Dedicated tinkering space (soldering and other)

Drake

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I finally received the last of my shipment today (after 3 weeks) and started clearing out my corner. Heavy Sony CRT is heavy.

Nvm the 2 compacts and lots of crap on my bench, this is not how I'll set it up at all. Just need to create chaos before I arrive at an ordered state.
Looking good! Excited to see how the end result looks.
I also bought a couple kitchen cupboard organizers for my soldering station(s) etc that matches up nicely.
PXL_20220911_024951982.jpg


Amazon link: LINFIDITE Kitchen Countertop Organizer Shelf Spice Rack Cabinet Counter Storage Shelf Wire Shelves Stand for Kitchen, Pantry, Bathroom, 13.6x8.1x7.1in.Black https://a.co/d/iJgsJOj
 

Mu0n

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Looking sharp @Drake. I may need these kitchen organizers later on.

We got a new 7 week old puppy today, so I started banging on the frames quite late and stopped shortly after (don't want to piss off my semi-detached neighbors). Here's what I had time to do by hand before calling it a night before resuming the hammering tomorrow.

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I've decided not to put any shelf in the lower section, but will at least put 3 bars near the bottom for solidity. This chonky boi has to go on the floor and I don't trust those flimsy metal sheet can hold 100 lbs (44 kg) of CRT goodness. Bonus showing of old consoles on my couch

1662871720341.png
 

Mu0n

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One more day of progress while I help train a 7 week old puppy and grade a small test...

The shelving unit is assembled and quite sturdy + it's tied to the bench with 2 screws. The pegboard is just propped up on the bench against the wall, not mounted yet. Once that's done, once my tools are ordered a bit, I'll think about a new shelf above the bench and possibly (but not married to it) a small platform like you guys have for soldering stations and whatnot.

I don't want to seem like I'm brushing off the nice higher order tips about productivity and workflow but I'm on a budget and don't spend nearly as much time tinkering and repairing as others, though I have a handful of projects in mind for the future. I'm just glad I'll never have to shuttle my tools upstairs and downstairs again - that alone would be enough of a win.
 

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Certificate of Excellence

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One more day of progress while I help train a 7 week old puppy and grade a small test...

The shelving unit is assembled and quite sturdy + it's tied to the bench with 2 screws. The pegboard is just propped up on the bench against the wall, not mounted yet. Once that's done, once my tools are ordered a bit, I'll think about a new shelf above the bench and possibly (but not married to it) a small platform like you guys have for soldering stations and whatnot.

I don't want to seem like I'm brushing off the nice higher order tips about productivity and workflow but I'm on a budget and don't spend nearly as much time tinkering and repairing as others, though I have a handful of projects in mind for the future. I'm just glad I'll never have to shuttle my tools upstairs and downstairs again - that alone would be enough of a win.
Oh wow, you have some room to get that big girl up on a dolly (Like one of these $10 jobs) . I had mine set up that way so I didn’t bust a gut or scratch my floor when I had to get at the I/o. I sure miss my old crt (very, very similar to yours) but definitely don’t miss the 100# weight. That thing was excruciating to lift.

Looking really great. I like Drake’s spice rack turned soldering station organizer.
 
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Trash80toG4

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I'd been wondering why that pile of toys on the couch looks so familiar . . . looks over at heap of techtoys on the futon. :oops:

KISS? You got it. One immediate tweak: bolt up a pegboard panel to the side of your shelf unit above worktop level with frame(s) sunk between vertical and horizontal shelf sections.

If you decide you like it there, it'll be easy enough to hinge the back edge with shallow shelves for small boxes, tiny drawer/bin units a/o hanging small bags or loops of wire on the smaller pegboard panel back of the perforated "medicine" cabinet.

Lookin' good! ;)
 
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Trash80toG4

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A dolly at that far beliow normal price point that's not available in stores OR online smacks of bait-n-switch to me. If not, get one for the wheels and put 'em on a simple storage box to raise the top of the TV to just below the lowest shelf.

Still putting forward the suggestion for sacrificial worktop extension w/KBD drawer for knee room. Gives you a spot to roll the workchair under so it doesn't quite seem like you're snagging more floorspace. ;)
 

retr01

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Hey @Certificate of Excellence, back in the day, it would be one of those compact Macs instead of the modern "infernal" tech, as Mark Twain would complain. Can you carry one of your compact Macs to the kitchen table, plop it on there, plug it in, and use it Mac 68k style? Oh, that's right, your better half may not like that? Dang, it!
 

Certificate of Excellence

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Hey @Certificate of Excellence, back in the day, it would be one of those compact Macs instead of the modern "infernal" tech, as Mark Twain would complain. Can you carry one of your compact Macs to the kitchen table, plop it on there, plug it in, and use it Mac 68k style? Oh, that's right, your better half may not like that? Dang, it!
Well, timing is important. My wife will be in office today from around 830a to 5p so I could in theory put whatever I wanted on the table during that time. But the real answer is I pretty much just sit my 68k macs on a shelf and look at them waiting for capacitors and batteries to explode. Any actual mac tasks are done with PowerPC g4 and up machines.
 

retr01

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Well, timing is important. My wife will be in office today from around 830a to 5p so I could in theory put whatever I wanted on the table during that time. But the real answer is I pretty much just sit my 68k macs on a shelf and look at them waiting for capacitors and batteries to explode. Any actual mac tasks are done with PowerPC g4 and up machines.

Ssshh! 🤫 Sneak the compact Mac on the kitchen table and set it up like a Ninja. :ninja: Now that is a photo opportunity to show what it was like back in the day in the era of compact Mac bags. :sneaky:📸🖼️
 

retr01

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So, @Mu0n, where did you get that big blue mat for doing soldering and other tinkering? :)

And I can see you have Nintendo Power Glove. :love: Wonder if it can be hacked to plug in joystick port or add port? Hmmm. :sneaky:
 

Mu0n

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So, @Mu0n, where did you get that big blue mat for doing soldering and other tinkering? :)

And I can see you have Nintendo Power Glove. :love: Wonder if it can be hacked to plug in joystick port or add port? Hmmm. :sneaky:
Blue mat- amazon.

I'm sure it can be easily hacked with an Arduino type board and shoved into the mouse serial port, but too many projects!
 
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Certificate of Excellence

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I'm interested in what is going on in that white glass shelf cut off at the lower left corner. If it was left up to my imagination, those would be layers upon layers of vintage hand held carts and other retro gaming goodies.
 

Mu0n

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I'm interested in what is going on in that white glass shelf cut off at the lower left corner. If it was left up to my imagination, those would be layers upon layers of vintage hand held carts and other retro gaming goodies.
Those are cardboard + card components for Star Wars X-wing: the miniatures game. It came from Fantasy Flight Games (now Atomic Mass Games is at the helm) so you better believe there's a ton of components: ship bases, model ships, movement dials, movement templates not shown. Hard game to store.
 

Certificate of Excellence

Active Tinkerer
Nov 1, 2021
687
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United Sates
Those are cardboard + card components for Star Wars X-wing: the miniatures game. It came from Fantasy Flight Games (now Atomic Mass Games is at the helm) so you better believe there's a ton of components: ship bases, model ships, movement dials, movement templates not shown. Hard game to store.

I am curious what that pincher looking tool with the reddish orange handles does? Space is looking fantastic BTW.