheers,
george.

[npelov]

I hate wire shelves - you can't put smaller things on it. Cardboard fix that a bit, but... I would get steel sheet shelves instead. The air flow is a good side effect though. I was looking for that kind of adjustable shelves, but I gave up. They were either too expensive or not what I wanted.

Btw my esd MAT got a bit darker and more yellow where the sun touched it. And that's for 3-4 days! Can these things get damaged by the sun. Also the sun is a bit week this time of the year. I imagine what will happen in the summer. Also the sunlight is not direct - the windows filter the UV a bit.

P.S. guys, post a bit higher resolution or post a link to higher resolution on external server (dropbox or something). I like to watch how other people set up their benches and get ideas.

[georges80]

Actually, I really like the wire shelves because I can easily see the wiring behind and if I want to reach in and plug in a trigger cable, or USB or... it's easy to see by leaning over what is what.

I put all the 'small' things in plastic organiser trays anyway so they don't get pushed to the back of traditional shelves (have those on the side) or off the back of the shelf if not totally flush with the wall. The trays are a nice improvement over the clutter I had before.

i.e. I've used traditional shelves and moved to the wire shelves on purpose. For most test equipment it's a non issue since they equipment is large enough to sit properly. If I really wanted I'd add a sheet of clear acrylic etc so I could still 'see' through it - the cardboard was the expedient solution in this situation and if under just the equipment still allows a view behind.

Anyhow, it's just my opinion from working/using my bench pretty well every day for many hours at a time (it is my work place...) and another option versus 'solid' shelving

Not sure about your ESD mat, mine has been in user for several months, but then my office is the 'northern exposure' side of the house and I'm in the US. Might pay for you to add some tinting to the windows - I'd be more worried of long term UV to the test equipment plastic...

cheers,
george.

[Gallymimus]

I still haven't treated the wood. I don't want to use lacquer because I want to keep the anti-slip behaviour of the wood. Some kind of oil ...

Might want to look into Tung Oil (aka China wood oil or Chinaoil).

I used to finish  furniture with linseed and other oils, but found two problems. First the wood is left slightly porous and accepts dirt ground in leaving it with a dark look (stain). Some people might like it. The other problem is I found it weakened and softened glue joints over time (more than one year). That is joints made with the typical white glue -PVA polyvinyl acetate. I had two prominant glue failures, one in a drafting table the other in a shelf unit. I think other kind of adhesives would be un-affected. Now a days I only use water based urethane finishes. I love these but they do leave a hard smooth surface, something I prefer becuase it washes easily.

@npelov: that cramped corner your bench is in looks awkward, in my use stuff would always be falling out the back-side.

+1 for water based poly finish.  All of my workbenches at home and the office are done with that and it's been outstanding. 

[TMM]

Waterbased polyurethane clear is great stuff. My only complaint is that it can go a bit milky if you slop it on too thick or the ambient temperature is too low. Not really an issue on unstained pine however.

[npelov]

I'd be more worried of long term UV to the test equipment plastic...

I'm terrified what will happen to my Rigol DS2072A! It's constantly covered with a newspapers until I come up with a solution. At this time of the year the sun goes away from the bench in the early afternoon so I have a lot of time to work on the afternoon. I will probably use white aluminium persiennes like these (not sure about the word - looked it up). If you turn them in the correct angle they spread the light evenly, so it bounces of the ceiling. This way I still have light coming in, but I won't risk damaging the equipment.

@TMM what do you mean by "milky"? Also I'm having troubles with the keyword "polyurethane" in websites of local stores. The only thing I find is mounting/sealing foam like this. But I feel that this is not what I'm looking for. If it leaves shiny smooth surface I won't like it. Yes, it's easy to clean, but everything will slip easier. Even the rubber feet are more stable on untreated wood than on smooth surface.

So I would prefer something that will preserve the natural feel of the wood surface. I don't have glue joints, so I might look for some oils - Linseed or the Chinese Tung Oil. So far I read a lot of articles here about the Tung Oil, but I couldn't find anyone selling it.

[PointyOintment]

I will probably use white aluminium persiennes like these (not sure about the word - looked it up).

Those are called Venetian blinds in English.