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What would your ultimate hobbyist electronics work space look like?

Instructorman

For many years (24 to be exact) my home electronics test bench has been set up in our study, sharing space with our home office computer desk and my son's computer desk.  As the photo below illustrates, I have plum run out of space.  There is not enough open space on my desk to set up anything bigger than a small dev kit.  Components and test equipment and projects underway, but not finished, are accumulating under, beside and behind the desk.  The space is so cluttered that I have to carefully untangle test leads and scope probes every time I go to make a measurement.  The clutter is also dangerous.  My hot air soldering station is covered with parts and sits very close to my computer speakers and a stack of test equipment.  Test leads have been singed accidentally as they get draped over idling soldering irons or hot air tools.  It is time for a fresh start in a new space.

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We are renovating our basement this fall and I have secured a good sized space for a new general purpose work room, including a generous allocation for an electronics development area. The space is going to be 11' 6" by 15' (about 3.5 m by 4.6 m).  I have been looking at a variety of professional workbenches, like this bench from IAC available from Newark. There are a lot of experienced hobbyists and professionals in the Element14 community with uncounted years of experience working in electronics.  As I am in the process of thinking about how to set up my new space, I thought it would be great to invite suggestions and advice from the collective wisdom of Element14 members on what might be nice to put into a brand new, purpose built electronics work space.

 

My 36 years of professional and hobbyist experience in electronics provides me with a vision of what I'd like in my new workspace, but that doesn't mean I can't learn from the experience and vision of others.  So, I invite your thoughts, suggestions and wisdom.  What sort of bench arrangement would you recommend?  How would you organize the test equipment?  What about lighting?  Parts storage?  I can't commit to following though on any ideas, but it will be great to read what others think a great workspace could look like.

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  • Hi Mark,  This is a great opportunity for us to get some ideas from each other. Over the years I have made many different shop setups depending on the purpose and needs. My present shop is designed for the purpose of learning and experimentation with electronics. The over all dimensions are 11 by 11 feet. It is focused on my swivel work chair where I can easily move from the computer terminal to the test area. All my primary parts, tools, reference books, and test equipment are within reach.

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    I keep my small prototyping parts in fishing tackle boxes by Plano. I prefer the 3700 4-24. The bins are labeled with letters and all the parts are listed in an Xcel file so I can search for a part number or description and find out which bin holds that part.

     

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    As you can see from my pictures most of my equipment is old but it still serves my purpose and I have learned that new equipment doesn't usually make me any more productive or smarter. As you mentioned Test Leads are always a problem and add to the bench clutter. To help with this I have made a double T rack that hangs from my ceiling. I use the cross bars to store the test leads of my meters as well as jumper clips and power wires for the power supplies when not in use. In the back ground you can see the larger Dollar Store plastic containers where I keep larger parts and less commonly used items. I have to get out of my chair to get at these but you can't have everything. In the lower left corner you can see a small line meter that monitors my isolated power system. I took an old PowerVac 600 line conditioner and made it a true isolation system so that I could mess with the higher voltages when needed with out giving myself shock therapy. I like to monitor the line as 6 amps is more or less the max for the isolation system.

     

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    My work benches are just folding tables that I have put into an "L" shape. The main work, soldering, and prototyping area is fairly fixed but the other areas are flexible. Currently I have the laptop, on which I write code form the Arduinos, on the bench area but this quickly transforms into a larger work or repair area. I also have a handy old typewriter table on wheels that can be moved into different positions as needed. When not needed it sits under the bench, out of the way.

     

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    My commonly used tools are in a cheap cabinet with shelves. This is also within easy reach from my chair as I work on projects. I have replaced some of the upper shelves with glass to allow for better visibility of the tools. I have taken pictures of the arranged cabinet so that I can put things back in their proper places. There is nothing I like less than searching for something that I have misplaced. Some of the tools are not used often and I forget where they were placed. When not in use the tool cabinet closes for a slightly more cosmetic appearance.

     

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    As everyone on this forum knows, our shops are an extension of ourselves. Thank you for sharing the picture of your shop. You are going to have a lot of fun putting it into the larger space that you described. My shop is always a work in progress. I am not sure which I enjoy more improving the shop or learning and building electronics projects.

    Good luck with your new shop.   John

  • in reply to jw0752

    I am Embarrassed to show mine after this but i will anyway, your are so neat, its like a show room, how do you ever get work done ??

  • in reply to Robert Peter Oakes

    Mine is always in a state of disarray.  because I am always working on multiple projects. Mine is also a recording studio. Maybe I can learn something from this.  It will never be a show room. I have to have some chaos in my life but, I will try.

     

    -Steve

  • in reply to dragonstyne

    Brave man Peter ...well done.

     

    I read somewhere that a clean workbench/desk showed an empty mind ...

    Not sure how true or false it was, or who said it, but it suited my messiness so I remembered it.

     

    Mark

  • in reply to Robert Peter Oakes

    Hi Peter, First of all I probably I do a very small fraction of the projects that you do and with a lot less sophistication. When I do a project, I do it on a piece of cardboard that I can pickup and set aside on a shelf or move to another table so that I have a clean area and a new board where I can begin my next project. This way I can work on multiple projects without one overlapping the other. Not that any of my projects are very impressive. I am in the learning mode and mostly I set up small test circuits to verify I understand a chip or a circuit. After the test is complete I make my notes and tear the circuit down and put things away.

    John

  • in reply to Robert Peter Oakes

    Peter,

    No need to be embarrassed. Most of us live in a state of seemingly unorganized bliss. The beauty of this chaos, is you are able to function and be creative dispite the environment. For that sir, I commend you.

     

    -Steve

  • in reply to mcb1

    mcb1 wrote:

     

    Brave man Peter ...well done.

     

    I read somewhere that a clean workbench/desk showed an empty mind ...

    Not sure how true or false it was, or who said it, but it suited my messiness so I remembered it.

     

    Mark

    Well, if that's the case, mine is overflowing.

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    -Steve

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