Make Electronics

What Next? 229

Customizing Your Work Area

This leads me to two conclusions:

1. You need storage above the workbench.


2. You need storage below the workbench.

Many DIY workbench projects allow little or no storage underneath. Or, they
suggest open shelves, which will be vulnerable to dust. My minimum configu-
ration would be a pair of two-drawer file cabinets with a slab of 3/4-inch ply-
wood or a Formica-clad kitchen countertop placed across them. File cabinets
are ideal for storing all kinds of objects, not just files.

Of all the workbenches I’ve used, the one I liked best was an old-fashioned
steel office desk—the kind of monster that dates back to the 1950s. They’re
difficult to move (because of their weight) and don’t look beautiful, but you
can buy them cheaply from used office furniture dealers, they’re generous in
size, they withstand abuse, and they last forever. The drawers are deep and
usually slide in and out smoothly, like good file-cabinet drawers. Best of all,
the desk has so much steel in it that you can use it to ground yourself before
touching components that are sensitive to static electricity. If you use an anti-
static wrist strap, you can simply attach it to a sheet-metal screw that you drive
into one corner of the desk.

What will you put in the deep drawers of your desk or file cabinets? Some
paperwork may be useful, perhaps including the following documents:

• Product data sheets


• Parts catalogs


• Sketches and plans that you draw yourself

The remaining capacity of each drawer can be filled with plastic storage box-
es. The boxes can contain tools that you don’t use so often (such as a heat
gun or a high-capacity soldering iron), and larger-sized components (such as
loudspeakers, AC adapters, project boxes, and circuit boards). You should look
for storage boxes that measure around 11 inches long, 8 inches wide, and 5
inches deep, with straight sides. Boxes that you can buy at Wal-Mart will be
cheaper, but they often have tapering sides (which are not space-efficient).

The boxes that I like best are Akro-Grids, made by Akro-Mils (see Figures 5-2 and
5-3). These are very rugged, straight-sided, with optional transparent snap-on
lids. You can download the full Akro-Mills catalog from http://www.akro-mils.com
and then search online for retail suppliers. You’ll find that Akro-Mils also sells
an incredible variety of parts bins, but I don’t like open bins because their con-
tents are vulnerable to dust and dirt.

For medium-size components, such as potentiometers, power connectors, con-
trol knobs, and toggle switches, I like storage containers measuring about 11
inches long, 8 inches wide, and 2 inches deep , divided into four to six sections.
You can buy these from Michaels (the craft store), but I prefer to shop online for
the Plano brand, as they seem more durably constructed. The Plano products that
are most suitable for medium-size electronic parts are classified as fishing-tackle
boxes, and you’ll see them at http://www.planomolding.com/tackle/products.asp.

Figure 5-2. Akro-Grid boxes contain

grooves allowing them to be partitioned

into numerous compartments for conve-

nient parts storage.

Figure 5-3. Lids are sold separately for

Akro-Grid boxes to keep the contents

dust-free. The height of the box in Figure

5-2 allows three to be stacked in a typical

file-cabinet drawer. The box shown here

allows two to be stacked.