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A discussion of favorite tools to populate my future workshop

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(@elrendhel)
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Joined: 4 years ago
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Topic starter  

I'm looking to retire in the next 10 years and need to get a move on building my own workbench and lab area in my existing storage shed. 

I don't know about you folks, but I'm always impressed by Bill's workbench, and it's always perfectly configured and set up to handle just about any project.   

I would like to set up something like this for myself, but not being an electrician or having a background in electronics means I don't know what to look for in selecting a lot of the stuff I'll need in the future.

Like a Volt Meter.   Or the kind of soldering irons that Bill likes to use (and why!), or the cameras and microphones that he uses for vlogging.  What's the best kind of lighting to use in a lab?  Should I get a dedicated power feed for the workshop?  If so, what kind of specs should I use?

Probably a bazillion more questions, but I think if Bill were to show-off his collection of tools and such, and let us know about what we could expect to pay to obtain something similar, that would be a great start.

Thank you!

-David


   
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(@sysguru)
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Joined: 4 years ago
Posts: 16
 

Bill has done a workshop tour, check it out if you haven't already:

 


   
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(@dronebot-workshop)
Workshop Guru Admin
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 1053
 

Actually I think a video and article about some of the tools I use might be a good idea, I have been asked about this a few times already.

I would be interested to hear if this would be of interest to others, so please comment!

😎

Bill

"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak


   
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Spyder
(@spyder)
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Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 846
 

I like the way Bill has his shop set up, but he's got WAY more tools than I do. Mine is also set up in kind of an "L" shape, which keeps things closer to me. I even hang stuff from the ceiling to make it easier to get to. And then one of my printers is to my left, and a computer station to the left of that, and I have a second monitor hanging on the wall in front of where I usually work so I can see it while I'm working.

Oh, and a stool. A must have when soldering

Posted by: @elrendhel

Should I get a dedicated power feed for the workshop?

Something to think about if money is an issue...

If you live in the states, a second feed creates a second bill. When I had my apartment, I didn't have room for all my "toys", so all I had was the computer and the refrigerator, and not much else, so my electric bill was amazingly low... for USAGE, however, I remember the second month I got my bill (first full month), I was floored to find that my $70 bill, for $40 usage, had an added $30 in "delivery fees"

Delivery fees ?

I must've missed the giant truck pulling up to my house to drop off all those electrons


   
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(@dronebot-workshop)
Workshop Guru Admin
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 1053
 

As for a dedicated power feed, I have my workshop on a separate 30 amp line with its own breaker. But that isn't necessary, the reason I did it is that I didn't want to share the workshop with the other power lines in the basement, one of which powers the laundry area which has a washer and freezer (dryer is on its own 220-volt line) and two other 30 amp lines power my computer area which has eight full-size computers as well as all the monitors (12 of them), network devices, lots of external hard drives and a big 4K television on the wall - plus five UPS devices in case Hydro Quebec has an outage.   I just didn't want to risk blowing a breaker when I turn my heat gun to high!

😮

I'm lucky to live in an area that has the cheapest electricity in all of North America!  In fact, my home is electrically heated.

Unlike Spyder, I don't have a stool in the workshop, and it's intentional. As I spend most of my day seated in front of all those video monitors I need to stand once in a while, and my workshop gives me the opportunity to do that. But I can certainly see when you might want one, and I actually have one I could bring in if I had a whole day of soldering ahead of me. 

I think the best workshop is the one that YOU can afford to put into your home.  I'm fortunate in that I own my home and was able to transform my basement into my favorite place on Earth, and right now with it being mandatory to stay inside that's a real bonus. But you can build a great workshop in a spare bedroom or in the corner of a one-bedroom apartment.  And while it's wonderful to have all those tools, in reality, there are only a few that are essential. Same with parts, I'm not sure if I'll ever need an 82K resistor but it's comforting (in a weird sort of way) to know that I have about 50 of them! 

One idea I have been toying with and will probably do, especially as summer has been canceled this year, is to build a second, very small workshop, in the corner of my bedroom. In the summer it gets unbearably hot in my basement, but the rest of the house is air-conditioned. So I could build my projects and experiments up there and just come down to the hot workshop to film the videos.

If/when I do build it I was thinking about doing a video and article about putting together a workshop with just the bare essentials. It might be useful for those who don't have the luxury of dedicating a whole room to their hobby.

Any thoughts or comments?

😎

Bill

 

"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak


   
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(@sysguru)
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Joined: 4 years ago
Posts: 16
 
Posted by: @dronebot-workshop

If/when I do build it I was thinking about doing a video and article about putting together a workshop with just the bare essentials.

Sounds like a great idea.


   
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