Stuff Andy Makes – DIY, make, tinker, play

Electronics Workbench LED Upgrade

Mar 17

AndyTips and Techniques, Upgrades/Hacks drawers, lamp, LED lighting, organization, workbench No Comments

I guess I forgot to post an update to the update of my workbench. Not only did I clean up the gigantic mess that had accumulated on it, I improved the lighting and workspace availability:

Electronic Workbench LED Lighting Upgrade

Prior to this upgrade, I had fluorescent lighting under the blue cabinets over the bench. They extended down about 3 to 4 inches and kinda got in the way. I also didn’t think through the placement, so they were back about half-way under the cabinets. This meant they didn’t put light out on the front edge of the tabletop like I would have hoped. Here’s the old lighting:

Old Fluorescent Lighting

The monitor on the left barely fit behind the light and the light extended down lower than the top of the monitor. Dumb. I might have been drinking bourbon that day. Like, more than a shot or two. No matter. That is history. Today, we have wonderLEDs!

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Electronics and Hack Workbench

May 01

AndyEducational/Interesting, Electronics, Projects, Tips and Techniques, Upgrades/Hacks, Woodworking/Shop benchtop power supply, cabinets, drawers, esd foam, glass, organization, storage, workbench No Comments

I’ve had a number of requests from readers to see my workbench in its entirety, as most photos of it are just backgrounds to projects. So, I thought I’d post some photos and explanations in an article. Maybe someone will get some helpful hints or perhaps someone will lend me some helpful advice.

First off, here are some wide shots of the mess:

Wide shot of Andy's Electronics Workbench

I made the table. The top is made out of three 10″-ish wide pine boards glued together side to side using biscuits. I had a custom piece of 3/16″ glass to fit the top. Half of the top of the table is covered with conductive foam to keep static at bay. I ordered a couple big pieces of that from somewhere on-line, can’t remember where. It’s super convenient for stabbing parts into to hold them neatly. It’s also great for discharging static. The legs I’ve had a while. They were part of a giant desk I built years ago. I got them on-line many moons ago. They have bases that are screwed to the bottom of the tabletop. They then screw into the bases. They’re made of steel or aluminum or something strong like that. Under the tabletop, I put a big “X” of 3″ wide interlocked pine planks for rigidity. I can stand right on the center of that table and it barely flexes. More