Show Your Workbench

[DougH]

Higher res pics here: http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/DougH/shop/

[jacobyjd]

Nice! I can't wait for the day that I can build myself a bigger workbench--one that will hold the drill press that my father in law graciously gave me...I'm still hand-drilling it after 2 years of serious building. Practice is paying off, but man, the luxury... 

I'll try to get some pics up of my wimpy little desk sometime so everyone can point and laugh 

[jessej]

I'm in the process of moving into a new home in December and I will for the first time in my life have a 'hobby-room' in the basement. 

I have my soldering station and basic tools like screwdrivers, wire-cutters etc, but I do not have any power-tools like a drill-press, no Dremel etc., no smart storage system.
What I do have is an carpenter's bench thou and a nice long work desk (220cm)

I think a thread like this is great and I hope you guys point out some tips while you post your pics too, like why you got a certain tool, what is extremely handy and so on. I will most likely
buy all my equipment for the hobby-room in January so I'll be bookmarking and keep an eye this thread... I have about 500€ stashed away for budget so ideas are welcome.

How do you drill your enclosures? Do you use templates? Does someone have some kind of a jig they use with the drill-press?

[rousejeremy]

There was a time when this was the dining room table.

[DougH]

How do you drill your enclosures? Do you use templates? Does someone have some kind of a jig they use with the drill-press?

I always do a package design using Illustrator. This way I can ensure that all the parts will fit in the box as intended. This is really important, believe me. Nothing more frustrating than soldering up a perf board (or pcb) and then finding you don't have room for everything in the box. The design is just a 2d mechanical drawing of the box (top and side views) with parts (and lo-fi modeling of some of them). When I finish that, I create a drill pattern on another layer. Then I print out the drill pattern, cut it out and tape it to the box to use as a template. Pretty simple all in all. If I was going to build multiple boxes with the same drill patterns I would make a drill jig. I don't build pedals often enough to make that worth my time.

[DougH]

There was a time when this was the dining room table.

Nice... I remember when mine was on the bar in the kitchen.

[jacobyjd]

How do you drill your enclosures? Do you use templates? Does someone have some kind of a jig they use with the drill-press?

I use the budget/compact apartment hand-drilling method:

1. Lay out an enclosure control face outline on graph paper
2. Lay out controls within the enclosure outline, making sure you leave adequate space for everything
3. Determine hole centers and mark on graph paper template from the two steps above
4. Mark enclosure using the measurements from steps 1-3 (I just use a regular ol' pencil)
5. Re-measure the markings you made and compare to your template and make any adjustments if it doesn't match exactly.
6. Use a sharp steel punch to create an indentation at each hole location (I just use the punch against the heel of my hand...it's only aluminum--you don't need a hammer)
7. Use a 1/32" bit to drill pilot holes through all the locations you punched in step 6
8. Use a steady hand and an appropriately-sized bit to drill each hole (I use a drop of cooking oil on each hole)
9. Clean off your enclosure, paint it if necessary, and stuff it full of mojo!  

*edit* JesseJ, the guy in your avatar looks like my brother. EXACTLY like my brother....which is especially weird, because his name is Jesse J. as well. You don't have a little brother named Josh, do you? You'd be the Jacoby brothers' Finnish doppelgangers, meaning we'd have to meet someday and fight to the death

[jessej]

I use the budget/compact apartment hand-drilling method:

That was a good checklist, thank you! ..and roughly the steps and methods I've been using so far, except I've been using a stepped drill-bit.
Now I think I want a drill-press, kinda like DougH has in his pic. The illustrator planning sounds wise too!

For PCB drilling/cutting etc I have been thinking about getting a Proxxon IB/E and perhaps a Proxxon TBM 220 for the drill-press.
They seem fairly reasonably priced and will probably last at least one lifetime...

I would have hotlinked to the products, but the proxxon website was a javascript nightmare so no direct links: http://www.proxxon.com/

You don't have a little brother named Josh, do you?

No, his name is Jussi, which would be the Finnish equivalent for Josh... so fight 'til death is on!!  

[CynicalMan]

There was a time when this was the dining room table.

I'm afraid to ask what you use the cat treats for.

[B Tremblay]

[Ben N]

Nice, Brian. Did you DIY the bench/desk drawer unit?

Edit: Sorry, my "b" key is going fast.

[B Tremblay]

Thanks.  Yes, I built it with a friend who'd made a some similar benches for his woodshop.  The top surface is two pieces, with a piano hinge at the back.  I keep commercial pedal boxes and other stuff that I rarely need to access inside the storage area.  One of my favorite features of the bench is the half-round moulding around the tabletop, which prevents tools and parts rolling off.

[DougH]

One of my favorite features of the bench is the half-round moulding around the tabletop, which prevents tools and parts rolling off.

That's a good idea!

[wavley]

My work workbench, I'll take a picture of the rat's nest that is my home bench when I get there

[cloudscapes]

waiting for the new iron in the mail. WES51

[rousejeremy]

Let's see a close up of the graveyard on the floor. 

[MarcoMike]

I have that same microscope (or should I call it macro-scope??) at work... one of my favourites...

[AudioMime]

There was a time when this was the dining room table.

Are those cat treats a snack, Jeremy?

[arawn]

waiting for the new iron in the mail. WES51

We have those at work absolutely awesome
when I hit the lottery I might get one!
My bench is so sad and messy right now I am embarassed to show anyone

[wavley]

I have that same microscope (or should I call it macro-scope??) at work... one of my favourites...

I love it, the SZ-11 is my favorite of all the scopes we have here.