Desk and Shelving for a new, very basic lab?

[Oscillatory]

Hi,

I'm new here and am trying to get into the hobby. I've been planning to buy some starting equipment for a basic beginner's lab, but one thing I'm stumped on is the desk and proper shelves for oscopes, DMMs, etc.

Would a regular computer desk that you buy in the store suffice? Are there some seperate racks you can buy that can clamp to the desk so I can put equipment on them? I don't know anything about construction at all (and would be too scared to put anything on a desk I built from scratch) and can't really build wall shelves because I'm living in a rental.

How much would I need to worry about ESD?

Thank you

[Galaxyrise]

One thing to keep in mind is that  lot of (especially older) test equipment is deep. If you only have a 12"/30cm shelf, you'll be hard pressed to fit a power supply, bench dmm, etc.   You'll also never have enough shelves or desk space

[fudgebobs]

Building a new lab bench can be intimidating but to be honest, is probably the most ideal solution. Learning the basics of building a good lab bench isn't too hard. Most of the building is just common sense and making it sturdy is a matter of some simple observatory physics.

Given that, if you want the easy way out, I would suggest you first get an idea of how large the test equipment you have will be approximately. Another thing to note is that lab equipment is can be quite heavy and if your computer table isn't sturdy, it may collapse under the load. The point is that you should really look at weight, size (height, width, depth) of the equipment you are buying. Most computer tables aren't necessarily made to hold too much weight necessarily. Also room on computer tables can be limited at times. I would shop around. You may find it's a better idea to get a large kitchen table instead as that would be much more roomy and would possibly give you enough room to store your basic lab equipment.

Personally, when I started off, I really had a hard time with finding benches out there that was able to solve my problems for space so ended up building my own bench eventually. I too like you had no experience in building a bench but with some elbow grease and time, I was able to get a very convenient setup.

All the best to you. Hope my 2 cents here guides you in the right direction a bit.

[edavid]

One thing to keep in mind is that  lot of (especially older) test equipment is deep. If you only have a 12"/30cm shelf, you'll be hard pressed to fit a power supply, bench dmm, etc.   You'll also never have enough shelves or desk space

I had that problem with a computer desk - not deep enough to have equipment on the back edge with projects in the front.  I started with a 72"W x 28"D desk (crappy, from craigslist), and then extended it back with a 13" shelf.  I supported the shelf with metal L brackets, plus 1x3s along the left and right sides.  Then I used a sheet of Masonite to make a smooth desktop.  The new 41"D surface works well, and so far I haven't bothered making a shelf riser (hutch), I just stack the equipment.

A shortcut you could take would be to get a 60" desk and put a couple of ~30" wide bookcases behind it.  You could position one shelf in each bookcase to extend the desktop back, and use the higher ones as a hutch.

[LDSisHere]

You did not state how much space you have to use or what your budget is so that my limit useful replies.  For my work area I use two old kitchen tables and I still do not have enough space.  From my perspective and for my habits there will never be enough space.

One thing I did go out of my way to do was to install a GFI outlet for use with my projects to protect myself from accidents or stupidity.  I do not want to put it to the test but I feel better knowing it is there.

[DavidDLC]

One thing to keep in mind is that  lot of (especially older) test equipment is deep. If you only have a 12"/30cm shelf, you'll be hard pressed to fit a power supply, bench dmm, etc.   You'll also never have enough shelves or desk space

I had that problem with a computer desk - not deep enough to have equipment on the back edge with projects in the front.  I started with a 72"W x 28"D desk (crappy, from craigslist), and then extended it back with a 13" shelf.  I supported the shelf with metal L brackets, plus 1x3s along the left and right sides.  Then I used a sheet of Masonite to make a smooth desktop.  The new 41"D surface works well, and so far I haven't bothered making a shelf riser (hutch), I just stack the equipment.

A shortcut you could take would be to get a 60" desk and put a couple of ~30" wide bookcases behind it.  You could position one shelf in each bookcase to extend the desktop back, and use the higher ones as a hutch.

Please put a picture of your work. I would like to see the final result.

David.

[AG6QR]

I've worked on a computer desk for years.  It's not ideal, but for me anyway, it hasn't been limiting enough to switch.

If possible, it's nice to have two separate areas:  a "clean" place with scope, power supplies, meters, a breadboard, etc.,  and a "dirty" place with soldering iron, vise, drill (ideally drill press), Dremel, pliers, nibblers, files, saws, etc.  Do your construction in the dirty area, and your measuring/testing/breadboarding in the clean area.  My clean area is the computer desk, and I've got a stand-up counter (old kitchen counter, relocated into the garage) for my dirty area.

Except I just realized, I do my soldering in my clean area, only my construction involving drilling, cutting, grinding, and filing goes to my dirty area.

As for ESD, it's not usually a huge concern for hobbyists, but if you can cover your work space with an ESD mat, that's a good thing to do.  The risk depends somewhat on your climate (humid is good), type of work, whether you have carpeting, etc.

If you can avoid carpeting, I would do so, for two reasons.  One is the ESD issue, and the other is the issue of lost screws and other tiny parts.  You WILL drop tiny things, but it's easier to find them on a smooth hardwood floor, particularly if you can keep it uncluttered and frequently swept/vacuumed.  But things do bounce and travel more on a smooth floor.

The desk space issue is a good argument for a modern DSO, like the ubiquitous Rigol DS1052E.  They take up a tiny fraction of the desk space compared to an old analog scope, and are really easy to move around.  It's also an argument for handheld meters over bench meters.

[Skaface]

at work, I just have a shelf thats standing on top of the work bench (no wall attachments), with like 100kg of test equipment on it, just make a shelf with 2 sides, and a back piece to keep it rigid. I think thats the easiest way to do it really. That will give you a whole bench top to work on and test equipment over the top and out of the way