Electronics Workbench Design

[JenniferG]

I am just getting into the hobby and well I need an electronics workbench to hold all my test equipment along with a work area.

I made a rock solid workbench design a while back and shared it on Thingiverse -- it's had 209 downloads, 53 likes, 74 collects and 1 person shared some photos of a workbench they made with the design and vouched for it.  It's been really stable for me and only costed me like $50 to make it.   Details here:  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1456181



I built one for my workbench out in the garage and it truly doesn't wobble, not even if you get up on top of it and jump up and down.  I also made a smaller one for my 3D printer as a stand for it.

Considering making one as an electronics workbench, but before I do I'd like to get some feedback of what you think about it.  It's made entirely of 2x4's and I was thinking an MDF top.

Also I'd like to know what you think the ideal dimensions should be as far as depth and width -- as a starting workbench.  Would 4 feet wide be good enough to start with?  I am thinking 2 foot depth is a bit shallow no?  e.g. tektronix 2225 scope has some depth.

[IonizedGears]

One can never have too much desk space. Also a depth of 3 feet is good, 4 feet if you plan to have long power supplies or oscilloscopes on there

[rstofer]

I would think you would want to have the equipment on shelves at the rear of the bench.  It keeps the bench clear and puts the displays at eye level.

I might think about making it wider and having drawers on both sides.  You can never have too many drawers.  In fact, I might just buy the drawer cabinets pre-manufactured and add a top plus the shelving unit.  OTOH, that drives up the cost.

[mtdoc]

Deeper is better and wider is better.  If you have the space I would go up to 3 feet or more deep and as wide as the lab space will allow. You'll be glad you did later.

Based on your posts you may soon begin suffering from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) and will likely be a good candidate for TEA (Test Equipment Anonymous).

[nctnico]

IMHO that design is overkill! I also don't like the bars between the legs. You'll hurt your legs and you can't put anything underneath the bench.
The frame under my desk looks like this (made from 32x44mm pieces -probably called 1.5x2-) which is attached to the wall for stability:


Also don't forget about power distribution and outlets:


What has worked well for me for decades is a depth of 80cm (say 2.4 ft) and a slit at the back wide enough to feed a mains plug behind the desk.


I wouldn't use MDF as a desktop because it is too soft and will deteriorate quickly. I bought desktops from an office furniture supply store which have a nice PVC liner at the sides but thick plywood with rounded edges and a good layer of lacquer would work just as well.

[mtdoc]

IMHO that design is overkill! I also don't like the bars between the legs.

Not if it will be free standing and will end up with stacks of test gear on it.  But you're right that if (like yours) it is attached to walls on 3 sides it would be overkill.

I wouldn't use MDF as a desktop because it is too soft and will deteriorate quickly.

 

Not if you use a few layers of a good polyurethane or other highly durable finish on it. I've made 2 workbenches with MDF tops and sealed with 2-3 coats of polyurethane.  MDF is very good as a bench top as long as it is sealed like this and has good support underneath.  It will stand up to hammering and beating better than low grade plywood. Marine grade plywood would work well but is more expensive. It would also need a good durable finish.

Another good option for a benchtop is a solid-core door blank. These are available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc in the US. But it has to be solid core!  It also needs a durable finish like polyurethane.

[JenniferG]

Thanks guys.
1) I'll go with 3 foot depth
2) I'll make shelves as an add-on separate piece
3) I'll find a better solution than MDF for top.  (I really like the appearance of the wood tops ntnico used in the photo above -- wow look at all that space!).  EDIT: Or I might just seal it as suggested with multilple coats of polyuerethane.  I am a little artistic and can make faux stone, faux wood or faux aged wood with paint.. I could definitley make it look itneresting at least.
4) I have a bunch of adjustable shelf bookshelves with extra shelves made, so plenty of space for component bins.

I don't find myself bumping the bottom bracer 2x4's -- they are back a ways and they act as a nice shelf for things to be placed on or below.  Yeah I agree it's probably way overkill.. I built that design initially as a solid workbench for the garage for wood working where you really get physical with the workbench at times hand planing things for example.

Yeah mine will be freestanding, not mounted to a wall, just as my workbench out in the garage is.

[IanB]

I would think you would want to have the equipment on shelves at the rear of the bench.  It keeps the bench clear and puts the displays at eye level.

I might think about making it wider and having drawers on both sides.  You can never have too many drawers.  In fact, I might just buy the drawer cabinets pre-manufactured and add a top plus the shelving unit.  OTOH, that drives up the cost.

Definitely shelves above the desk. Watch videos by Shahriar (The Signal Path) to see how useful they are.

Also, I agree with drawers. The best way to have a clean worktop is to have places to put things away when not immediately being used.

[JenniferG]

Here is an example of the usefulness of the lower shelf in my design, and this was unintentional.  I just built one recently for my 3D printer, as I designed it for the workbench out in the garage, but with a bit less width.

Turns out the bottom shelf holds spools of plastic filament quite nicely   The shelf sits back 1/2 the depth of the bench (although the photo might fool you) -- never ever bumped it with my feet yet, and I am a tall woman.  Also look at all that space below the shelf for more things like boxes and what not

(I apologize for not cleaning up the clutter before snapping the photo.  I am not the most tidy at times lol.)

[JenniferG]

Maybe it'd be better if I just bought a large old oak teachers desk with drawers.  They are pretty deep and wide.  Probalby can get one for $100.

[nctnico]

IMHO that design is overkill! I also don't like the bars between the legs.

Not if it will be free standing and will end up with stacks of test gear on it.  But you're right that if (like yours) it is attached to walls on 3 sides it would be overkill.

If it is free standing a cross at the rear and sides will improve stability a lot (triangles add rigidity). The desktop itself will add strength to the structure (think about honeycomb constructions which are light and very strong). I like to build things light weight and use (thin) panels to add strength and rigidity. In many commercial cupboards the strength comes from the thin piece of particle board nailed to the back. Without it you have a wobbly bunch of planks which is about to cave in on itself.

BTW with a thicker desktop (I have 28mm) you can screw it onto the frame from the underside so you don't have screw heads in you work area. Over the past couple of years I have switched to screws with a Torx head instead of Pozidrive/Philips. Torx is much easier to work with.

[mtdoc]

MDF is actually about twice as hard as standard plywood according to this guy

When a veneered panel is used its durability is determined by the density of the core material. The densest core material commonly used is medium density fiberboard (MDF) which has a rating of 50 pounds per square inch (PSI) meaning it takes 50 pounds of pressure to dent it, the equivalent of a strong person swinging a hammer hard from two feet away. In comparison, cabinet-grade particle board is around 37 PSI and standard plywoods are around 25 PSI. Thus, MDF core veneer panels will hold up better than plywoods.

Here's a few pictures of the workbenches I've built:

The first is a large bench in my garage used for woodworking, metal working, and general mechanical use. IOW it gets a lot of abuse. Top is polyurethane coated MDF supported by 2x10s lengthwise underneath.


The next is a small bench in my lab that I use for mechanical purposes (as opposed to electronics). It is also has a polyurethane finished MDF top. The frame is 2x4 Fir and the whole thing is hinged to the wall with a pivoting support so I can move it if I need to get to my large home back up battery bank.


The next is a bench I built originally for wood working but now sees electronics duty. The frame is built from fir 2x4s - similar construction to JenniferG's but with the 2x4's ripped to remove the rounded corners and provide for better joinery. Top is a solid-core door blank from Home Depot finished with polyurethane.



The last is my main electronics bench. This was built using oak cabinets salvaged from a kitchen remodel with an inexpensive laminate (over MDF) top that was purchased at Home Depot. I still need to rebuild some drawers for it.

[JenniferG]

That door top looks nice.  Love the wood veneer.  How much did it cost?  How deep is the workbench with that door?

[rrinker]

 I have a much simpler frame of 2x4s.

My top is a solid core door (one of those newer ones that 'sort of' solid core - it's solid, but the interior is more of a fiberboard, with a veneer outer layer. I sealed it all up with a couple of coats of poly. I can stand on it, jump on it, etc.

[mtdoc]

That door top looks nice.  Love the wood veneer.  How much did it cost?  How deep is the workbench with that door?

It's 32 x 80 inches. I wish now it was 36" wide.

I believe it was this one .

That one is $64 though I build mine abotu 12 years ago and I don't recall what I paid.

[Conrad Hoffman]

It depends on your equipment and what you like to work on. Great old HP meters and such can be had cheap, but they're long and heavy. You want enough depth for that stuff, plus the thing you're working on. My bench is 40 inches deep, leaving about 19 inches to work. If you work on a hifi receiver or amp, that's just barely enough.

[GreyWoolfe]

Jennifer, my workbench is a simple frame of 2X4s and I use a 3/4" MDF top to a depth of 33 inches.  The bench is 8' long and there is a 3" overhang at the front and sides.  I added 4 spaced 2X4s to the back and added 3 full length adjustable shelves and some cross bracing at the back of the 2X4s to mount a bunch of surge protectors for the equipment.  Everything plugs into a big UPS for protection.  The MDF works fine but I also have an ESD mat across the entire width, 24" deep.  There is also a shelf on a frame at the back underneath for additional storage.

Looking at your rendering, you could probably park a VW Bug on that   I find that 33" on the desktop and 12" on the shelves gives plenty of room for stuff and is easy to reach .  I have long arms but I think 36" might be a bit too deep for me.  Everything I have fits on the 12" shelves, the Tek 2235 scope hangs off the back a bit but isn't in danger of falling off.  There is a thread on workbenches many pages long but I haven't the patience to search for it tonight.

[JenniferG]

Looking at your rendering, you could probably park a VW Bug on that   I find that 33" on the desktop and 12" on the shelves gives plenty of room for stuff and is easy to reach .

Yeah it really is overkill for electronics.  It was designed for woodworking, and it's excellent for that purpose for sure.  I couldn't stand the bench I was using before each and every stroke of a hand plane--had a lot of play.  I was looking to build something that would be rock solid, affordable and easy to make.  Inexpensive since all 2x4's and easy to make being all chop cuts (with my miter saw) & screws.

[BrianHG]

Maybe it'd be better if I just bought a large old oak teachers desk with drawers.  They are pretty deep and wide.  Probalby can get one for $100.

I got one of those + for that door on the left which opens with the drawer sliding out, I removed the drawer, made a big hole in the back, added a PC Case fan and placed my PC in there, all the wires coming out the back with USB extenders.  With the door closed, the PC's fans are barely audible.  Makes for a quiet lab where you valuable PC is out of the way & there is still room to place some additional items in the cabinet.

(Note: the fan blew air out the back, sealed up, there is enough of a gap opening around the front cabinet door to let cool air in so the PC wont overheat)

You also get that cool 1 key lock for the front center drawer.  When it's closed, all the drawers are locked.  You need to slightly open the center drawer to unlock all the other drawers and cabinet.

[MarkF]

Here is the workbench I built. It is a 3' x 7' frame made of 1x3 boards with three cross pieces (front to back). The legs are 1.5" x 2.5" cut out of a 2x4 and 29 inches long. The top is edge glued 1x10's. The corners of the frame are mortise and tenon joints into the legs and then glued (no other fasteners). There are two shelves that just sit on the table for the power supplies, scope and printers. It's very stable and does support my full weight.

I do have a lot of woodworking experience and it's probably not a beginners project.

Correction: There are only two cross pieces. One divides the frame in half front-to-back and the other divides the frame in half left-to-right.

[SeanB]

A good top is a melamine kitchen counter top. You can either buy them new, or look for a kitchen supplier near you and ask if they have any they removed during renovation, and these are often free. They are thick, quite cut resistant and you do not really worry if you cut or burn the top surface in use.

Using plywood works well, and I just left it unfinished, so that when it gets too scruffy I can just use a sander and get it looking reasonable again. Using plywood for shelves is also good, it is a lot stiffer than MDF board, and when you buy a whole sheet from a supplier you can make up a cut list ( and no cuts that stop half way through a board, they only go end to end, but you can do a lot with straight cuts) and make the top, the shelves and the sides from a single sheet, plus remember the typical kerf of 5mm for the saw, and you get shelves that are same length as the bench, plus the ends and a few centre supports for one price.

A bit of wood glue, some chipboard ( I just use good drywall) screws and some join blocks and you have the shelving done. To stiffen the edge I use aluminium U channel that fits the edge, and this makes it a lot stiffer, plus finishes off the edge as well. Can also be used as a shelf support, and also you can put LED tape into the U and have nice indirect downlighting for the worktop as well.  If you want diffused there just get a strip of white thin ( 2mm) acrylic strip and glue it into the U channel just not touching the LED's. A drop of glue here and there to hold it in, and mount the whole strip of aluminium with double sided foam tape.

Made some shelves at work using that method, and they are strong enough that I have no issues walking on top of them when needed.

[Kalvin]

I didn't have a place nor proper tools for woodwork, so I headed to Ikea.

Here's what I am using - white legs and grey top:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30345717/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10251352/

Lower budget legs, but no adjustment:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10118971/

Those are ok unless you need to have a very sturdy or stable table, like when doing some metalwork or put heavy weight on it.

[GreyWoolfe]

Maybe it'd be better if I just bought a large old oak teachers desk with drawers.  They are pretty deep and wide.  Probalby can get one for $100.

I have one for my ham radio equipment and computer.  I got it at Hospice Thrift for $50.  Weighs about as much as your workbench  

[Tom45]

I am a little artistic and can make faux stone, faux wood or faux aged wood with paint.. I could definitley make it look itneresting at least.

Artistic is nice, but I don't think it would be good for an electronics bench top. Too easy to lose sight of small components on the bench top.

Tom

[oldway]

Electronics workbench can be very simple and very cheap.

My workbench is a simple aglomerate board 20mm thick and 1m25 x 0.6m with 4 metal feet.

It even resists abuse, but I do not advise doing the same thing as me.