4 ms·

24 inches (60 cm) is not deep enough, IMO. It's incredibly irritating that IKEA stopped selling reasonably priced 75+ cm deep bench tops (except for in a few ma

by tpmx 3y ago

24 inches (60 cm) is not deep enough, IMO. It's incredibly irritating that IKEA stopped selling reasonably priced 75+ cm deep bench tops (except for in a few markets, like Germany, maybe IKEA thinks they still use CRTs there?). Also: I see that your photos include a proper solder fume extractor, but the BOM doesn't. I think it makes sense to include one. I did some research a few months ago for a suitable model available in the EU. My research ended up with this one: Weller ZERO SMOG EL KIT 1. About 700 EUR + VAT. (Didn't pull the trigger yet - curious about thoughts on this one.)

johnwalkr 3y ago
That series has a corner piece which is very deep. I got rid of it in all an international move, but I made a workbench with two of those desks one wall, a corner piece and then one more desk on the adjacent wall. It was nice to have enough space for keeping multiple projects out and felt deep enough in the corner for a PC and monitor. I like that it's very configurable too, you can put legs instead of storage units where you want more legroom.
CamperBob2 3y ago
What works surprisingly well are ordinary folding tables from Staples/OfficeMax, bolted together with brackets for stability. You can create a workbench of any desired shape, size, and depth that way. Once you keep them from swaying side-to-side by fastening them together, the effective load capacity goes way up. Best of all you don't have to feel bad about drilling into them. Trouble is, I don't think they sell anything but the plastic ones now. Working with anything more ESD-sensitive than 6L6s is a bad idea with those.
mwbajor 3y ago
I have about 40 linear feet of bench space in my garage. Its cheaper to make durable benches out of 4'x8' sheets of 3/4" plywood with another 3/4" sheet of mdf underneath. I cut them to 3'x8' sheets and use the extra 1' as a shelf. You need the 3' bench space for equipment. Ikea used to make things out of real wood but they haven't in years. Anything other than actual plywood will sag.
- philsnow 3y ago
  What's the mdf underneath for? Would another sheet of plywood (offset from the one above, for strength at joints) work better, but is more expensive?
  - tpmx 3y ago
    I honestly prefer IKEA's lightweight honeycomb techique. They're crap at surface impacts (putting a sheet of plywood on top is a great idea) but really good at rigidity. If only they were available in decent depth dimensions, like they used to be.
- myself248 3y ago
  I cut 48x96 sheets into 48x32 benchtops, I find that ideal. Deep enough to hold a lot but shallow enough to still reach the shelves. Use Gorilla glue to laminate a piece of thin (1/4" or 3/8") ply to a piece of rigid pink foam board, with another piece of thin ply on the bottom. This foam-core sandwich is stiff but lightweight, acoustically dead, and very cheap. You can use a ton of random objects or just a vacuum-bag to apply the lamination pressure. Stick some one-by on the edge and radius it with a router, and you're done.

by tpmx 3y ago

johnwalkr 3y ago

That series has a corner piece which is very deep. I got rid of it in all an international move, but I made a workbench with two of those desks one wall, a corner piece and then one more desk on the adjacent wall. It was nice to have enough space for keeping multiple projects out and felt deep enough in the corner for a PC and monitor. I like that it's very configurable too, you can put legs instead of storage units where you want more legroom.

CamperBob2 3y ago

What works surprisingly well are ordinary folding tables from Staples/OfficeMax, bolted together with brackets for stability. You can create a workbench of any desired shape, size, and depth that way. Once you keep them from swaying side-to-side by fastening them together, the effective load capacity goes way up. Best of all you don't have to feel bad about drilling into them. Trouble is, I don't think they sell anything but the plastic ones now. Working with anything more ESD-sensitive than 6L6s is a bad idea with those.

mwbajor 3y ago

I have about 40 linear feet of bench space in my garage. Its cheaper to make durable benches out of 4'x8' sheets of 3/4" plywood with another 3/4" sheet of mdf underneath. I cut them to 3'x8' sheets and use the extra 1' as a shelf. You need the 3' bench space for equipment. Ikea used to make things out of real wood but they haven't in years. Anything other than actual plywood will sag.

philsnow 3y ago
What's the mdf underneath for? Would another sheet of plywood (offset from the one above, for strength at joints) work better, but is more expensive?
- tpmx 3y ago
  I honestly prefer IKEA's lightweight honeycomb techique. They're crap at surface impacts (putting a sheet of plywood on top is a great idea) but really good at rigidity. If only they were available in decent depth dimensions, like they used to be.
myself248 3y ago
I cut 48x96 sheets into 48x32 benchtops, I find that ideal. Deep enough to hold a lot but shallow enough to still reach the shelves. Use Gorilla glue to laminate a piece of thin (1/4" or 3/8") ply to a piece of rigid pink foam board, with another piece of thin ply on the bottom. This foam-core sandwich is stiff but lightweight, acoustically dead, and very cheap. You can use a ton of random objects or just a vacuum-bag to apply the lamination pressure. Stick some one-by on the edge and radius it with a router, and you're done.