# Your Toolbox



## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Sep 27, 2019)

What does your workstation look like?

Here's mine



Some of my favorite tools are:
-Optivisor with LED lights
-Quadhands helping hands base.
-Jack-The-Gripper jack tightening tool.
-The fan up top that keeps me cool and blows fumes away.
-Little Skil driver with Phillips bit.
-The green isopropyl alcohol pump dispenser
-label maker ?
-Knipex 78 71 125 lead catching nippers 

And here is my component storage



This took years to compile and organize. It never ends.


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## JetFixxxer (Sep 27, 2019)

Wow! That's really organized and neat.   Mine looks like a bomb went off.


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## Nostradoomus (Sep 27, 2019)

I really need to build a shed on the property for all my stuff. I just finished cleaning and am about halfway through organizing it all, so no pictures yet!


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## Mourguitars (Sep 27, 2019)

very neat -organized- and Awesome !

Cool work space JBK

Mike


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## Barry (Sep 27, 2019)

JetFixxxer said:


> Wow! That's really organized and neat.   Mine looks like a bomb went off.


Ditto!


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## DGWVI (Sep 27, 2019)

Need to get myself a Quadhands, and I love your iron setup, might have to copy that once I upgrade.

Anyway, here's my humble bench:



All those circuits are ready to be boxed, but nowhere local had the step bit size I needed, so have to wait on Amazon.


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## reubenreub (Sep 27, 2019)

I love your benches! Good stuff all around. Here's my workbench with a bonus cat pic. Been growing a collection of germanium transistors in the corner there....



https://imgur.com/a/OOGhTK1


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## Gordo (Sep 27, 2019)

If I clean my bench up it only seems to stay that way for a few days.  Otherwise if somebody broke into the house and ransacked my workbench I'd never know the difference.


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## DGWVI (Sep 27, 2019)

Gordo said:


> If I clean my bench up it only seems to stay that way for a few days.  Otherwise if somebody broke into the house and ransacked my workbench I'd never know the difference.


I like to work on several things at once, so mine gets cluttered pretty quickly while I'm populating boards


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Sep 27, 2019)

These are great. It's cool seeing some of the same tools up. I'm now inspired to find a more out of the way spot for my enclosures.


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Sep 27, 2019)

Oh and another favorite tool I use so much that I added its own space for are cake testers. I teach cooking classes as my main job so I have all kinds of specific kitchen tools. They just come in handy. Moving wires in an enclosure, positioning washers, testing cake. I sharpen the tips with sandpaper.


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Sep 27, 2019)

Also...I made that workbench a few years ago from *this site*. It was super inexpensive and all I needed was to borrow a mitre saw for the 2x4s. Lowe's cut the pegboard and other tabletops.


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## DGWVI (Sep 27, 2019)

Jovi Bon Kenobi said:


> Oh and another favorite tool I use so much that I added its own space for are cake testers. I teach cooking classes as my main job so I have all kinds of specific kitchen tools. They just come in handy. Moving wires in an enclosure, positioning washers, testing cake. I sharpen the tips with sandpaper.


These do look pretty nifty, may have a grab a dozen.



Jovi Bon Kenobi said:


> Also...I made that workbench a few years ago from *this site*. It was super inexpensive and all I needed was to borrow a mitre saw for the 2x4s. Lowe's cut the pegboard and other tabletops.


I lucked out- my wife got sick of me using the computer desk and dining table, so she grabbed one of the Harbor Freight benches for me. I've got no complaints


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## Robert (Sep 29, 2019)

Jovi Bon Kenobi said:


> Also...I made that workbench a few years ago from *this site*.



I've built three of those over the years, they're my favorite workbench.  

I never got around to installing the pegboard on my first one so completely omitted the upper part from the two I have now.


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## Nostradoomus (Sep 29, 2019)

Jovi Bon Kenobi said:


> Also...I made that workbench a few years ago from *this site*. It was super inexpensive and all I needed was to borrow a mitre saw for the 2x4s. Lowe's cut the pegboard and other tabletops.



Good luck building that for 50 bucks now! I could probably do it for 50(CAD) but I get a massive discount at work


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Sep 29, 2019)

Nostradoomus said:


> Good luck building that for 50 bucks now! I could probably do it for 50(CAD) but I get a massive discount at work


Haha. Yeah, times have changed. I built it maybe 6 years ago and if I recall it was about $100 all in, maybe a tad more.


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## chongmagic (Oct 1, 2019)

DGWVI said:


> Need to get myself a Quadhands, and I love your iron setup, might have to copy that once I upgrade.
> 
> Anyway, here's my humble bench:
> View attachment 1551
> All those circuits are ready to be boxed, but nowhere local had the step bit size I needed, so have to wait on Amazon.



I have the same workbench, did you get it from Harbor Freight by chance?


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## DGWVI (Oct 1, 2019)

chongmagic said:


> I have the same workbench, did you get it from Harbor Freight by chance?


I did


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## Chuck D. Bones (Oct 2, 2019)

Those are some seriously nice benches!  My bench is like my brain: crowded & poorly organized, but it gets the job done. I won't be posting any pix of either.

Favorite tools: (besides the usual soldering iron, needle-nose pliers & wire strippers) goose-neck lamp, magnifying visor, tweezers, circuit-board vise *and a USB 'scope*. I got the LabNation. Not the cheapest one out there, but plenty of good features including a function generator. Saves a _Whole Lotta Time_ with mods and troubleshooting.

Something I have at my bench that I don't see in your bench pix is a computer where I can pull up drawings, specs, photos, etc.

Oh, and nice cat, ReubenReub.  Mine likes to get in the way and knock shit over.


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## DGWVI (Oct 3, 2019)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Something I have at my bench that I don't see in your bench pix is a computer where I can pull up drawings, specs, photos, etc.
> 
> Oh, and nice cat, ReubenReub.  Mine likes to get in the way and knock shit over.




I do have a PC set up immediately behind my chair at the bench, but my phone is a lot more convenient. I also like to print out everything I think I might need or find interesting before I sit down.

... And, cats. We've five of them, and they all decide they need attention as soon as I flip the iron on


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## JetFixxxer (Oct 4, 2019)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> crowded & poorly organized, but it gets the job done. I won't be posting any pix of either.



I'm glad that I'm not the only one.


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## K Pedals (Oct 4, 2019)

JetFixxxer said:


> I'm glad that I'm not the only one.


I was thinking the same thing...


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## chongmagic (Dec 15, 2019)

Here is mine, nothing crazy but I spend a lot of time at it lol.









						New item by Jonathan Freeman
					






					photos.app.goo.gl
				












						New item by Jonathan Freeman
					






					photos.app.goo.gl
				












						New item by Jonathan Freeman
					






					photos.app.goo.gl
				












						New item by Jonathan Freeman
					






					photos.app.goo.gl
				












						New item by Jonathan Freeman
					






					photos.app.goo.gl


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## DGWVI (Mar 1, 2020)

Got around to putting all of my most commonly used components in drawers, and added a Hakko soldering station (amazing!!) and Quad Hands (much better than the old RadioShack Helping Hands I was using).
The box on the bottom shelf is full of seldom-used-but-might-come-in-handy component values. The two bags are full of PCBs- I still need to come up with a better storage idea for those and my populated buy yet-to-be boxed boards
Also need to procure some form of tool holder for my snips, pliers, screwdrivers and sockets




All of these work wonderfully, I've just to box them up, and seriously come up with a better solution for storing them... Or, maybe just try to build one-at-a-time




Inking supplies and various tools:






My most valued employee (the cats are assholes)


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## chongmagic (Mar 2, 2020)

DGWVI said:


> Got around to putting all of my most commonly used components in drawers, and added a Hakko soldering station (amazing!!) and Quad Hands (much better than the old RadioShack Helping Hands I was using).
> The box on the bottom shelf is full of seldom-used-but-might-come-in-handy component values. The two bags are full of PCBs- I still need to come up with a better storage idea for those and my populated buy yet-to-be boxed boards
> Also need to procure some form of tool holder for my snips, pliers, screwdrivers and sockets
> View attachment 3312
> ...



Looks good, I have the same workbench. And once you get a Hakko, nothing else will do.


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## Barry (Mar 2, 2020)

DGWVI said:


> Got around to putting all of my most commonly used components in drawers, and added a Hakko soldering station (amazing!!) and Quad Hands (much better than the old RadioShack Helping Hands I was using).
> The box on the bottom shelf is full of seldom-used-but-might-come-in-handy component values. The two bags are full of PCBs- I still need to come up with a better storage idea for those and my populated buy yet-to-be boxed boards
> Also need to procure some form of tool holder for my snips, pliers, screwdrivers and sockets
> View attachment 3312
> ...



I can't believe there is someone worse than me at populating boards and not finishing them!


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## bretvh (Mar 31, 2020)

Here's mine... finally got this set up last Summer after a few years of cobbling together tiny, inpermanent workspaces. I've tried to get my shit as organized as my ADD brain can manage, and it's helped tremendously with efficiency. I think that the afternoon I spent organizing all of my resistors into storage bin drawers was by far the biggest time saver. But having most commonly used stuff within an arm's reach, but some things that require me to get up and walk around a little, has been a good balance between efficiency and moving around a little.


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## bengarland (Apr 12, 2020)

You guys are giving me some workbench envy. Here are a couple pics I have from a month ago. It's "organized chaos" and _slightly_ more clean at the moment but I'm too lazy to snap a new pic.

My workspace / home studio is in a finished attic with a ceiling so low that I can't stand up. By the end of the year I will be moving it all to a dedicated tiny (115 sq ft) building at my garden in the mountains --- will be a HUGE upgrade.

BTW, my favorite tool on my bench is *a block of wood. *I'm not joking. It's a 4x4 scrap of wood about 4.5 inches long. Comes in handy for leaning boards against to populate parts, raising boards up closer to see when I'm inspecting with my magnifier glasses, using as a weight to stabilize wobbly big PCBs while I'm soldering the other end, and so much more. I've never seen anyone mention having a block of wood on the bench but damn it's really handy!

My other fav tool are the "corncob" LED lights. They are so bright. I've got one that's warm and two that are cool hue so the overall color balance is nicer to my eyes. It's made such a big difference to be able to light up the bench. There are also 2 strips of LED lights under the shelf above the bench which help a lot too.

Probably the only other thing that makes a big difference is the Hakko 888 soldering station. Everything else I have is fairly standard and not very expensive (hot air station and signal generator are from Aliexpress, work great), but I cannot imagine trying to solder without a proper iron -- the single-piece pencil type totally suck and are more frustration than they're worth. I really would not wish one of those on my worst enemy. I highly recommend the Hakko.


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## MightySmallElectrons (Apr 12, 2020)

What tips do y’all prefer on your Hakko?


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## bengarland (Apr 16, 2020)

MightySmallElectrons said:


> What tips do y’all prefer on your Hakko?



I use a T-18 C2 which is the "angle cut cylinder" style. I've also tried the chisel type and the pencil type. I prefer the angle cut because if I rotate my iron I can attack the joint at different angles and also get into hard to reach places, where with the chisel you really only have the flat side and the narrow side. And the pencil type just sucks in general.


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## HamishR (Apr 28, 2020)

Wow - you guys have actual workbenches!  I have a desk, in an office. Well it was a bedroom but now it's my office.  I work from home. My office is where I keep my guitars, computers, amps and about a gazillion pedals. I have a Marshall bar fridge in there too - my wife bought it for me. She's a keeper but I keep her in a different room. I keep all the electronics parts in a couple of drawers and they are well organised, but my desk is a mess. My office is right at the front of the house and as I work I can see outside to the front gate. It means I can often have the front door open before the delivery man rings the doorbell.

Sometimes I actually have to stop building pedals or playing guitar and do work. That sucks.


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## Nostradoomus (Jun 24, 2020)

Mine is a dual purpose music making/building station...also the corner of our living room lol. Just cleaned it up after months of clutter so no time like the present to take a picture.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jun 24, 2020)

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!  Cool setup.  Even cooler wife for allowing that in the living room.  You had better not be flicking any solder into the carpet.

A moose tapestry, how Canadian, eh?

And what's that behind the monitor, mood lighting?

Hey!  Look at all that vinyl!  This photo is like a Hieronymus Bosch painting.  Every time I look at it, I see something I hadn't noticed before.


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## Nostradoomus (Jun 24, 2020)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> NIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!  Cool setup.  Even cooler wife for allowing that in the living room.  You had better not be flicking any solder into the carpet.
> 
> A moose tapestry, how Canadian, eh?
> 
> ...



hahaha, I will let the wife know next time she looks at the corner and sighs that it is actually fine art much like the moose tapestry. We have another one (this time Elk!) elsewhere in the house, they’re so ridiculous I can’t take them down. Fun to stare at under the influence of certain substances 

Behind the monitor is a pair of plastic mannequin legs my wife glued artsy rocks to and stuffed with outdoor lighting, it’s the “always on” light of the house.


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## HamishR (Jun 25, 2020)

And a turntable playing actual records - I have one in my office too. My son's girlfriend loves vinyl and bought me some records a while ago. I love that vinyl has made a comeback. CDs are great for convenience but I don't stoop to MP3s for listening except on aeroplanes. I still play my records from time to time. My son stopped by my office when I played one and was surprised at how good it sounded - what was he expecting??


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## Nostradoomus (Jun 25, 2020)

I have vinyl at home and cassettes in my car. That’s it haha.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jun 25, 2020)

Cassettes?  I remember those.  
I put off buying a CD player for a long time because when CDs first came out, they sounded like crap.  The record companies had no clue how to master a CD.  When I finally bought a CD player, I set it up and compared *Who's Next* vinyl vs. CD. CD sounded pretty good, but vinyl was clearly superior. Of course I can't play vinyl in my car...


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## Nostradoomus (Jun 25, 2020)

The worst thing is getting an album on vinyl that was clearly a CD master transferred over without consideration.


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## Nostradoomus (Oct 11, 2020)

Well I’m moving at the end of the month, the place we’re going is empty and they don’t care if we start setting up ahead of time. I get my own pedal/guitar cave room in this place so I am over the top excited about it! Now all my stuff won’t be in the living room.

First things first is a proper workbench I am mounting in the little alcove corner by the window (proper ventilation!). Took a sheet of MDF and cut it to 30x70 and just clamped/glued/screwed leftover bits to double it up.




More pics to come as progress is made.


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## Danbieranowski (Oct 11, 2020)

Here’s a mock-up of what my desk looks like:


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Oct 11, 2020)

Danbieranowski said:


> Here’s a mock-up of what my desk looks like:


That traffic cone really ties the room together


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Oct 11, 2020)

Nostradoomus said:


> Well I’m moving at the end of the month, the place we’re going is empty and they don’t care if we start setting up ahead of time. I get my own pedal/guitar cave room in this place so I am over the top excited about it! Now all my stuff won’t be in the living room.
> 
> First things first is a proper workbench I am mounting in the little alcove corner by the window (proper ventilation!). Took a sheet of MDF and cut it to 30x70 and just clamped/glued/screwed leftover bits to double it up.
> 
> ...


Moving sucks but _THAT_ is awesome!


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## Nostradoomus (Oct 11, 2020)

Jovi Bon Kenobi said:


> Moving sucks but _THAT_ is awesome!



Its true but it’s better than living in a place with damp/mold issues and a landlord who couldn’t give a shit. I see a flaming bag of dog poop in his future.


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## Barry (Oct 11, 2020)

Danbieranowski said:


> Here’s a mock-up of what my desk looks like:


We have the same housekeeper!


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## Barry (Oct 11, 2020)

Here's my actual mess


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## Dali (Oct 12, 2020)

My electronic lair...


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## Nostradoomus (Oct 12, 2020)

Got my bench hung up today and put some pegboard on the side wall. Coming along!


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## twebb6778 (Oct 13, 2020)

Nostradoomus said:


> Got my bench hung up today and put some pegboard on the side wall. Coming along!
> 
> View attachment 6957


Looking good! Love the potential of a wide open space.


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## Barry (Oct 16, 2020)

Nostradoomus said:


> Got my bench hung up today and put some pegboard on the side wall. Coming along!
> 
> View attachment 6957


I need to find a place for some pegboard


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## Nostradoomus (Oct 23, 2020)

Now the real fun begins.

I have 2 half stacks and about 10 guitars to put in here too. And a synth setup. I’m going to need more shelving.


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## Nostradoomus (Oct 25, 2020)

Pretty close to set up now. I am super thankful I work at a hardware store and get stuff for a bit above cost. I think I only spent 200 bucks setting this place up.


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## cooder (Oct 25, 2020)

Looking great and very organised! Gotta love the discount at the store... ready to rip in!


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Oct 25, 2020)

Nostradoomus said:


> Pretty close to set up now. I am super thankful I work at a hardware store and get stuff for a bit above cost. I think I only spent 200 bucks setting this place up.
> 
> View attachment 7333
> View attachment 7334
> View attachment 7335


That looks so efficient! Like everything is at arm's reach. Needs a beer holder though. Or maybe mannequin leg lighting.


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## Barry (Oct 25, 2020)

That is looking real good, I may have to make a Home Depot run


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## Nostradoomus (Oct 25, 2020)

Barry said:


> That is looking real good, I may have to make a Home Depot run



I work at an independent hardware store, so ew.


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## Barry (Oct 25, 2020)

Nostradoomus said:


> I work at an independent hardware store, so ew.


Unfortunately those are rare around here


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## peccary (Dec 27, 2020)

I'm new here, but I am pretty proud of my first little workspace, even if it isn't much at this time, so I wanted to share it here.

We moved in to this current house a little over a year ago. A few months ago I set up in the garage on a foldout table. I could only work for an hour or two at a time without killing my neck and back. The previous renter worked on dirt bikes in here, and built a stand up workbench against the back wall.

About a month or six weeks ago I finally took an afternoon to organize (part of) the garage to allow me to use the bench. Being able to stand up and work has been a game changer, not to mention that the space is now permanent. It is SO nice to not have to put everything away. That made getting started a chore.

My next job will be to get another rack to put all my brewing equipment in to so I can free up the space under the bench and I'm also going to put some pegboard up against the wall behind the bench. After seeing how well you have all use pegboard I'm in to it when I hadn't really considered it before.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Dec 27, 2020)

Brewing _and _pedals!  Dude, you got it made.


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## fig (Jan 23, 2021)

> and a USB 'scope. I got the LabNation.



Good morning Mr. Bones. How would you rate the control gestures to adjust channel time, frequency, etc? It seems that alone would be a great benefit over the conventional controls.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jan 23, 2021)

Thank you for asking!  I run my LabNation thru a laptop and up until just now, I had not tried more than one finger on the touch pad.  Eureka!

Or as Peanut would say:


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## dmnCrawler (Jun 5, 2021)

Someone asked what my workspace looked like so I figure I would put it here. Looking toward the same corner and this is pretty much the entire main room of my apartment. I have to try to maximize space.


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## Barry (Jun 6, 2021)

dmnCrawler said:


> Someone asked what my workspace looked like so I figure I would put it here. Looking toward the same corner and this is pretty much the entire main room of my apartment. I have to try to maximize space.
> 
> View attachment 12403View attachment 12404View attachment 12405View attachment 12406


At least you have your priorties straight!


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jun 6, 2021)

Who needs a kitchen or a bedroom when you have all that?  I hope the neighbors appreciate it when when you crank up that Marshall.


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## dmnCrawler (Jun 7, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Who needs a kitchen or a bedroom when you have all that?  I hope the neighbors appreciate it when when you crank up that Marshall.


The kitchen counter is right behind be in the first 3 photos. Its what happens when everything but the bedroom is in one room. 

I got lucky and my landlord is in a Greek wedding band and loves the fact that he found a musician to rent to. Plus I have attenuators for everything.


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## Stickman393 (Jun 27, 2021)

Damn, look at y'all with your pintrest-ready workstations.

I thrive in chaos.


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## Mourguitars (Aug 28, 2021)

Finally got this space with the tools i need ...ive taken over the office since the boss is never here unless i invite him...so its just me and the lil doggie...lol

I like the lil Toolbox , it fits under  the desk well..rolls great...its slap full of tools..gheez it took me two full to set up and go tru what tools i needed 

That little M.S LED light works great ...i had to velcro the Scope and Signal Gen ..those units are so feather weight..they dont move now..i did buy better cables for those as well..

Bought two Fluke Meters...114 and that lil palm pocket sized one for $50...nice units ..very simple

Mike



https://imgur.com/jiitX3f


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## Chuck D. Bones (Aug 28, 2021)

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!

You even have a variac.

That amp looks *heavy*.


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## andare (Aug 28, 2021)

Here's my workspace. It's only temporary, I have to put everything away when I'm not building. I also have to move it to the center of my 20 m2 room to be able to work.


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## matt3310 (Aug 28, 2021)

This is the most recent pic I have. I'll try to get an updated one this weekend.


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## Stickman393 (Aug 28, 2021)

One step forward...two steps back....


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## Gordo (Aug 28, 2021)

Hey Stick, it's all good when you can quote a lyric.  My landlord fixes video games and pinball machines in her spare time so when we sold our house and moved here it was literally a lateral move to a new bench.  It's got a basement window so every so often the neighborhood squirrels check in to make sure I'm OK.


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## SYLV9ST9R (Aug 28, 2021)

You guys have it good. My main workspaces are the stovetop (with the oven hood providing suction) and the top of the dryer (I really need a fan there). Don’t have space for a proper bench in the basement. So it’s constantly moving my stuff around and cleaning up… 🤷🏻


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## peccary (Aug 28, 2021)

SYLV9ST9R said:


> You guys have it good. My main workspaces are the stovetop (with the oven hood providing suction) and the top of the dryer (I really need a fan there). Don’t have space for a proper bench in the basement. So it’s constantly moving my stuff around and cleaning up… 🤷🏻


That is rough. It's hard for me to get started when I know that a good portion of my available time is going to set up and tear down. The oven hood as a solder vent, though - genius!


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## andare (Aug 28, 2021)

SYLV9ST9R said:


> You guys have it good. My main workspaces are the stovetop (with the oven hood providing suction) and the top of the dryer (I really need a fan there). Don’t have space for a proper bench in the basement. So it’s constantly moving my stuff around and cleaning up… 🤷🏻


You have a basement though. I live in 28 m2 and the only room is 20. My bathroom is so small the window can't even open all the way. European cubicles...


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## fig (Aug 28, 2021)

andare said:


> You have a basement though. I live in 28 m2 and the only room is 20. My bathroom is so small the window can't even open all the way. European cubicles...


That's tight for sure, and you are willing to share it with your hobby!


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## fig (Aug 28, 2021)

SYLV9ST9R said:


> You guys have it good. My main workspaces are the stovetop (with the oven hood providing suction) and the top of the dryer (I really need a fan there). Don’t have space for a proper bench in the basement. So it’s constantly moving my stuff around and cleaning up… 🤷🏻


...and you do excellent work in spite of that!


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## fig (Aug 28, 2021)

matt3310 said:


> This is the most recent pic I have. I'll try to get an updated one this weekend.


Well, now here's a surprise 

Edit: just call me fig jelly.


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## Barry (Aug 28, 2021)

Stickman393 said:


> Damn, look at y'all with your pintrest-ready workstations.
> 
> I thrive in chaos.
> View attachment 13103


Put a mug beer in there and you pretty much got mine nailed!


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## SYLV9ST9R (Aug 28, 2021)

peccary said:


> That is rough. It's hard for me to get started when I know that a good portion of my available time is going to set up and tear down. The oven hood as a solder vent, though - genius!


Yep, I’ll populate 3-4 board in one session, than take a couple of weeks to do the outboard wiring and box them up 🙄 the oven hood trick was given to me by the friend who showed me the basics.


fig said:


> ...and you do excellent work in spite of that!


thanks, it’s easy, being supported by this community


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## SYLV9ST9R (Aug 28, 2021)

andare said:


> You have a basement though. I live in 28 m2 and the only room is 20. My bathroom is so small the window can't even open all the way. European cubicles...


Ouch, that is rough. Reminds me of our 4 persons in a one bedroom flat in London…


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## Big Monk (Aug 28, 2021)

Y


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## andare (Aug 28, 2021)

fig said:


> ...and you do excellent work in spite of that!


I appreciate it. Two more pedals coming soon!


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## matt3310 (Aug 28, 2021)

@fig You know my motto is go big or go home! HAHAHA Anything worth doing is worth overdoing!


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## Mourguitars (Aug 28, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!
> 
> You even have a variac.
> 
> That amp looks *heavy*.



Heavy Metal Chuck !

Lol


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## spi (Aug 28, 2021)

My workplace is the kitchen table.  All my work gear is in boxes in the closet.  Every time I build, I haul it out of the closet and set it up, then box it all up again before dinner.


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## Feral Feline (Aug 29, 2021)

If I had to unpack and pack everything up every time I wanted to work on something, I'd never get any pedals built. 

Kudos to all of you running such tight ships.


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## peccary (Sep 4, 2021)

I spent some time today cleaning and organizing things that had been piling up over the past month or so. The evolution of my workbench makes me feel an odd kind of satisfaction. I'm interested to see where it'll be in another year or so.

Had to create a link for the photo. Not sure why, maybe because it's a pano. Weird. Anyways, here is it:









						New item by Joe B
					






					photos.app.goo.gl


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## fig (Sep 4, 2021)

Looking good Joe!


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## burger-patty-and-bacon (Sep 5, 2021)

Some mega impressive setups here, fellas!   Here is my little area of zen.  
I have a gigantic workshop / wrap around work benches and loads of pegboard and tools and such out in my garage for bigger work but with arizona getting to 120 degrees I needed to make a mini area for pedals and light solder so I set this up is inside of my guitar room / amp room / recording room / office / mancave / etc where I spend most of my time.


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## Barry (Sep 5, 2021)

peccary said:


> I spent some time today cleaning and organizing things that had been piling up over the past month or so. The evolution of my workbench makes me feel an odd kind of satisfaction. I'm interested to see where it'll be in another year or so.
> 
> Had to create a link for the photo. Not sure why, maybe because it's a pano. Weird. Anyways, here is it:
> 
> ...


I bet it was rough "bending" that plywood on that curve! lol


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## fig (Sep 6, 2021)

It moonlights as a totally radical board ramp dude! Bitchin Haha! [voice of Jeff Spicoli]


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## andare (Sep 6, 2021)

Feral Feline said:


> If I had to unpack and pack everything up every time I wanted to work on something, I'd never get any pedals built.
> 
> Kudos to all of you running such tight ships.


I don't. My table is in workshop mode for weeks on end.
I only clean up and pack when people visit. I also have to vacuum every nook and cranny because there are component leads and balls of solder everywhere. Have to get me one of those cutters that catch leads!


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## olivero1 (Oct 3, 2021)

I have always enjoyed researching others workbenches and spaces and see if I could incorporate a design I find into my own. So, in the spirit of sharing here is my current setup. Two 4 foot folding tables with 4 feet of pegboard and a lot of pats bins. I color coded the parts so I could find them faster. Blue for Resistors, Red for capacitors and Green for Semiconductors. For other parts Silver. I am still sorting the LED, Jacks and other misc pieces, or in other words, they are in the non colored or labeled bins. The workflow moves Left to Right, or that is the idea. One day I will but that Start back together. I keep forgetting to install the pickups!


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## fig (Oct 3, 2021)

olivero1 said:


> View attachment 16635
> I have always enjoyed researching others workbenches and spaces and see if I could incorporate a design I find into my own. So, in the spirit of sharing here is my current setup. Two 4 foot folding tables with 4 feet of pegboard and a lot of pats bins. I color coded the parts so I could find them faster. Blue for Resistors, Red for capacitors and Green for Semiconductors. For other parts Silver. I am still sorting the LED, Jacks and other misc pieces, or in other words, they are in the non colored or labeled bins. The workflow moves Left to Right, or that is the idea. One day I will but that Start back together. I keep forgetting to install the pickups!


Very nice and organized!
 I trained a parrot to fetch my components. He's color blind so reading resistors is quite the challenge as you can well imagine. He does his best. I got a chuckle from him the other day when we were in the kitchen sharing a piece of toast and marmalade. I opened the freezer to grab some ice cubes but when I turned around he looked as though he'd seen a ghost! When I queried the little guy he responded "May I ask what the turkey did to end up like that?"
Very nice and organized!


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## Big Monk (Oct 26, 2021)

Redid my basement workbench. Went with a bigger table so I could spread out more and an organizer for my wire:


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## fig (Oct 27, 2021)

You organize your wire? Wanna help me move?

It looks RTG! Nice!


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## fig (Oct 31, 2021)

Hold it! What is that mister?


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## Big Monk (Nov 1, 2021)

fig said:


> Hold it! What is that mister?



Random thumb tack. Doesn’t everyone have one of those?


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## Big Monk (Nov 1, 2021)

This is a very important and meaningful post for me. 

A Preface:

I really love contributing here. It's the best balance I have found of community, technical details, constructive criticism and an all-around good time. I was just thinking about this, as I often do, the other day and wondering how I could do that without another Thank You thread.

Well, a few members of the forum gave me that opportunity over the weekend. In the spirit of my so-called "contributions" to the forum (I'm not convinced I'm anything special!) outweighing the Spartan toolset I use on my bench, I was gifted some updated tools:








I'd like to take the opportunity to thank these fellas:

@thewintersoldier
@PedalPCB 
@Stickman393 
@jjjimi84 
@fig 

I've got some great projects planned for next year, along with a little thing I call Fuzz 2022 (stay tuned). 

This is proof that no matter how crazy the world may get, there are pockets of community out there and people that look out for the best interests of others.

Thank You!


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## Harry Klippton (Nov 1, 2021)

Big Monk said:


> This is a very important and meaningful post for me.
> 
> A Preface:
> 
> ...


Hell yeah I'm glad they pulled this off!


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## Big Monk (Nov 1, 2021)

Harry Klippton said:


> Hell yeah I'm glad they pulled this off!
> 
> View attachment 17897



It was unexpected and greatly appreciated!


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## Harry Klippton (Nov 1, 2021)

It's a good crew we got around here despite what it may seem 😂


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## djmiyta (Nov 1, 2021)

Don’t know the whole lot like a lot people here and originally I was just gonna show my build box of stuff but then read this


Harry Klippton said:


> Hell yeah I'm glad they pulled this off!
> 
> View attachment 17897


And now I see even further proof (really as if needed right?) of what a cool forum I’ve stumbled upon and Big Monk kinda summed it all up and I couldn’t say it any better cool people ,contests ,jokes ,and the biggest one help yeah keeps me coming back here Anyways sorry if I hijacked something or so threaded the post of hijack post thread or something
Having said all that ,what the hell ,here’s my boord  stuffing box of stuff nicely organized ready for boords to get stuffed by that there box
Oh and…. holy shit!  do some of you have some nice setups beautiful really almost makes me where is that that line when it  becomes bigger than just a hobby. I mean going off here but hasn’t most DIYer’s at least once thought of trying of building them and making or trying to make some . I’m not trying to stir up anything and I don’t know the right place or if it’s taboo like that in DIY to present but here where others do what I do. I won’t lie I have butmine are too damn ugly no one would want to buy mine but some of guys do such amazing stuff easily as good as the “bigger named “ I started building pedals when Craig Anderton put out the really classic electronic projects for musicians and no internet back then ….huh well umm hey is there a limit on how many words these posts can be cause sometimes I have a lot to say like here and now not knowing when to shut the fu


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## Stickman393 (Nov 2, 2021)

Shoot, I haven't done anything yet 😳.

This is awkward....

@fig where am I sending this dosh, again?  Nigeria?  That can't be right...


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## wintercept (Nov 25, 2021)

Made a lot of progress in my work area today:









The new bench is in the back with the soldering setup on it. The bench on the left is what was already there, and I’ll be using it mostly for guitar work, random projects like the odd PC build, and for messier stuff like cleaning flux off boards.

The stuff in the buckets is the rest of my tools, which will be put on/in the shelf, pegboard, drawers, and cabinets.

Over all I’m super stoked to have this space. My first project is my friend’s 1978 MXR Distortion+, which has seen better days. I’ll also be working on the Sugarbag for the giveaway.


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## fig (Nov 26, 2021)

wintercept said:


> Made a lot of progress in my work area today:
> 
> View attachment 19187
> 
> ...


That looks great!  Good lighting (something I need to improve), space to die for! I'm jellin' on the stool 😘 Excellent rug choice! Is that a Princeton Reverb I see there?


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## giovanni (Nov 26, 2021)

Before we moved to a bigger place, I had a standing desk in the bedroom for work (I’ve been working from home since March 2020 and just got back into the office mid October) which would double as my workbench. All my tools and projects were sitting in the closet so I had to unpack and pack every time. 
We moved to a bigger place in May and I now have a small office that I use for work, soldering and making music which is fantastic. Still messy and disorganized and I still need to put my tools and stuff away when I have to work (can you imagine?) but it works.




Apologies, I don’t have my laptop to upload this picture in the right orientation. 
We are also in the process of buying a new place where I will have significantly more space and a better setup, but that won’t happen for several months…


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## wintercept (Nov 26, 2021)

fig said:


> That looks great!  Good lighting (something I need to improve), space to die for! I'm jellin' on the stool 😘 Excellent rug choice! Is that a Princeton Reverb I see there?


The lighting could be better, I’m getting another ballast light to go over the soldering area. The space is fantastic! I’ve seen travel videos about Chinese electronics markets and they do a lot with much less space than me, so I have no excuses. 

The stool… it has a twin and I believe we had it set up on an island in the kitchen of our old house (moved probably a decade ago so it gets fuzzy). The rug however, was in my brother’s old room at that house. I dig it.

I wish that was a Princeton! But it’s a solid state Deluxe 90 DSP that I got for free cuz it was broken. It had broken solder joints on a transistor. It’s got a nice clean channel and is great for testing stuff, distortion is awful and insanely noisy tho. I do want to get, possibly build, a nice little tube amp for that area one day.


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## peccary (Nov 26, 2021)

wintercept said:


> The lighting could be better, I’m getting another ballast light to go over the soldering area. The space is fantastic! I’ve seen travel videos about Chinese electronics markets and they do a lot with much less space than me, so I have no excuses.
> 
> The stool… it has a twin and I believe we had it set up on an island in the kitchen of our old house (moved probably a decade ago so it gets fuzzy). The rug however, was in my brother’s old room at that house. I dig it.
> 
> I wish that was a Princeton! But it’s a solid state Deluxe 90 DSP that I got for free cuz it was broken. It had broken solder joints on a transistor. It’s got a nice clean channel and is great for testing stuff, distortion is awful and insanely noisy tho. I do want to get, possibly build, a nice little tube amp for that area one day.


It really ties the room together.


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## Barry (Nov 26, 2021)

wintercept said:


> Made a lot of progress in my work area today:
> 
> View attachment 19187
> 
> ...


Nice room, somebody drinks a lot of Molson!


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## wintercept (Nov 26, 2021)

Barry said:


> Nice room, somebody drinks a lot of Molson!


Ah yes, it’s my dad’s go to. I’m working on getting all my boxes converted to Molson trays and Newman’s coffee boxes, but as of of late my demand has exceeded supply…


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