Even worse are the tables with plastic tops...instasag! I've scavenged a few local leg sets from dumped tables on the curb for future projects. My lab has particle board tops covered with anti-stat matts, but they are sitting on 2 drawer filing cabinets and there is no sag. I have 4 racks currently in the house and garage; in one case, the rack out weights the contents by quite a bit. It will still be working after the roaches take over the world...
Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Miles" <[email protected]> To: "Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2010 5:37:55 PM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Test Equipment > Another important aspect of the electronic test bench is the furniture. > > I started with the cheapie particle board "fold up legged" tables and > very soon > learned they could not hold much weight without significant sagging. If you have the space, you could do what I do, and bolt multiple folding tables together with 'L'- and 'T'-shaped flat metal brackets. The idea, besides adding surface area, is to dampen the tables' tendency to wobble. This adds a surprising amount of stability and load-bearing capacity. It completely eliminates the need to add a center leg, which is otherwise pretty much mandatory when using folding tables. With cheap folding tables, you don't have to feel bad about drilling into your workbench or otherwise marring and gouging it. Every few years, or when you move, just throw the old folding table away and spend $39.95 on another one. Voila, a brand new workbench. > Many industrial equipment catalogs will give you an idea of the > accessories possible. > Shelves, drawers, electrical outlet strips.etc. > > An effective infrastructure will allow the test bench to gradually grow, > as the budget allows. Also, HP/Agilent equipment racks are sometimes available on eBay. These are nothing like the relay racks or server racks that you commonly see in data centers. They are *stout*. They're very expensive when new, but almost free for the shipping when bought used. I used generic shelving units to hold test equipment for a long time, but once you use real racks, you won't go back. An Agilent E3662A/B rack can hold up to 81 EIA units of gear weighing up to 1800 pounds. I have three in my living room and wish I had more... -- john, KE5FX _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
