Ideas for a Multipurpose Garage Workshop? 55
WTFmonkey asks: "Having looked at several woodworking websites and magazines, I've got some good ideas for the woodworking part of my planned shop. Sadly, I can't find any shop ideas specific to electronics and computer repair. What is considered essential for a good workbench? Dinner-table height or counter-top height (I'm 6'2"), and what is an adequate depth? Lighting strategies, handy equipment, organization issues? To put it succinctly, what are the most comfortable and effective benches you've worked at, and why?"
One tip.. (Score:4, Insightful)
Workbenches (Score:4, Insightful)
What I use for repair (Score:5, Insightful)
First thing: get yourself an anti-static countertop. If you poke around, you may find that it'll cost you basically as much to get a decent anti-static counter as to get a halfway decent metal or laminated wood area. Static isn't a huge deal where I live (my part of Texas is humid enough that I never even bother at the house), but it is nice to have, particularly if you are in an area dry enough to worry about it. I actually prefer a countertop over a desk-height area, with a nice bar-stool height rolling chair. I'd go for flourescent lighting for power consumption, and get a good pull-down incandescent (the hooked sort that have a semi-retractable cable to take them up out of the way when not needed) for when I really need some brightness.
Get a large file cabinet. Fill one drawer with a big-ass, multi-tier toolbox with the assorted big 'n' small screwdrivers, nut drivers, pliers, dremel bits, etc. that you need. Get one of those small, sectioned tackle organizers designed for small hooks, flys, etc. Use it to compartmentalize your screws of different size and type. Fill another drawer with large capacity file dividers (the big, say, 2" sort), and fill those file dividers with anti-static bags with spare components (the assorted video, LAN, RAM, etc. that you might use for trouble shooting). Get some of the gallon-size freezer bags and use them to organize your cables. Unless it's something very non-prone to tangling (IDE ribbons, for example), stow each cable in its own bag. File these.
Get a cheap CRT, a keyboard with zero "grandma" buttons, and a basic, 2button + scroll optical mouse. If possible, have both KB and mouse use USB with PS/2 adapters, that way you're set for whatever randomness comes onto your bench. Get a cheap set of speakers (but make sure they're powered units). Run these into a KVM switch, and have a throwaway old machine with a big-ass hard drive in it for when you need to dump everything off for whatever reason (or preferably, have a file server and never have to worry). Get a cheap 10/100 hub (not switch) for checking LAN functionality and for the occasional time when you might want to sniff packets coming off of a machine you're troubleshooting. Oh, and order a notebook IDE->full-size IDE adapter. You never know when you might need one, and although they cost next to nothing, I never seem to be able to find a local vendor that carries them. If you're planning on, I don't know, tinkering with the neighbors machines for the hell of it (God help you), I'd tell you to snag a cheap PCI IDE card with a couple of controllers, for those times when you need to pop a drive in to pull some data off or check whether the problem is drive, board, or cable.
If you're the type of person who tends to work on a lot of things at a time, just pick-up a wire rack shelf to have some place to stow projects while you work on them.
Note: A lot of this applies to the fact that I work on other people's machines day in, day out. I don't have anyhting near this level at the house, but if I were going to build a small workshop anyway, the costs for equipment mentioned here would be in line with what I'd expect to spend.
Electrics (Score:3, Insightful)
This way when (not if!!) things smoke you only have to slam that button down to switch it all off, rather than the find-the-right-powerboard-that-feeds-the-burning-
Oh, and a good residual current device (earth leakage) can save your life as well, so don't forget that.
Considerations. (Score:4, Insightful)